Credit: Cyan Worlds
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Cyan Teases a New Myst Game, Then Says It Is Not in Development
July 30, 2026·4 min read
Cyan Worlds surprised Myst fans with an unexpected announcement during Mysterium 2026. The studio showed a polished teaser for Project Anglerfish, a new game set in the Myst universe, only to explain that the project had already stopped and is not currently being made.
The footage came from a prototype built over roughly four months during 2024 and 2025. Cyan originally created the teaser to show potential publishing partners, not to announce a public release, which explains why the video looks far more complete than most abandoned experiments and why the sudden clarification felt so deflating.
The teaser opens with first-person exploration through detailed spaces filled with strange buildings, mechanical objects, and the kind of quiet visual clues that immediately fit Myst. A linking book also appears, making it clear that Cyan was not simply testing unrelated ideas under a temporary name or borrowing familiar imagery for a pitch.
One scene pushes the tone in a more direct direction when a frightened man grabs the player and warns them about something ahead. That moment gives the footage more urgency than the lonely exploration usually linked with the series, suggesting Cyan was trying to mix familiar puzzle design with a stronger character presence and a more immediate story.
Cyan showed the video during a presentation about ideas that were never completed. The studio said it remained proud of the work, and that pride is easy to understand after seeing how carefully the environments, lighting, and first-person movement were put together. The frustrating part is that the teaser now serves as a record of a project players cannot expect to buy.
The studio only said Project Anglerfish could not continue for a variety of reasons. It did not confirm that publishers rejected the pitch, that funding was the only problem, or that development reached a stage where a full production plan existed. Any stronger explanation would be guesswork, even if the publisher-focused teaser naturally raises those questions.
The studio laid off 12 employees in March 2025, roughly half of its workforce, while trying to secure financing for another game. That does not prove why Anglerfish ended, but it shows how difficult it has become for a small independent studio to fund large first-person adventure games.
The disappointment also feels sharper because Cyan has spent recent years rebuilding its past. Modern versions of Myst and Riven showed that the studio's worlds still work with updated controls, full movement, and virtual reality support. Anglerfish appeared to offer something fans had not received since Myst V: End of Ages in 2005: a completely new story in this universe.
The studio also revealed Project Mudfish, another game set in the Myst universe that is now in very early development. Cyan described it as a project built around denser spaces, more detailed environments, and new ways to explore and uncover information without explaining how those ideas will work.
Those plans are still too early for a trailer, platform list, release window, or clear story details. Cyan has not said whether Mudfish uses any ideas from Anglerfish, follows an existing character, or continues the timeline after End of Ages. Even the project name may change before the public sees a proper version.
Cyan has not said when Project Mudfish will be ready for a public reveal, and there is no indication that production has reached the same polished stage shown in the abandoned teaser. Its next update will need to show that the studio has the funding, team, and time required to carry a new Myst game beyond the prototype stage.
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