Sega Ends Publishing Partnership With Interior Night
The publishing partnership between Sega and London-based studio Interior Night has ended.
Sega Europe's head of content Bobby Wertheim revealed during an interview with MCV that the publisher had scrapped plans to release Interior Night's debut title.
"Sega did announce a partnership with Interior Night. Interior Night is a really talented studio, headed up by Caroline Marchal who is amazing and really experienced but Sega decided not to continue with that project," said Wertheim. "We have a lot of respect for the studio and I'm still really good friends with several people on the team."
Wertheim did not share what motivated the decision, though, he seemed to hint that a narrative-driven franchise did not fit with Sega's current strategy. "The great thing about Sega Searchlight is basically saying: we're willing to take a risk and try something new," he explained. "In the end, not every project is going to go as well as I personally would like. So it's the end of the relationship but we're just working hard to find the next big thing."
Caroline Marchal, a former Quantic Dream lead, founded Interior Night back in 2017. Despite the end of the studio's relationship with Sega, Marchal assured that development on their first title remained on track.
"It's been a pleasure to work with Sega and to have their support during the early days of the studio," Marchal told MCV. "Ultimately, we have amicably parted ways for strategic reasons. However, development on the game – an innovative narrative experience, aimed at a mature audience – is proceeding well. We will announce our new partnership in due course."
Interior Night has revealed little about their original IP beyond their intention to target mainstream TV audiences with grounded characters, complex relationships, and high-quality cinematics. "We're aiming at the TV audience – people who watch Netflix or HBO," Marchal said, highlighting titles like Breaking Bad and Fargo. "We're hoping to bring that quality to gaming, with complex characters and accessible yet deep gameplay."