Indie Publisher Versus Evil Is Shutting Down, Entire Staff Laid Off

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Versus Evil, the indie publisher perhaps best known for games like Stoic’s The Banner Saga trilogy and Obsidian Entertainment’s Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, is shutting down, with former employees saying parent company tinyBuild has laid off the entire team.

“Today is a sad day. After 10 wonderful years, Versus Evil is shutting its doors,” Versus Evil’s official X/Twitter account shared. “We’ve loved bringing you the best indie games we could find & sharing so many happy memories with you all, our amazing community! From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU for everything! “

Today is a sad day. After 10 wonderful years, Versus Evil is shutting its doors. We’ve loved bringing you the best indie games we could find & sharing so many happy memories with you all, our amazing community! From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU for everything! ♥️

— Versus Evil 🛡️ (@vs_evil) December 22, 2023

Versus Evil shared the news after a number of former employees posted on social media about being laid off.

“Entire 13 person company, Versus Evil, laid off today December 22 at the start our Christmas break,” Versus Evil director of product strategy Francis Fincke wrote in a LinkedIn post on Friday.

“Welp. That was a fun 10 year ride,” wrote head of production Lance James on X/Twitter. “The entire Versus Evil team has just been laid off.”

Welp. That was a fun 10 year ride. The entire Versus Evil team has just been laid off.

— Lance James (@Myll_Erik) December 22, 2023

James added that it “wasn’t a Versus Evil decision or choice,” with community manager Chris Trippi also writing on X/Twitter that it was a tinyBuild call.

“Unfortunately our parent company has made the decision to lay off the entire team here at Versus Evil,” Trippi wrote.

Unfortunately our parent company has made the decision to lay off the entire team here at Versus Evil.

So if anyone knows any open roles for Community Management, or assistant/associate Producer roles, I’d be happy to send my resume over.

DMs open in the mean time~

— Chris 🤠 (@LetsGetTrippi) December 22, 2023

After being at Versus Evil for almost 3 years as a Community Manager – the company has been closed with all staff laid off.

Effectively immediately I am looking for a new Community Manager role. Any assistance with this is extremely appreciated.

— Rezza ✨ (@RezzananceTV) December 22, 2023

tinybuild just laid off myself and the entire Versus Evil team.

💔

— Lauren is hibernating 💤 (@CupOfLaure) December 22, 2023

IGN has reached to tinyBuild, which acquired Versus Evil and its QA studio Red Cerberus two years ago, for comment.

The news comes not only just before the holidays, but one day after Atari announced a $2 million investment into tinyBuild. tinyBuild said earlier this month that it would be cutting jobs after an “incredibly challenging year,” as reported by Game Developer.

Unfortunately, Versus Evil is not the first casualty of tinyBuild’s cost-cutting. On December 5, former employees of tinyBuild-owned developer Hakjak Studios said it had been shut down.

Versus Evil was founded in 2013 by former ZeniMax Online Studios marketing director Steve Escalante, who announced just a couple of weeks ago that he would be leaving Versus Evil and Red Cerberus. The publisher is also known for titles like UnMetal, First Class Trouble, and Stray Souls.

The news comes after an incredibly difficult year in gaming industry layoffs, with major cuts at companies like Embracer, Epic Games, EA, and much more.

Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.