Piranha Bytes GmbH was a German video game developer based in Essen. It was best known for its Gothic and Risen series of role-playing video games.
Piranha Bytes was founded in Bochum in 1997 and bought by Phenomedia in 1999. When Phenomedia filed for insolvency in May 2002, the Piranha Bytes management bought out the studio. THQ Nordic, as part of Embracer Group, then acquired the company in May 2019.
Piranha Bytes was reported to be in the process of closing since December 2023. It was closed sometime in June 2024 due to Embracer Group failing to find a new owner for the company, according to a former employee; the company declined to make a public statement on its closure.
History
Alex Brüggemann, , Stefan Nyul and founded Piranha Bytes in Bochum in 1997, incorporating it as Piranha Bytes Software GmbH. In July 2024, it was confirmed that the studio had shut down in late June after failing to find such a partner.
Some of the former employees founded the independent studio Pithead, which is being led by husband and wife Björn and Jenny Pankratz, who have been part of Piranha Bytes more or less since its inception. They have not yet announced what project this small team will work on.
On 10 March 2025, four former Piranha Bytes employees announced the formation of Brainlag Games, a new independent studio. Their first game, Rootbound, is scheduled to be released in 2026.
Games
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Platform(s)
|-
! scope="row" | 2001
| Gothic
| Nintendo Switch, Windows
|-
! scope="row" | 2002
| Gothic II
| Nintendo Switch, Windows
|-
! scope="row" | 2003
| Gothic II: Night of the Raven
| Nintendo Switch, Windows
|-
! scope="row" | 2006
| Gothic 3
| Windows
|-
! scope="row" | 2009
| Risen
| Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One
|-
! scope="row" | 2012
| Risen 2: Dark Waters
| PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360
|-
! scope="row" | 2014
| Risen 3: Titan Lords
| PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360
|-
! scope="row" | 2017
| ELEX
| PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One
|-
! scope="row" | 2022
| ELEX II
| macOS, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
|}