Wavedash lays off the majority of its staff
UPDATE: Studio says loss of investor support prompted layoffs, offers to introduce hiring developers to former staff
ORIGINAL STORY 8/10/2018: California-based studio Wavedash has revealed significant layoffs, with most of its workforce dismissed.
The redundancies where announced via a blog post, stating that "the majority of its development team" had been cut on Friday. However, work will continue on Icons: Combat Arena, the studio's Smash Bros-like brawler.
The blog post actually indicates the studio "[knew] this day was approaching" and has been working on a definitive version of the game that can remain live with a smaller team behind it. It also reflects on the original ambition of the studio, and notes that "we have fallen short of our goals."
Gamasutra reports that those laid off had less than two weeks notice, and received no severance pay. Approximately 25 people have reportedly been affected, with only five remaining.
In a message to those laid off, the studio wrote: "We are so fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with you. We're committed to doing everything we can to help as you look to new endeavours."
Wavedash is the latest in a spate of developers that have suffered layoffs or closure. Most notably, 250 jobs were lost when Telltale dismissed the majority of its staff, with further redundancies made last week.
In the wake of this, and closures at Capcom Vancouver and Carbine Studios, the IGDA has started a virtual mentor café to help connect those affected with support and potential new employers.
UPDATE: Wavedash's co-founder and CEO Matt Fairchild and general manager Jason Rice have issued a joint statement to GamesIndustry.biz offering more information on what led to these layoffs and appealing for help re-employing its former staff.
It reads: ""There are inherent risks when you are a start-up indie studio, and upon learning that we would no longer have investment support, we notified the team as soon as we knew this was happening. We are doing everything we can to help affected team members find new roles in the industry. This includes providing job-seeking advisement, referrals, recommendations, and direct outreach to partners.
"We had an amazing team of designers, programmers, artists, engineers and marketers and we strongly encourage anyone looking for top talent to contact us at: matt@wavedash.com and we will share appropriate resumes and make introductions."