“It became clear leading up to the release of our most recent game that we were not immune to the challenges faced by many game development teams seeking funding partners in 2024 and 2025. We’ve fortunately been able to communicate these challenges ahead of time, and work with affected staff to ease departures as much as possible via severance packages.”

The reason for the layoffs is due to Bithell Games being unable to “secure a new large-scale project.” However, they won’t impact “the availability of our existing self-published games” and ongoing support of the same. Of course, as with licensed titles like John Wick Hex (recently delisted from storefronts), TRON: Identity and TRON: Catalyst, that could change, since they’re all published by Big Fan Games and Devolver Digital.

The studio’s next steps (and project), alongside sales figures for TRON: Catalyst, are currently unknown, so stay tuned for more updates. The redundancies at Bithell Games are only the latest to hit the industry this year. Besides Microsoft’s recent wave of mass layoffs, other affected studios include Supermassive Games, Virtuos, Codemasters, Electronic Arts, Eidos Montreal, Crystal Dynamics, PlayStation Visual Arts, Striking Distance Studios, Boss Games, and more.

Developed by Bithell Games (which recently released Tron: Catalyst to above-average reviews), Hex features an original story starring the infamous Baba Yaga himself. While Keanu Reeves doesn’t lend his voice, you can look forward to actors Lance Reddick and Ian McShane reprising their characters.

Though a reason for the game’s delisting wasn’t revealed, it could be due to licensing costs. John Wick Hex launched in 2019 for PC via the Epic Games Store and eventually released for PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Steam. It garnered some positive reviews but ultimately achieved Metascores in the 70s. Check out our review for more details – we also gave it a seven out of ten.

Which is fine, if not a little constraining at times. Just like Identity, there is a core mystery that its protagonist, Exo, needs to solve. It all starts when the courier program is delivering packages, ignoring the steadily increasing glow of their final delivery. Common sense eventually prevails as they toss it into the intersection, triggering an explosion that knocks them unconscious. Next thing you know, Exo is in the Core’s detention facility, being interrogated by the antagonistic Conn and charged with an attack they had no idea about. One trip to the Disc Wars arena without any combat expertise, and it’s back to the past, courtesy of the Glitch Catalyst.

"Combat in TRON: Catalyst is fairly serviceable – you have the hacking and slashing, a parry button, and the ability to dodge roll. Throw your Identity Disc at enemies or ricochet it off walls."

Somehow, the explosion granted Exo the ability to loop back to previous moments in the story and potentially change the outcome. It’s similar to time travel in that other programs don’t retain their memories, and as such, conversations are like deja vu, which isn’t particularly new in the visual novel space. Where TRON: Catalyst differs is in the data that Exo can carry around in their Identity Disc and the shortcuts unlocked through exploration. For example, you might need to speak to a program named Vega, who watches from the stands in the Arena but who isn’t present after your fight is over. The only way to access the area which grants access to the stands is by participating in the fight.

By finding a shortcut, you can loop back to the beginning and go directly to the stands to speak to Vega and try to find a solution to your predicament. Upon escaping and exploring the larger Arq Grid, other shortcuts will provide more post-loop opportunities. There is some slight confusion with the formula, at least at one point. To infiltrate the Core and obtain some access codes, Exo joins as a recruit but must first complete four tasks. One of those tasks involves taking a glove as proof to the soldiers, which won’t carry over if you loop. This is obviously in place to prevent you from picking fights with Core members, triggering a citywide alert where they attack on sight.

However, one task pretty much forces you to goad the Core into a fight, or else you can’t access a mechanic’s garage and steal her blueprints. Once the task is complete, however, you can loop back and complete those tasks as if nothing happened. What happened to that glove? Is it now magically with the Core member in charge of your tasks? Is it just the record of you giving the glove that they’re interested in and not the actual piece? It continues to baffle me, but my only other problem with the looping is how limiting it feels in where you can go back to.

