Moebius: Empire Rising
A globe-trotting antiques dealer investigates a murder in Venice.
Moebius: Empire Rising is a graphic adventure game created by Pinkerton Road Studio and Phoenix Online Studios, with Phoenix Online Publishing handling its release. It runs on Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux.
The story follows Malachi Rector, an antiques dealer who travels the world. A secretive government agency called FITA hires him to look into a woman's murder in Venice. During his investigation, he meets David Walker, a soldier who appears to share an unexplained link with him. Malachi explores various locations, uncovering connections between current events and historical incidents.
Jane Jensen and her husband Robert Holmes founded Pinkerton Road Studio to return to independent game development. On April 10, 2012, the studio announced plans for two crowd-funded graphic adventures—Moebius and Mystery Game X—inspired by the success of earlier Kickstarter projects like Double Fine's. The Kickstarter campaign reached its $300,000 goal on May 7, 2012, and ended on May 19 with roughly $435,000 from backers (after fees). Phoenix Online Studios handled the programming.
Critics gave Moebius: Empire Rising mixed reviews. GameRankings averaged a score of 60%, while Metacritic calculated a weighted 54 out of 100. Exact sales figures are unknown. In 2016, Jensen stated that Pinkerton had no games in development and was closing its website, noting that Moebius and Gabriel Knight: 20th Anniversary Edition had not sold well enough to support further work. In a 2023 interview, Holmes said he and Jensen had invested significant personal funds to finish their first two projects, but concluded their business model was not sustainable.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Moebius: Empire Rising
- Developer
- Phoenix Online Studios / Pinkerton Road Studio
- Publisher
- Phoenix Online Publishing
- Designer
- Jane Jensen
- Composer
- Robert Holmes
- Platforms
- Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux
- Released
- April 15, 2014
- Genre
- Graphic adventure
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The game's protagonist is Malachi Rector, a globe-trotting antiques dealer. A secretive government agency called FITA hires him to investigate a murdered woman in Venice. He soon encounters David Walker, a soldier who seems to have a mysterious connection with him. Malachi travels the world investigating various incidents and their ties to history.
Pinkerton Road Studio was formed by Jane Jensen and her husband Robert Holmes as a way to step back into game development as independents. On April 10, 2012, Pinkerton Road announced plans to have a crowd funded production of two new graphic-adventure games titled Moebius and Mystery Game X, inspired by recent Kickstarter successes such as Double Fine's recent success of using Kickstarter to fund Double Fine Adventure. On May 7, 2012, Pinkerton Road Studio reached its Kickstarter goal of $300,000. Jane Jensen's Kickstarter campaign ended on May 19, accumulating around $435,000 from backers (less fees). The game was ultimately programmed by Phoenix Online Studios.
Reader's Guide
Moebius: Empire Rising received mixed reviews from critics, with GameRankings calculating an average score of 60% and Metacritic calculating a weighted score of 54/100. How well the game sold is not known precisely. In 2016, Jane Jensen announced that Pinkerton had no games currently under development and the website was closing. She wrote that Moebius and Gabriel Knight: 20th Anniversary Edition had not sold well enough to justify continued development. Robert Holmes said in a 2023 interview that he and Jensen had ultimately invested a lot of their own money to get their initial two projects to completion, but concluded that their existing model was not financially viable. The game's legacy is thus tied to the financial challenges of independent adventure game development and the risks of crowd-funded production, as the studio behind it ceased operations after its release.
Did You Know?
- The game was developed by Pinkerton Road Studio and Phoenix Online Studios, and published by Phoenix Online Publishing.
- The Kickstarter campaign for Moebius and Mystery Game X reached its $300,000 goal on May 7, 2012.
- Jane Jensen announced in 2016 that Moebius had not sold well enough to justify continued development at Pinkerton Road.
- Robert Holmes stated in a 2023 interview that the studio's model was not financially viable.
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