Ashes of Creation and Wildgate studios confirm layoffs, with different outlooks

Intrepid Studios (Ashes of Creation) and Moonshot Games (Wildgate) have both confirmed layoffs this week, following online chatter and reports from affected staff.

In Intrepid’s case, studio head Steven Sharif said the cuts were limited, affecting about nine people, and described them as “targeted team adjustments.” Sharif posted the statement on Reddit here. He also said the move wasn’t a large-scale layoff and “not a reflection of the health or future of Ashes of Creation,” adding that development is continuing.

Discussion around potential layoffs picked up after players noticed LinkedIn comments and support posts, and then began speculating about whether Ashes of Creation’s Steam Early Access performance had fallen short.

Moonshot Games’ situation sounds more financially driven. Dreamhaven, which owns Moonshot, told Game Developer that Wildgate saw a bump in attention and player numbers recently, but it still wasn’t enough to support the studio’s team size. Dreamhaven did not share how many people were affected.

Wildgate has continued to get updates, including changes based on feedback, and it recently appeared on the Epic Games Store with a limited-time free offer tied to its debut there. Dreamhaven says Moonshot still plans to ship the game’s next content update later this quarter, with more quality-of-life changes and a community-requested progression system.