Developer Ivy Highway, maker of final 12 months’s cozy tea store journey Wanderstop, is shutting down, the studio introduced immediately.
Calling the announcement “bittersweet,” the developer mentioned that its doorways shall be closing as of March 31. “It’s exhausting to place into phrases how grateful we’re to have been capable of work collectively on Wanderstop—that is an unimaginable group of individuals!”
Wanderstop (this is our 84% evaluation) was Ivy Highway’s first and now solely sport, representing a collaboration between the artistic voices of a number of celebrated creators: it was written by Davey Wrenden of The Stanley Parable and Karla Zimonja of Tacoma, and featured music composed by C418 of Minecraft.
The closure of Ivy Highway follows layoffs of a number of members of the crew in late January after the studio didn’t safe funding for a brand new mission known as Engine Angel.
“Whereas we tried to buy the idea round and discover a publishing accomplice, sadly we weren’t capable of land a deal,” Ivy Highway mentioned. “It is a notably robust time for elevating sport funds, so whereas we weren’t essentially stunned, we’re upset that we cannot be capable of convey Engine Angel to life collectively as a crew.”
You may see a little bit of Engine Angel, which was created by animator Liz Caingcoy, on this Bluesky thread.
Wanderstop will stay on the market on the platforms it is out there on, and there could also be some information to return: “There’s nonetheless one final shock brewing, one we have been engaged on for the final 12 months to assist discover a approach for Wanderstop to achieve new gamers,” Ivy Highway mentioned. “The good of us at Annapurna Interactive shall be sharing extra information about this sooner or later, and we’re trying ahead to you all seeing what it’s!”
“We’re so proud that we bought to create one thing collectively as a crew that was finally skilled by lots of of hundreds of gamers,” Ivy Highway mentioned. “We hope that you simply’re impressed to create one thing of your individual sometime, whether or not artwork, music, writing, or perhaps a online game of your individual.”
