Vodeo Games made headlines last fall, as it became the first officially recognized video game union in North America. It was founded by Ash Vollmer, known for designing the hit mobile game Threes. Now, the fully remote studio, consisting of about 13 full-time employees and a handful of contractors, will sadly be shutting down.
The studio made the announcement on Twitter. “We have some sad news to share: there will be no new Vodeo Games,” the message reads. “The story is unfortunately a familiar one for small studios.” The statement goes on to explain the reason for the studio shutdown: Vodeo has been unable to secure funding for its next project. Without that, it cannot continue. It’s not exactly a happy ending for a studio whose story includes a high note of unionization.
Before shuttering for good, Vodeo Games will be working on a Steam release for its sole game, Beast Breaker. Currently available on Nintendo Switch and PC via the Epic Games Store, Beast Breaker is a turn-based game in which you break apart large, mosaic-like enemies using a variety of weapons. Steam players will be able to get their hands on it soon enough, and it ought to make for a good Steam Deck experience when the time comes. “We hope that [the Steam release] will bring our creation to many new players and continue to support our team as we all go our separate ways,” Vodeo Games’ statement concludes.
Vodeo Games was the first studio to unionize, but this news is sometimes confused with Call of Duty studio Raven Software. In May 2022, Raven became the first major video game union on the triple-A level, after a long-fought battle with parent company Activision Blizzard. The company and its subsidiaries are of course in the process of being acquired by Xbox for nearly $70 billion, but Microsoft pledged that this purchase would not affect unionization efforts on its end.
