Virtual reality-focused developers Wimo Games have joined the ever-expanding list of studios to be hit by layoffs and closure in recent months, as the Battle Bows and Micro Machines: Mini Challenge Mayhem studio confirmed their closure last week.
Wimo emerged only a few years ago in 2021, going on to specialise largely in virtual reality titles with co-op archery wave-defence game Battle Bows and track-build-and-racer Micro Machines: Mini Challenge Mayhem. As well as their VR output, the studio created dice-chucking mobile RPG adventure RPG Dice: Heroes of Whitestone.
The studio was home to just shy of three dozen staff, who were confirmed to have been laid off when Wimo closed their doors last week.
“I can confirm that this week we began winding down operations at Wimo Games,” CEO Dave Rosen told RockPaperShotgun in a statement. “It’s been an incredible three years working with this fantastic team and this is not the outcome we had hoped for.
“We’re immensely proud of our work on RPG Dice: Heroes of Whitestone, Battle Bows, and most recently, Micro Machines: Mini Challenge Mayhem. We’re grateful to each and every player that bought the games our team poured so much of their hard work into.
“Our passionate and incredibly talented team members will be looking for new jobs and were provided severance to assist in the transition. If you have roles available, or if you’ve spotted any openings, please contact Wimo through LinkedIn or those individuals directly. We appreciate our players and the many organisations who have collaborated with us so much.”
Wimo’s closure continues the terrible trend set last year of industry-wide layoffs and closure, which saw thousands of people lose their jobs and veteran studios including Saints Row makers Volition and resurrected TimeSplitters creators Free Radical shuttered. This year started with hundreds of layoffs at streaming giant Twitch, with cuts at SteamWorld owners Thunderful, Dead by Daylight studio Behaviour Interactive and Lords of the Fallen developers Hexworks in the last week alone.
