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.
As always, if you or someone you know was affected by this event you can contact Gamasutra to tell your story in confidence.
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.”