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# Reigns and Card Shark developer Nerial effectively winds down after 13 years
- URL: https://www.verticalslice.news/reigns-and-card-shark-developer-nerial-effectively-winds-down-after-13-years/
- Published: 2026-10-01T15:38:59.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-03T00:31:36.000Z
- Description: The studio's latest fiscal report shows it posted two consecutive years of "significant" post-tax losses.
- Author: Chris Kerr
- Tags: News, Business

*Reigns* and *Card Shark* developer Nerial has effectively shut down after 13 years. 

[The UK studio confirmed the news in a post on Bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/nerial.bsky.social/post/3mwswafeuks2p?ref=verticalslice.news), where co-founders Tamara Alliot and Francois Alliot said the company is entering "hibernation mode" and ceasing development operations. 

"It's been an incredible adventure. We came into this with no expectations or ambitions and will likely never forget the utter puzzlement of releasing *Reigns* in 2016 to so many players, the fascinating and slightly disturbing *Card Shark* fan art players are still sending us, the thrill of *Reigns* expanding with adaptions of Game of Thrones, Animal Farm, Three Kingdoms, and the latest, *Reigns: The Witcher*. Not forgetting our most ambitious project, The Crush House, which we are immensely proud of," reads the statement. 

"The fabulous Nerial team will now seek new opportunities and we wholeheartedly recommend each and every one to any potential studios that will be lucky enough to have them."

Nerial was purchased by indie publisher Devolver Digital in 2021\. The company, which published *Reigns* and also [laid off 40 percent of the studio's workforce in 2024](https://investors.devolverdigital.com/files/downloads-and-publications/DEVO-FY24-Investor-Presentation.pdf?ref=verticalslice.news), will retain the rights to Nerial's existing catalogue ([thanks, Kotaku](https://kotaku.com/reigns-card-shark-dev-closing-down-2000738732?ref=verticalslice.news)). 

According to a [fiscal report](https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/document-api-images-live.ch.gov.uk/docs/BIzG15O%5FDV8%5FqDoCl-oHwOy7hkIkGeLKho4H7Zn42Mg/application-pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAWRGBDBV3EHZANZVY%2F20261001%2Feu-west-2%2Fs3%2Faws4%5Frequest&X-Amz-Date=20261001T130430Z&X-Amz-Expires=60&X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjELD%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEaCWV1LXdlc3QtMiJHMEUCIEAwoIM1TJktoR3suOZgPQVu%2FXfM3oXpcRKggn3rW2juAiEAqhc5lLcUC4rUYcyQktGElvzLqjZomu9k4TWrPeFfv68qgQQIeRAFGgw0NDkyMjkwMzI4MjIiDAOSs1Afkw1LKOIbcSreA9W%2B3rNSVJwkQGNH0DKAqwQOTDWOhrwOcPGIQ%2B9ayn5MtQlfP0WdMRwJwPo8w7JZFRVf64jdkwDU0nY2vant7oj%2Bk7ai6buefQphTxLa%2F%2BDqp4pMSoJ9kSNCKmALEa7ByV9f%2F5XXX%2FfjTOXEeF1GTn6oAcskaeuDJq4IhXw9kmzEnWaypfOIuqtJPwFcAG5fcZ2IvH2MRXnlXqWvP9hP%2BYeDXXJ6m7fo83tnxnFKuXoMSdsVHw4Ec1hqNAo9pqlU2Q3FK2XHzZxx7C6Bz8kfg%2BMe2qevIBazJfxOqqwFFZvVKTaw2%2BjcrxOF3RWqu8DoWhbqkpu3HRy9k233tZgOmL1zD5BfOazqvMsXJsNuNEgNN3pv5C0iEg23ecTKPgdSck6Ox5dse0bQeSMQnk86xwo97bRtJeO6%2B2G2q9jCRWRmyYl%2BtUm7GF0rDgTOAF9E9yF1%2FKcDgRdc%2F35CSJCbJnHcJjCthDiBAZPlX1wRadnvR3tLIA7R9HjvUxrP6cjJMvcdpfOOF%2BuI09yBrtDUs3Ggqq%2F7a3lYIAgGbrokEqRM21DtAACrGe7EYFP%2FYOHCvQzC2jQWnNmmYAMRac4qo9M7U8ew8Fe0iGzCAn2tnL08t62z4PVNh2x9C4dmXUUw1aH41QY6pQH1jc0yRPqghe5%2Be1%2FJua0%2F%2F%2B5V6pRZ4EnKF0%2Brl4CXk2am3gJx6TOvHOwkgWzR0I%2BCLEPHsHiKTqG%2Ff8RX7a9Kr9Rc3Z%2BPjaVpbsh5QP0ISCCIOToO88mPYnE4nzaIdrai%2Flsm0h9xH4m79G8Cm7ueob3fQKKg5O2VW14MhQ7YHu%2BvsKUB84EJDbjLOXNn4fnscd6SYAp1tMq%2BLFewePg9JKudICo%3D&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&response-content-disposition=inline%3Bfilename%3D%2210103578%5Faa%5F2026-09-15.pdf%22&X-Amz-Signature=c8e229d43749af1bb2f4b3e29054868c2124e0df3de96173a258dd356b6a6edf&ref=verticalslice.news) for the year ended December 31, 2025, Nerial has posted two consecutive years of "significant" trading losses, meaning it remained "dependent" on the financial support of Devolver Digital. 

The report shows that Nerial incurred a loss after taxation of £817,375 during the 2025 fiscal year. In 2024, the company lost £989,185\. Revenue also declined year-on-year.

[A LinkedIn post](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7511415877125320704/?ref=verticalslice.news) from Nerial CEO Tamara Elliot indicates eight people (excluding both co-founders) have lost their jobs as a result of the studio entering hibernation.