The end of Wargaming Seattle AKA Gas Powered Games

[Infinitron]

Not with a bang, but a whimper.



https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/318724/Wargaming_Seattle_is_shutting_down.php

Wargaming Seattle is shutting down

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. Gamasutra has reached out to Wargaming for confirmation and an explanation, but has yet to hear back.

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.

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/05/24/wargaming-seattle-aka-gas-powered-games-to-close/

Wargaming Seattle, aka Gas Powered Games, to close

Wargaming, the folks behind free-to-play mega-hit World Of Tanks, have confirmed that they are closing the Seattle studio formerly known as Gas Powered Games. Y’know, Gas Powered, the Supreme Commander and Dungeon Siege lot. 150 people had been working at Wargaming Seattle on an unannounced MMO, the company said, but the studio is closing as Wargaming restructures.

Wargaming bought Gas Powered in 2013, a time when the Redmond-based studio (I guess Seattle is more glamorous for a name) seemed to be on the verge of closing.

Gamasutra yesterday reported on rumours that the studio was to close, hearing from a former employee, and Wargaming have since confirmed it.

“Wargaming will be closing their Redmond development studio as part of the company’s restructuring process,” they told us in a statement today. “Every member of the 150-strong team that has been working on an unannounced MMO project will be offered a severance package.”

They say they’ll help people apply for other positions elsewhere in Wargaming, if they want, and add that “We would like to express our gratitude and thank everyone on the team for their hard work.”

Wargaming don’t say much more about their decision to close the studio.

Wargaming have another eighteen (!) offices scattered around the world, mind, so this is far from the end of them.

 

[Major_Blackhart]

Was anything of value really lost?

 

[Hellraiser]

Poor GPG, SupCom:FA is still one of the greatest games of all time. Of course they fucked up the classical way, they made a sequel to a good game that cut out a lot of what made the original game good, thinking that doing a console version was a smart move.

Console development is fool's gold, it is extra expenses directly, increases project complexity (and expenses again), only to try to appeal to a market of mostly drooling morons that will ignore anything of value anyway. The core market would buy it on PC anyway. Of course indie devs without a clue try to port their forever in EA while still in EA, because the Unity export license whatever is just a bit more dollars extra, thinking they will get a quick buck to fund more of the development when all they get is additional financial ballast and having to deal with retarded console certification rules.

 

[Gerrard]

Supreme Commander came out 11 years ago.

 

[Mustawd]

Guys they’re just closing down one location. They still have like 18 other locations worldwide.

Only the Seattle office was closed.

 

[80Maxwell08]

Guys they’re just closing down one location. They still have like 18 other locations worldwide.

Only the Seattle office was closed.

We know Wargaming is still around. This is about the branch that used to be Gas Powered Games closing down. Hence the lack of any real reaction.

 

[Mustawd]

Man. Failed my reading comprehension check.

 

[Endemic]

Supreme Commander came out 11 years ago.

Aside from Demigod being an expensive failure, GPG were working on about 3 other titles that didn't pan out. Knights & Castles was to be the TA: Kingdoms to Supcom's TA, for example.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Chris Taylor was a one-trick pony anyways. What else was there besides Total Annihilation that made a mark?

Oh wait...

Spoiler

Dungeon Siege!

 

[Infinitron]

Old sea post from the days of the doomed Wildman Kickstarter:

Gas Powered Games made some good stuff in the past but after they lost Dungeon Siege, I think their decline was inevitable. They are decent developers but the games they have made have suffered from a lack of, to be totally honest, good branding. Nobody gave a shit about Demigod, Supreme Commander etc. not because they were bad games (they weren't), but because they weren't promoted enough to achieve success, and had no compelling story/characters/presentation to suck wide audiences in. Yeah, there are a bunch of nerds out there who know what Total Annihilation is, but that pedigree means nothing to most people.

Strategy games do sell, however, you need to either be Blizzard (StarCraft/Warcraft) or have some sort of gimmick (Company of Heroes has graphics that look like a first-person shooter! Total War has huge historic armies!) or some other big IP to back you (Warhammer). That, or you make niche games for small audiences on a low budget (Paradox). Maybe that wasn't obvious at the time but GPG had none of that (and they killed what loyalty they gained with SupCom when they released SupCom 2).

I can honestly say that Gas Powered Games should have just sucked it up and started making licensed titles. If they came out with a Lord of the Rings/Batman/LEGO/whatever the fuck game, at least they wouldn't have to resort to... this really sad, pathetic thing they're doing.