G-Dash is reporting that Genji: Days of the Blade developer Game Republic has shut up shop.
The article contains snapshots of the company’s offices seemingly completely deserted, with a “For Rent” sign visible.
According to a translation of the text by Kotaku, it is believed Game Republic and studio head Yoshiki Okamoto owed a substantial sum of money in back loans. Additionally, the firm’s website has also been closed down.
Game Republic was founded by Okamoto-san back in 2003, and worked on a number of games including the aforementioned Days of the Blade, Folklore, Knights Contract and Clash of the Titans.
Okamoto himself previously worked for Capcom, and was involved in a number of high-profile releases including Resident Evil and Street Fighter II.
Genji: Days of the Blade has achieved cult status among PS3 owners for spawning the meme ‘giant enemy crab’ following the game’s showcase at Sony’s E3 2006 press conference.