Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen studio restructures after Combat & Progression update problems

Visionary Realms is restructuring development on Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen after admitting that its Combat & Progression Update, especially the Mastery system, didn’t land as planned.

In a message to the community, the studio’s CEO said the update “introduced complexities” that the team’s technology and platform tools couldn’t properly handle, and called that a management failure. The post also confirmed layoffs, though Visionary Realms didn’t say how many people were affected or which roles were cut.

The studio is bringing back Robert Crane as project manager. Longtime Pantheon players may remember Crane from the Seasons production model the team used before Early Access. His role now is to tighten production, set clearer priorities, improve internal communication, and help the team ship builds more reliably.

Visionary Realms said the restructuring is meant to give Crane room to build a team around that production approach. The CEO also pushed back on the idea that the studio can talk its way through the backlash, saying the real test will be delivering better builds and eventually a strong 1.0 launch.

For now, the team says its immediate priorities are combat, progression, and itemization. Work is also continuing on new world areas, including Badia de Cara and Faerthale. A revised roadmap is planned “in the near future,” with more behind-the-scenes updates promised through the Pantheon website, Discord, Steam, and social channels.

It’s a blunt note from a studio that has spent years trying to turn Pantheon into the old-school group-focused MMORPG it originally pitched. The next step is clearer: fewer explanations, more visible progress.

Further reading: Official Pantheon CEO letter