Wayfinder dev Airship Syndicate lays off 16 employees

Airship Syndicate has cut 16 employees in its second round of layoffs this year. 12 full-time workers and four contractors were affected, following January's layoffs that saw 12 employees let go.

Co-founders Ryan Stefanelli and Joe Madureira attributed these new reductions to the "difficult challenges facing our industry." They further affirmed the pay cuts they took in January are still in effect, and that they've been self-funding the studio.

Airship Syndicate and Digital Extremes

In November 2023, Airship Syndicate ended its relationship with publisher Digital Extremes. The studio was given full rights to its free-to-play action MMO Wayfinder, which it self-delisted this past May to "make changes."

Those changes involved taking out the game's live-service elements and converting it into a single-player title with co-op. The revamped version is currently in Early Access.

Madureira and Stefanelli also said the 50-person Airship Syndicate team is "staying committed" to finishing Wayfinder's roadmap and "developing future projects." At time of writing, those other projects are unannounced.

"We extend our deepest gratitude to all of our employees," they concluded, "both past and present, for their hard work and dedication."