In a move that has sent ripples through the gaming community, Fantastic Pixel Castle, the studio founded by industry veteran Greg “Ghostcrawler” Street, will officially close its doors on November 17, 2025. The shutdown, confirmed by Street himself, marks the end of the studio’s ambitious fantasy MMO, codenamed Ghost, and serves as another casualty in a strategic shift by its parent company, NetEase.
The news confirms the fears of many who followed the studio’s story. Just last month, Street announced that NetEase was cutting funding and first-party support, putting the studio in a precarious position where closure was “likely” unless a new publisher could be found swiftly. Unfortunately, that lifeline never arrived.
A Somber Announcement and a Glimmer of Hope
Street broke the news in a heartfelt post on LinkedIn, expressing his sadness while maintaining a sense of pragmatic hope for his team.
"Fantastic Pixel Castle will close its doors on November 17," Street announced. "While there is still a chance we can secure funding after that date, it will depend on how many team members remain."
His primary focus, however, was clearly on the people affected. "While we’d love to make our game, our priority is to help our developers find employment, whether that’s at indie studio Fantastic Castle 2.0 or at many of the other fine (and hopefully stable) game and tech companies out there."
He also took a moment to thank the supporters who tried to help, stating, "To the literally dozens of people who reached out trying to help us raise capital... you humble me. There’s still a chance one of them works out, and it really only takes one."
You can read Greg Street's full statement here:
Greg Street announced the closure of Fantastic Pixel Castle in a recent LinkedIn post.
A Veteran-Led Dream Cut Short
Fantastic Pixel Castle was born in 2023 after Street’s high-profile departure from Riot Games, where he was a key figure on League of Legends. Before that, he was a legendary name at Blizzard Entertainment, serving as the lead systems designer for World of Warcraft—a credential that had fans incredibly excited for his new MMO venture.
The studio was part of a wave of NetEase-backed, veteran-led subsidiaries established in 2022 and 2023 to bolster the Chinese gaming giant's Western development footprint. However, that strategy has seen a dramatic reversal in late 2024.
Fantastic Pixel Castle now joins the ranks of other shuttered NetEase studios, including T-Minus Zero, Jar of Sparks, and Worlds Untold, all closed within a single year. In a particularly harsh blow to developers and gamers alike, none of these studios managed to release a single title before being shuttered.
The cancellation of Ghost and the closure of Fantastic Pixel Castle represent a significant loss of creative potential in the MMO space, a genre known for its high development risks and costs. For now, the community and the talented developers at the studio are left to look to an uncertain future, hoping that the lessons and passion behind Ghost might one day be revived elsewhere.