To everyone who played Ritualist, supported us in Early Access, left a review, reported a bug, or simply wished us well - this update is for you, and you deserve our full honesty.
After much consideration, we have made the difficult decision to end development on Ritualist and we won't be moving forward with the full release planned for September.
We know that's hard to read. It's hard to write too. So let us explain properly.
Who we are and how this started
Sharq IT Labs is primarily a web development company. A few years ago we were friends with a mobile games team that was working under a publisher. When their partnership ended - , we didn't want to see that team disappear. They were talented, passionate people - so we brought them under our wing and wanter to build something bigger together. We funded the work ourselves, out of our web development revenue, because we believed in what they were building and we wanted to grow something new together.
That's how Ritualist was born. Not from a dedicated game studio with a safety net but from a group of people who genuinely wanted to make something worth playing.
What happened with Ritualist
We were working on the game for over 2 years with many harships on our way. The strategy changed a couple of times and the deadlines were postponed. We entered Early Access in March with real ambition and a September full release target. We were proud of what we had built and excited about where it was going.
We were lucky enough to build a small but genuine community around Ritualist. People who got it, played it, and cared about it. That meant everything to us. But in this industry without the backing of a real marketing budget, is unfortunately not enough. The sales fell short of what we needed to sustain the project, and we learned firsthand just how difficult it is to reach players without a significant budget behind you.
But between May and now, a combination of internal issues and external pressures made it impossible to continue. The development team was let go in June. No work has been done on the game since then. We held on to the hope that circumstances might change but they didn't. It is now August, and continuing to stay silent would be a worse betrayal of your trust than this announcement.
We are not going to make excuses. We are going to be straight with you: we could not finish what we started, and we are sorry.
What this means for you
We want to make this right. Here is what we are offering:
Full Refunds: If you purchased Ritualist during Early Access and would like a refund, you are entitled to one regardless of your playtime. We have communicated with Steam to make this process as smooth as possible and are waiting on their decision. We'll post a new update here once the process with Valve is finalized.
The game stays available: The current Early Access build will remain on Steam for all existing owners to keep and play. We will not be deleting the game or your access to it.
Discounted release: We are also making the current build available at 80% off for anyone who wants to experience what we built, knowing exactly what it is: a finished Early Access version of a game that didn't get to cross the finish line, but still has something in it worth seeing.
About the team
The people who built Ritualist were extraordinary. They brought skill, creativity and heart to every dungeon, every weapon, every mechanic. The build system, the procedural generation, the feel of combat - none of that happened by accident. It happened because of them. We are proud of what this team achieved under real constraints, and we carry no regrets about the people, only about the outcome.
About the future
We have not closed the door on game development under Sharq Labs. But we know that the only way we get to have a future in this space is if we handle this moment with integrity and transparency. This announcement is part of that. We would rather be remembered as the studio that was honest when it hurt than the one that went quiet and hoped nobody noticed.
Thank you for playing. Thank you for believing in us, even briefly. Ritualist meant something to us, and knowing it meant something to some of you too makes this harder and more worthwhile at the same time.
— The Sharq IT Labs Team