Something Wicked Games laid off the majority of its staff in April 2024 as funding ran dry.
The first game from the studio, Wyrdsong, was originally planned to be a AAA open-world game, however, that has now been scaled back to have a map with zones. He cited Avowed as an example.
Studio co-founder Jeff Gardiner told PC Gamer that co-founder Charles Staples and Starfield lead quest designer Will Shen have left the company.
“We were making a big open-world RPG,” said Gardiner. “The way I have learned to do them requires a lot of people to do that, which means a lot of money that was not forthcoming in the industry.”
Gardiner said they are pushing forward with a “skeleton crew,” but admits the future looks “very tough.”
“We’re down to a skeleton crew, and I am continuing to work hard to try to find further investment or publishing offers for the game,” he said. “I’m hoping to sometime this year, but we’re just trying to hang on to ride out the storm, which a lot of people thought was going to be over in 2025 and I do not see that reality at all currently. Right now, it’s very tough.”
A life-long and avid gamer, William D’Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Bluesky.
Full Article – https://www.vgchartz.com/article/464186/wyrdsong-has-shrunk-in-scope-following-layoffs-no-longer-open-world/