Unfortunately, the rough year of 2023 for the games industry continues. Indie Publisher Versus Evilannounced on Twittertoday that parent company TinyBuild has shut down the company and laid off all the staff. Head of Production Lance Jamesconfirmed the closure on Twitteras well.
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! ♥️
“Welp. That was a fun 10 year ride. The entire Versus Evil team has just been laid off. Let me be clear – this wasn’t a Versus Evil decision or choice.”
Legal issues between the two companies recently ended
According toGamesIndustry.biz, earlier this month TinyBuild announced that it had settled a legal dispute with Versus Evil’s former owner Stall Proof LLC. General Manager Steve Escalante and Head of Production Lance James were also involved in the legal dispute. In the end, TinyBuild paid $3.5 million and legal costs to settle the dispute, and Escalante left the company shortly after.
Over a decade of publishing
Versus Evil was founded in 2013 by Steve Escalante, who served as Marketing Director at ZeniMax Online Studios prior to doing so. In 2021 TinyBuild acquired the company as well as its QA Studio Red Cerberus. Over the last decade, Versus Evil has published very popular titles includingThe Banner Sagafrom developer Stoic and Obsidian Entertainment’sPillars of Eternity II: Deadfire.
It’s beenas rough a year as I can remember for the games industry. This one feels extra cruel as we’re just a couple of days away from Christmas and a little over a week from the new year.
We reached out to TinyBuild for comment but have not yet received a response.
