Seattle’s Threshold Games, a remote-first independent game developer, has shut down due to “extenuating circumstances.” The announcement was made via Threshold’s LinkedIn page on Feb. 9.
The 12-person company was founded in 2019 by Jessica Bean and June Saphry, and billed itself as an “indie, queer-led studio” that made games “that tell diverse stories set in helpful, defiant futures.” It included developers from Riot Games, Warner Bros. Games, and Bellevue, Wash.-based Sucker Punch.
GeekWire has reached out to the studio for comment. Threshold’s official X account has posted a thread that lists all the affected employees, in an attempt to get them new jobs as expediently as possible.
Threshold was headquartered in Seattle, but had members in Austin, Toronto, New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, and Florida.
Producer Astra Ebonwing described the circumstances on her own LinkedIn as a “very sudden and very unexpected turn of events.”
Threshold had previously planned to unveil its debut project at some point in March, according to Ebonwing. No details have been released regarding its now-canceled project.
Threshold Games is one of several indie game studios that have shut down in 2024, which has come alongside a flood of layoffs at larger companies. Other closures this year include Threaks (Battle Planet), Little Red Dog Games (Rogue State Revolution), and game recruitment agency One Player Mission.
Analysts credit the current state of the international games industry to high interest rates, lower outside investment, and market saturation following a boom period of 2021-2023.