Catalyst’s dialogue briskly moves the plot along, though some jargon may be lost on the non-TRON fans. I actually quite enjoyed the voice-acting all around, particularly for Conn and Vega. The former delivers on the “corrupt cop” act without going overboard, while the latter is a surprising mix of cunning and calculating with understated charisma. Exo didn’t particularly strike me as a compelling protagonist, especially when interacting with other programs in the Grid, but they’re solid enough. I was particularly impressed with some of the NPCs encountered in the world – they can have extensive dialogue trees and interactions that shine more light on their backstories, motivations, and feelings, even if their overall roles are fairly diminished.

It almost makes me wish that Bithell Games went with another visual novel rather than the isometric action game route. Combat in TRON: Catalyst is fairly serviceable – you have the hacking and slashing, a parry button, and the ability to dodge roll. Throw your Identity Disc at enemies or ricochet it off walls. With upgrades, you can bounce the Disc off multiple enemies with a single throw and even kick it back with a well-timed parry, providing an entertaining impromptu game of Pong if you’re far enough away. It’s even more hilarious when dealing with enemies who can’t move past a certain point, unintentional as it may be.

"As it stands, Catalyst may warrant playing if you’re a fan of the universe. Those seeking a more well-rounded experience or even a compelling time-looping mechanic may want to try the demo first before jumping in."

Unfortunately, melee attacks don’t feel as impactful as I would like, and once you’re in the middle of a combo, it’s almost impossible to cancel it for a parry. Some enemies also have very odd parry windows, which activate as soon as the attack begins and feel awkward to react to. It doesn’t make combat difficult by any means, but it made me wonder why I’m bothering to parry at all when a three-hit combo can capably stun smaller foes, and the dodge roll is great for avoiding damage. The game mixes things up with other types of enemies, but they’re not really enough to encourage a wider array of tactics. Combat quickly became tedious and repetitive as I wished for more punch and pizzazz to the encounters.

Some of the story objectives could also use some work. I’m fine with punching my way through Core soldiers to try and extract a data broker (less so when they tell me that they don’t need an extraction, thanks). But the whole deal about completing tasks to join the Core offers little more than backtracking through the Grid and engaging in tedious combat (for the most part). At least Exo has a Lightcycle to make things faster. You can even deploy Light Walls and run over enemies.

Beyond the voice acting and writing, TRON: Catalyst’s other strength is nailing the aesthetic of its world. The sleek lighting and reflective roads, especially during the rain, look great, even if the animations and character models aren’t super-impressive. The character portraits in conversations are 2D, and while they look fine on their own, TRON: Identity’s models look more vibrant and alive. As for the music, there was only one track that really stuck out while escaping from the Core during a citywide alert, mostly because it reminded me of Daft Punk’s Derezzed. Much of the rest didn’t resonate.

I liked many of the ideas that TRON: Catalyst had to offer, and even if it’s not the best, the story made me want to keep going if only to learn more about the Glitch and the world as a whole. However, the gameplay didn’t serve as the strongest motivator, whether it was the repetitive combat or many of the main story tasks. Bithell Games has delivered some pretty compelling sci-fi stories thus far (Subsurface Circular is well worth the look), and I can’t help but wonder if sticking to that formula would have been more beneficial. As it stands, Catalyst may warrant playing if you’re a fan of the universe. Those seeking a more well-rounded experience or even a compelling time-looping mechanic may want to try the demo first before jumping in.

This game was reviewed on PC.

Alongside the release date, the new trailer for TRON: Catalyst also gave us a look at some of its gameplay, which includes various aspects from exploring a digital town on a Light Cycle, to taking on enemies with the Identity Disc. The trailer also gave us a look at what appears to be a time rewinding ability that allows the player to take on enemies in a more strategic fashion.

Announced back in October, TRON: Legacy will put players in the shoes of Exo, who has to take on the Arq Grid’s overlords. Along the way, Exo will have to make use of their Identity Disc and a power called the Glitch to make progress.

TRON: Legacy will also make use of rogue-lite elements in its gameplay, along with metroidvania elements like alternate routes and hidden locations opening up as players explore more of the Arq Grid.

The title is a sequel of sorts to 2023’s TRON: Identity, which was also developed by Bithell Games. The title made use of a visual novel-styled format to tell its stories, while also having players look for clues in the environment. Most of the gameplay revolved around solving puzzles.

TRON: Identity is available on PC and Nintendo Switch.

