Warframe publisher Digital Extremes has announced a round of layoffs that include cutting ties with Wayfinder.
In announcements last night it seems that the studio behind Warframe has joined the bandwagon of cutbacks and layoffs. The news is particularly painful for developer Airship Syndicate and their Early Access MMO Wayfinder. Warframe confirmed that it was shutting down its publishing arm and divesting from Wayfinder as it ceased operations of its external projects division.
It is general rumored this means around 20 layoffs at Digital Extremes and a pivot back towards internal projects. His comes not long after Warframe creative director Steve Sinclair stepped in as the new CEO in October. This means that despite some very positive words during my time with the devs at Gamescom 2023, we won’t be seeing the two studios together again. Instead, the Austin development studio looks like it is going it alone.
We thank Digital Extremes for helping jumpstart Wayfinder and getting us to this point in our journey.
Airship Syndicate owns the Wayfinder IP, and we have no plans to stop developing the game now. We look forward to continuing to grow the game alongside our players as we take…
— Wayfinder (@playwayfinder) November 10, 2023
In response to the new Airship pushed out a message on social media, confirming that they will be able to continue working on Wayfinder. The developers still retain the IP and that means they should be able to bring it to launch. That’s some positive words from a team that has focused on clear and honest communication since servers got swamped at the start of Early Access.
While this isn’t great for the Wayfinder team and Early Access players, the core of Wayfinders is already rolling out. The game is essentially functional, and in a state to bring in revenue. Early Access is already pushing out updates like Call of the Void and Reaver King, with new quests, characters, and loot. Thanks to the current state of the title and the way it leans into instanced content, I’m sure that we’ve got more tales from the Gloom to come yet. Check out more about Wayfinder over on the official website now.
