South Korean games giant Smilegate has reportedly closed its doors.

As spotted by VGC, director Stephane Blais posted on LinkedIn claiming that everyone working at the developer had been let go.

“As our industry is starting to look more and more like a game of Battleship, it is our turn to be hit,” Blais posted. “Smilegate Barcelona is closing down. All employees are being laid off.

“The last 6 months have been pretty intense – but allowed me to discover a fantastic and really dedicated team. All of them work so hard to try to save it. I am now #OpenToWork”.

This rumour is bolstered by Edouard Albert, a project manager at Smilegate Barcelona, also posting that the outfit had been shut.

"Well our journey at Smilegate Barcelona has come to an end,” Albert wrote.

“Really appreciated my time there, working with amazing people and being able to improve on my own skill set. Now is time to look for my next adventure."

Smilegate set up its Barcelona studio in July 2020. The developer was working on an open-world game.