The setting should be familiar to those who played last year’s TRON: Identity, though its gameplay focuses more on isometric combat. The Identity Disc is your weapon, which can be parried and ricocheted off enemies. However, you also fight on Light Cycles and unlock new abilities with Data Shards.

Based on the press release, TRON: Catalyst seems to employ rogue-lite elements with “glitches” causing time loops in the system. Alternate routes and hidden locations open up as you navigate the Arq Grid. If it’s anything like Hades, expect an evolving narrative based on the success of different runs.

TRON: Catalyst is out in 2025. Stay tuned for more details on its gameplay in the meantime.

The game plays out in an almost visual novel-style format, with extensive conversations. You can find clues in the environment and question suspects while deciding whether to ally with or oppose them. There are also Identity Discs, which provide different puzzles to solve and memories to discern.

Based on your choices, there are multiple endings. If you enjoyed titles like Subsurface Circular and Quarantine Circular, TRON: Identity may be worth checking out. The art is pretty appealing, and the story provides an extension of the beloved TRON franchise, though one that’s reportedly short based on reviews. Stay tuned for more details on updates.

Similar to Thomas Was Alone and Subsurface Circular, much of the gameplay revolves around dialogue choices. As Query the detective program, you explore a new Grid and must discover what was taken (and by whom). There are suspects to question, environments to explore and secrets to uncover.

Identity Discs provide puzzles for discerning memories and discovering the truths hidden within. Of course, based on your choices, the story will change with some characters becoming allies, enemies or getting derezzed. There are multiple endings and approaches to take, providing some replay value.

Stay tuned for more details and gameplay in the coming weeks. In the meantime, you can read our review of John Wick Hex, also developed by Bithell Games.

TRON: Identity is an upcoming visual novel set in a new Grid forgotten by its creator and left alone to evolve without User intervention. Players play as Query, a detective program tasked with uncovering the mystery behind a break-in.

The game promises puzzles, and most of all, plenty of choice and consequence mechanics, which, of course, you can expect multiple endings based on your choices. You can check out a very brief teaser trailer for the game below, and get more details via its Steam page.

TRON: Identity is due out sometime in 2023 for PC and consoles, though the specific consoles it’ll launch for haven’t been mentioned.

Last year, when it was announced that a John Wick game would be coming, it wasn’t exactly what we were expecting. Based on the brash and loud action movies starring the one and only Keanu Reeves, John Wick Hex was more of a quick-paced strategy title. After the shock wore off, it ended up being a solid game (you can see the accolades trailer through here, for instance). Now the game will finally be coming to consoles as well.

As announced via the trailer below, the game is coming to Sony’s console next month. You get a look at the very distinct art style it sports, as well as a bit of the unique gameplay.

John Wick Hex has been on PC via the Epic Games Store since last year. As of now, the game is only set to come to PlayStation 4 on May 5th. No word yet on when the game will come to other consoles, but we’ll keep you updated.

When it comes to licensed games, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes that we, the players, will never know about until well after the game is out. Property holders for popular franchises are notoriously picky for games and developers they give their license to. But it seems there wasn’t a lot of issue with one recent licensed title, John Wick Hex.

In an interview with Wccftech, developer Mike Bithell said that he was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was to work with Lionsgate. If anything, he said there was a lot of support from them to help make the game the solid title it is. Them getting involved help him mold his vision of the title even better.

“It was very cool. The first year I couldn’t talk about it, which sucked. I told a few mates down the pub. Sorry, Ben. Ben’s the producer. And one of my best mates as well, so I told him, but it was all right. It was great. The collaboration has been phenomenal. Yeah, I genuinely couldn’t have asked for a better experience. The way we’ve been able to work with the films guys… I think people think a licensed game, you do it, you get the logo, you get to be able to say you’re making John Wick, but actually the key thing here is the people that come with the logo, you get all the support and help from the people who actually make these movies, and made these movies that people love. And that’s made us make a better game than if we had just made something like John Wick as a game. By getting those people involved and having their input we’ve actually made some things even better than we would on our own, which is great.”

Seems that the collaboration worked out very well overall, considering the game’s strong reception. It definitely wasn’t the John Wick game anyone actually expected, but one well worth having. John Wick Hex is available now exclusively on the PC.