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Disney Reportedly Closed Fogbank Entertainment in 2020: What Happened

GamesBeat reported that Disney planned to close Fogbank Entertainment in 2020, with an estimated 60 layoffs. Fogbank was excluded from Disney’s FoxNext sale to Scopely.
From TheFinanceBase Team2 min to read
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GamesBeat reported on January 24, 2020, that Disney would close Fogbank Entertainment, its San Francisco studio under FoxNext. The report estimated that about 60 workers would be affected, but said the exact number was unknown. Disney declined to comment, so the closure and layoff figure should be attributed to GamesBeat rather than presented as a Disney announcement.

What did GamesBeat report about Fogbank’s closure?

Dean Takahashi’s GamesBeat article said Disney planned to close the FoxNext-owned studio in San Francisco. It estimated about 60 layoffs, while noting the reporter did not have an exact count. The article also reported that Disney declined to comment. It did not provide an official explanation, confirmed final headcount, or details about severance.

The report was published January 24, 2020, and updated June 18, 2025. The update date does not change the fact that the closure account and employment estimate in the article were reported in 2020.

Was Fogbank included in the FoxNext sale to Scopely?

No. Disney had recently sold most of FoxNext Games to mobile publisher Scopely, but Fogbank was excluded from that purchase. GamesBeat described the sale as part of Disney’s strategy to focus on licensing games based on Disney and Fox properties to outside game companies; the report did not establish that strategy as an official explanation for Fogbank’s closure.

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GamesBeat also said Disney acquired FoxNext as part of its March acquisition of Fox for $71 billion. That figure is the amount cited in the 2020 article, in the context of the Fox acquisition.

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What was Fogbank, and what happened to Storyscape?

FoxNext Games launched Fogbank in March 2018. GamesBeat identified studio director Daniel Erickson and executive producer Nathan Germick as leaders. At the studio’s start, the team had about 20 industry veterans and planned to grow to about 40. Erickson left in October 2019. Those early staffing figures describe the studio’s launch plans, not its eventual headcount or the number of people affected by the reported closure.

Fogbank’s first shipped game was Storyscape, a choice-driven narrative game in which players make consequential decisions. GamesBeat reported that Sensor Tower had counted about 1.7 million downloads since the game’s debut. That is a historical download estimate reported in 2020, not a current measure of availability, active players, or lifetime downloads.

What is established—and what remains unconfirmed?

  • Reported: GamesBeat said Disney planned to close Fogbank’s San Francisco studio and estimated about 60 layoffs.
  • Not established in the article: an exact count of affected workers, severance terms, a definitive reason for the closure, or a Disney statement confirming the details.
  • Sale distinction: most of FoxNext Games went to Scopely, but Fogbank was excluded.
  • Game metric: the roughly 1.7 million Storyscape downloads were attributed to Sensor Tower by GamesBeat and reflect the report’s time, not present-day activity.

Read the GamesBeat report by Dean Takahashi.

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