Wargaming reportedly closes Seattle studio
Formerly Gas Powered Games, the studio employed around 150 people
According to reports on Twitter from multiple past and recent members of Wargaming Seattle, the studio is shutting down, affecting approximately 150 jobs.
Gamasutra corroborated the stories, reporting that Wargaming chief Victor Kislyi announced the shutdown yesterday morning.
This is the second Wargaming studio to shutter in recent years. The Seattle WG Cells division was closed in 2015, less than a year after it was opened.
Wargaming Seattle was formerly known as Gas Powered Games, a studio that first opened doors way back in 1998. It's best known for games such as the Dungeon Siege and Supreme Commander series. It also worked on Age of Empire Online for two years before ending its involvement as the studio struggled.
In 2013, the studio began a Kickstarter campaign for a game called Wildman. The project was canceled before the Kickstarter completed, and a few days later, Wargaming purchased Gas Powered Games and renamed it to Wargaming Seattle. It is unknown which Wargaming projects the Seattle were studio were a part of.
Update: Wargaming has delivered the following statement to Kotaku confirming the shut down:
"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."