Ivy Road, the studio formed by talent behind games like The Stanley Parable, Gone Home, and Minecraft, is closing down.
The indie studio’s only release, Wanderstop, dropped this time last year and is currently sitting on an 80 Metacritic score, but “funding didn’t come to fruition” for its next game, Engine Angel, and the studio “had to shut down”.
“It’s hard to put into words how thankful we are to have been able to work together on Wanderstop – this is an incredible group of people! And while we had a new project, Engine Angel, that we were excited about, unfortunately the funding didn’t come to fruition and the studio had to shut down,” the team said.
“While we tried to shop the concept around and find a publishing partner, unfortunately we weren’t able to land a deal. It’s a particularly tough time for raising game funds, so while we weren’t necessarily surprised, we are disappointed that we won’t be able to bring Engine Angel to life together as a team. Liz’s concept is incredible, and we hope it may someday come to fruition!”
Looking ahead, the team has thoughtfully provided a Chapter Select cheat to help players of Wanderstop if they happen to get stuck in an area, but teased: “There’s still one last surprise brewing, one we’ve been working on for the last year to help find a way for Wanderstop to reach new players. The great folks at Annapurna Interactive will be sharing more news about this in the future, and we’re looking forward to you all seeing what it is.
“Making games is incredibly challenging work: it requires technical skills, emotional investment, financial investment, a whole lot of long hours, and a bit of luck and serendipitous timing thrown in,” the statement concluded.
“We are so proud that we got to create something together as a team that was ultimately experienced by hundreds of thousands of players: we hope that you’re inspired to create something of your own someday, whether art, music, writing, or even a video game of your own.”
We thought Wanderstop was “warm-hearted, funny, and never less than sincere,” hailing it “a pleasant place to while away the time, though less successful as a vehicle for mindfulness in itself”. We awarded it 3/5 stars in Eurogamer’s Wanderstop review.
It’s estimated that at least 3,000 developers have lost their jobs in the first three months of 2026 alone, and that at least 13 studios have been shut down. In 2025, roughly 5,300 people lost their jobs, on top of almost 15,000 in 2024.
