Oakland-based indie studio Wavedash Games published a blog post today announcing it has laid off “the majority of the development team” after failing to hit some (unspecified) goals.
It’s a rough blow for Wavedash, which set up shop in 2015 and launched its free-to-play platform fighter Icons: Combat Arena on Steam’s Early Access service earlier this summer.
How many people remain at the studio is yet unclear, but the post makes it clear that the game is meant to continue in some form.
“Sadly, we have fallen short of our goals,” reads an excerpt of the post. “Having learned this day was approaching, the team has been hard at work on a ‘Definitive’ version of Icons that will continue to live on, fully playable, for the community. We’ll post about what that looks like next week.”
Gamasutra has reached out to Wavedash for more details on how many jobs were lost and whether or not those who were laid off today will receive appropriate severance. As always, if you or someone you know has been affected by this closure you can email Gamasutra to share your story confidentially.
Update: A former employee tells Gamasutra that those laid off had less than two weeks’ notice, as they were told Friday would be their last day the Tuesday of the week before. They also received no severance benefits. The same source estimates that of the roughly 30 people Wavedash previously employed, five now remain.