Wargaming Seattle, the company best known for the World of Tanks series, is shutting down due to moves made by parent company, and international game developer, Wargaming.net.
Originally known as Gas Powered Games, the Redmond-based game studio will be shutting down, effectively leaving a reported 150 employees without a job. Efforts are currently being made in recruiting and employing current workers before the closure, thanks in part to the hashtag #WGJobs. The announcement of the closure is the latest company to suddenly shut down, with big names such as Disney Bellevue game studios, Runic Games amongst others shutting down in recent memory. An official statement has been released from Wargaming regarding the sudden announcement of the closure:
“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.”
Wargaming was founded in 1998 when it was still called Gas Powered Games, founded by Chris Taylor, best known for the Total Annihilation series. The game was acquired by Wargaming in 2013, after Gas Powered Games failed to meet a Kickstarter goal the year prior. The company found success with the power online multiplayer title, World of Tanks.
Chris Taylor, who in 2016 opened his own independent studio commented on the sad news on Twitter.
Sad to hear that Wargaming Seattle is closing. So many amazing and talented people in that studio. I want to wish them all the best and know in my heart they will soon embark on their next great adventure!
— Chris Taylor (@DeathBot9) May 24, 2018
World of Tanks is available for free on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. It remains to be seen what effect if any this shutdown will have on World of Tanks franchise as a whole.
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