Rune Factory dev filing for bankruptcy

Neverland Co., the creator of the Rune Factory series, is filing for bankruptcy and has ceased operations, the developer announced via its official website.

Translated by Siliconera, the post states that the company's financial success has deteriorated due to sluggish performance over the last few years. Although the company has tried to raise funds to continue its work, all attempts have been unsuccessful.

Described as a spin-off of the Harvest Moon franchise, the Rune Factory series combines farming and harvesting with battling monsters in dungeons. The most recent entry in the series, Rune Factory 4, launched in North America in October for Nintendo 3DS.

Following the announcement, Rune Factory 4 producer Yoshifumi Hashimoto from publisher Marvelous AQL posted a short message on the game's blog.

"I'd like to take this occasion to make a comment about the future," Hashimoto wrote. "As of now, it'll still remain a secret as to what kind of title we'll be releasing next, but I can say that the staff members are still doing great.

"I will leave it at that for now, and I thank you for your continued support."