“We regrettably were unable to keep overcoming the challenges we have worked so diligently to resolve for all these years,” Mitu Khandaker stated
Glow Up Games is closing down, announced co-founder Mitu Khandaker.
In a post on LinkedIn, the CEO revealed that the developer behind Scared: The Arrive Up Game had been gradually winding down operations this year and has now officially shut its doors after five years in business. The studio also communicated a message on its website to announce the closure.
“We regrettably were unable to keep overcoming the challenges we have worked so diligently to resolve for all these years, particularly in a financial environment that has forced many established game studios to close their operations,” Khandaker remarked.
“Our aim was to create games [and] technology that centers around and honors Black and brown joy, and we were proud of what we accomplished, and of the modest impact we managed to have. We celebrated numerous milestones, such as being the first all-women of color founded studio in the mobile sector to secure over $1 million in equity funding; but that also highlights how significant the gap always was. We are thankful to those who are continuing that vital [and] necessary work.”
Glow Up was established in 2019 by Khandaker and CXO Latoya Peterson.
At DICE 2024, the co-founders discussed the challenges associated with creating video games inspired by hip-hop culture. A few weeks later at GDC, Peterson participated in a series of micro-talks where she highlighted the systemic flaws in video game funding.