Rumours squashed: American McGee's Spicy Horse studio is not closing down

American McGee has denied claims his Shanghai-based development studio Spicy Horse is closing down. A post to Chinese social media platform Weibo announced "Spicy Horse to close this week, thanks for the three years", but McGee was quick to dismiss the rumour.

[PhoenixUp]

I'm currently enjoying Alice: Madness Returns which is I bought for $2 during a PSN flash sale. It's a very interesting creepy platformer.

It'd be interesting to see Spicy Horse work on another project.

[ninsigma]

That's a good game. Try the original too. It's good if you don't mind the dated controls.

[jb227]

I got in on the same sale to replay Madness Returns but I've never played the first. Apparently that game is included in Madness Returns for the $2 which was a steal, so it's worth a play? How does it stack up to Returns?

[ninsigma]

The original and returns play very differently. There's 11 years between the two so the new one does feel better to play. They both also have different aesthetics to each other. The original does have a great gothic atmosphere which I really enjoyed. The gameplay is dated like I said but that's expected from a 16 year old game. It's still fun to play. Not sure how it controls with a controller on console though because I played it on my laptop. Seeing as you have it free with a 2 dollar game, definitely give it a try xD

[maelstromb]

I'm curious... what has McGee and his studio produced in the last several years to even keep things going?? It's a genuine question.

[Yui_Suzumiya]

Alice: Madness Returns was the last thing I recall. I got it soon after launch and it was pretty cool.

[maelstromb]

Yeah, I played and completed Madness Returns and enjoyed it quite a lot, but haven't seen a single thing since. Before Madness he produced Bad Day L.A. and Grimm (the latter of which he had hoped to aimed to release as an episodic series, but it never got traction). So Alice games aside, I don't recall any of his other games being all that great. He has a lot of interesting ideas and an amazing art team, but it's most often in the execution where he falters.

[OoglyBoogly]

I've enjoyed all his works. All I can say is that I hope he continues in some fashion. Loved the Alice games, Madness Returns definitely went unappreciated over all.