After putting its entire staff on redundancy notice, Wreckreation studio Three Fields turns to Patreon for help
“The reality we now face is stark”, the studio’s CEO says
Three Fields Entertainment, the studio founded by former Criterion Games leads, is asking players to fund it through Patreon to ensure its future survival.
Three Fields was founded in 2014 by Fiona Sperry (former Criterion Games studio director) and Alex Ward (director of the Burnout series).
The studio had previously released six games – Dangerous Golf, Lethal VR, Danger Zone, Danger Zone 2, Dangerous Driving – and its sixth game, Wreckreation, was released in October.
However, in a LinkedIn post last week, Sperry announced that Three Fields’ entire staff had been placed on notice of redundancy.
“The reality we now face is stark,” she wrote. “As an independent studio, we will not see revenue from game sales for the foreseeable future. We have had to self-fund most of this year and all of the post launch content.
“Without the enthusiasm or financial support from our publisher [THQ Nordic] to continue development, we simply cannot sustain the studio in its current form. Making this decision has been unbelievably painful.”
Now, the company has launched a Patreon page in the hope that players will support the studio and help to keep it alive.
“Without this support we literally cannot continue,” the studio’s Patreon page reads. “Patreon gives us the ability to produce more frequent updates, try new ideas, bring more content to life and interact more closely with the community.”
It adds: “Your support, whether $2 or $50, helps us keep the lights on, build the world of Wreckreation, and take creative risks that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.”
“To everyone who has supported us, played our games, or believed in our studio – thank you,” Sperry added on LinkedIn. “Your support has meant the world.
“We will, again at our own cost, ensure the next update that includes a Crossplay feature does get published before Christmas and we hope you and your friends can enjoy the world that we have built together, whichever platform you play on.”
