A dramatically overhauled Wayfinder is now in early access on Steam, but is still struggling to find players.
Three months after bringing the action RPG Wayfinder back to Steam, developer Airship Syndicate has laid off 16 more employees but says it remains “committed to delivering the Wayfinder roadmap.”
“In light of the difficult challenges facing our industry, we’ve had to make the tough decision to let go of some incredibly talented Airship team members, including 12 full-time employees and four contractors,” CEO Joe Madureira and president Ryan Stefanelli said in a joint message posted on LinkedIn (via Game Developer).
“Earlier this year during a studio restructuring we both took pay cuts that are still in place today. In addition, we are both contributing personal funds to help Airship continue operating with our remaining staff.”
Wayfinder looked promising but struggled with server woes when it launched in August 2023, and ran into further trouble when original publisher Digital Extremes axed its publishing division a few months later. That led to a first round of layoffs in January 2024 and the pay cuts referenced in today’s message, and in April of this year sales were halted so developers could focus on a major rework of the game.
That rework was delivered in June in the Echoes update, a major overhaul that shifted Wayfinder from a free-to-play online game to a conventionally-priced singleplayer game with support for three-player co-op but no online requirements.
The transition saw bumps in player counts in June, when the Echoes update went live, and then again following another big update on September 9. But the raw numbers weren’t great—the concurrent player peak after the Echoes update was just 1,858—and the spikes didn’t endure, tumbling back to low triple-digits after both updates. Wayfinder is also available on the PlayStation Store and so those Steam numbers aren’t the full picture, but neither are they very encouraging.
It’s never a good sign when company executives are dipping into their own bank accounts to keep the lights on, but despite the trouble Madureira and Stefanelli said Airship Syndicate will persevere.
“Our team of 50 will stay committed to delivering the Wayfinder roadmap and developing future projects,” they wrote. “We extend our deepest gratitude to all of our employees, both past and present, for their hard work and dedication.”
One thing that may boost Wayfinder’s fortunes is the upcoming launch of crossplay, which Airship Syndicate recently announced will be available when Wayfinder comes out of early access on October 21. Cross-save and cross-progression will not be supported, because Wayfinder saves are no longer saved online, but players will be able to join lobbies and play together regardless of their platform.
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