PlayerUnknown Productions, led by Brendan Greene, announced it will halt development of the single-player open-world survival roguelike game Prologue: Go Way Back and downsize the studio including layoffs [1, 2].
Prologue: Go Way Back launched into early access on Steam and Epic Games Store in November 2025 but did not meet sales expectations, with a peak concurrent player count on Steam around 182 and mixed user reviews [1]. The game initially sold for $20 before the studio announced plans to make it permanently free to play [2].
The studio plans to release a final major update adding new content, after which Prologue will exit early access and become free on all platforms [1, 2]. PlayerUnknown Productions is also exploring refund options for purchasers on Steam and Epic Games Store [1, 2].
Financial difficulties largely stem from the costs of developing Melba, PlayerUnknown’s in-house terrain-generation engine used in Prologue and other projects [2]. Despite the setbacks, development of Melba will continue with a smaller team for use in an upcoming MMO called Artemis [2].
Prologue features AI-generated 64 square kilometer maps with no enemies, NPCs, or HUD, focusing purely on survival gameplay [1]. Brendan Greene said he has reached the limit of funding the project in its current form but did not rule out returning to it in the future [1].
The studio’s restructuring and the end of Prologue’s development were announced between June and August 2026 [1, 2].
