Indie Developer Wavedash Lays Off Majority of Staff
By Stefanie Fogel
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Indie game developer Wavedash is laying off the majority of its staff, it announced on Friday.
Wavedash is the creator of “Icons: Combat Arena,” a free-to-play platform fighting game reminiscent of “Super Smash Bros.” Available only in North America on Steam Early Access, it was designed from the ground up for the competitive scene.
“When we started Wavedash three years ago, our mission was to create the game that we most wanted to play, and to share it with the world,” the team said in a post on its official website . “Along the way, as the mission grew, we had the great fortune to be joined by some of the most talented, passionate builders in the game industry. Sadly, we have fallen short of our goals — but we feel immensely fortunate to have had the chance to bring Icons into existence, together.”
Wavedash didn’t say exactly how many people were affected by the layoffs, although a former employee told Gamasutra only five remain out of a staff of roughly 30. The source also said employees were given less than two weeks notice and didn’t receive severance benefits.
Wavedash said it’s now working on a definitive, fully playable version of “Icons” that will live on for the community. It will share more details on that next week.
The studio thanked the “Icons” team and said it’s committed to doing everything it can to help people look for new endeavors. It also took time to thank the “Icons” community for their support.
“You held us to a very high standard, and that standard was our defining difference in building ‘Icons,’” it said. “Thank you for the private tests in tournament back rooms, the thousand-person stress tests, and every time you pushed us to be better, both as developers and as players. We still see vast opportunity in the Platform Fighter genre; we’re hopeful that, with you, the vision can live on.”
Wavedash is one of a number of game developers to suffer layoffs in recent weeks. “The Walking Dead” studio Telltale Games recently laid off the majority of its estimated 250 employees, while Capcom shuttered its Vancouver studio .
