Bandai Namco has announced it is shutting down Reflector Entertainment, the Montreal studio behind 2024’s Unknown 9: Awakening.
Reflector, founded in 2015, is a subsidiary of Bandai Namco that was acquired in 2020. Unknown 9: Awakening is the studio’s only released title, which was first revealed at Gamescom 2020 and released on October 17, 2024. The third-person action game is set within the broader Unknown 9 transmedia franchise, which includes a book trilogy, comics, and a web series, and stars Haroona, a woman able to traverse a separate dimension called the Fold. Haroona, played by The Witcher actress Anya Chalotra, uses this ability and other supernatural powers to battle a hostile secret society across India and other global locations.
Upon release, Unknown 9: Awakening didn’t make much of a critical splash; it currently has a 59 Metascore and “Mixed” Steam reviews. In November 2024, a month after Unknown 9’s launch, Reflector laid off 18 percent of its staff. More layoffs were announced in January 2025 as Reflector canned an unannounced project while confirming Unknown 9 failed to meet expectations. With Reflector’s dissolution, Bandai Namco expects to post “an extraordinary loss” of approximately €21 million on its Q3 financial results for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2027.
