In 2016, Alexis Kennedy left Failbetter, citing a desire to work with a variety of other studios and work on his own smaller, more experimental projects.[7]
In February 2017, Failbetter ran a successful Kickstarter for a sequel to Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, raising almost half a million dollars. However, December that same year Failbetter unexpectedly laid off four members of staff, citing the under-performance of the Sunless SeaiPad port, and poor sales of their Sunless Skies in early access.[8][9]
Failbetter was subsequently the target of an extensive but inconclusive investigative report by Eurogamer, which cited Kennedy and other unnamed staff in claiming poor management and a 'toxic' culture had developed since Kennedy's departure.[10]
GamesIndustry.biz awarded Failbetter Games for being one of the best places to work in the games industry in the UK in 2017, 2019, 2020, and 2021.[11][12][13][14]
On 8 June 2023 Failbetter released a romantic visual novel set in the Fallen London universe called Mask of the Rose, which is a prequel to the other games in the franchise.[15]