Wargaming Seattle is shutting down

~ Sebastianul

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Source: Gamasutra

Word is spreading today that Wargaming Seattle is shutting down, potentially eliminating over a hundred jobs.

This is a big deal given that Wargaming Seattle is the Redmond-based studio formerly known as Gas Powered Games, which was founded in 1998 by Chris Taylor and other former Cavedog devs.

During its lifetime Gas Powered became known for series like Dungeon Siege and Supreme Commander (as well as the early DotA-alike Demigod), but after a failed Kickstarter campaign the ailing studio was acquired by Wargaming in 2013.

Taylor wound up leaving the studio in 2016, and now (according to at least one former dev) the studio itself is reportedly closed.

In the meantime, developers around the industry are sharing potential job leads via the Twitter hashtag #WGJobs to try and help former Wargaming Seattle devs get back on their feet. The hashtag previously appeared in late 2016, after Wargaming shut down its Bellevue-based mobile game studio WGCells.

Update: A former Wargaming Seattle dev tells Gamasutra that a surprise “all-hands” meeting was called at the studio this morning, and during that meeting Wargaming chief Victor Kislyi announced the entire studio (estimated to employ roughly 150 people) would be shut down.

Also, a representative of Wargaming offered the following statement on the studio closure:

“I can confirm that Wargaming will be closing their Redmond development studio as part of the company’s restructuring process. Every member of the 150-strong team that has been working on an unannounced MMO project will be offered a severance package. Wargaming will be assisting the current employees of the Redmond studio, if they decide to apply for open positions in other offices within the company. We would like to express our gratitude and thank everyone on the team for their hard work.”

13 thoughts on “Wargaming Seattle is shutting down”

  2. Before any of you whinny sissies start naming WG the devil itself, they are bad as a conpany, and I hate them too, BUT, they still are foremost a business that needs to make money. They aren’t a charity organization or a church, and like thousands of other moneyhungry companies, they lay people off and close departments (I will never forgive EA for fucking up Westwood). Again, I hate them, but they are successful at what they are doing.

    1. I’ve been hoping ever since EA cancelled Generals 2 they would sell off the rights to Command & Conquer, so Petroglyph (Old Westwood) can pick it up .

      I don’t know why they have to be such assholes & sit on the franchise & do nothing with it.

      1. >I don’t know why they have to be such assholes & sit on the franchise & do nothing with it.
        I am pretty sure EA admitted this is basically video game scorched earth, they won’t use the franchises but will make sure other companies can’t do it either.

        Also sad to go GPG/WG Seattle go, but I don’t think I recall reading anything about them announcing anything (somebody can correct me on this i am sure), which is sad, because I would have loved a WW2 version of SupCom

    2. Red Alert 3 is…… Basically shite. Just a bunch of next gen graphic. That’s it.

  3. I wonder what will happen with the licences Wargaming got from GPG. I’m guessing it might be like EA since we havent seen shit out of them about Master of Orion which they should have left to Stardock. Rip SupCom and Dungeon Siege licences…

  4. Good, start firing more people.

    Slava Makarov should be the first to go for having no brain.

    1. Europe is to follow. Only Russia will remain as its the only region with players remaining. Fuck WG and fuck Russia.

  7. Its a Russian company – most of WG is in Russia or the WG independent state of Nicosia formerly in Cyprus

    America was a toe hold to gather high tech intel on the USA online gaming scene,
    Done that, then once WG realised it didn’t understand anything at all that’s USA aka the frighteningly and embarrassingly low players on the NA servers (less than 25k on one of the largest countries in the world
    ~ WG simply retreating back to where it feels most comfortable back in Russia, and the province of Nicosia

    WG have shit loads of money from there corporations in Europe & Russia
    got nothing at all to do with saving money

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