Artifact co-developer Richard Garfield is part of Valve’s team of staff cuts

In February, Valve fired 13 employees along with several contract workers. “This is a pity for the business, but it has not had a major impact on the company,” Valve said.

Artifact fan blog Artifact contacted Richard Garfield – co-developer of the contract game Artifact – to find out if he was among those fired. Garfield answered and explained that both the design team of 3 Donkeys – he and Skaff Elias, former president of Wizrds of the Coast – were no longer under contract at Valve.

“We were not surprised to be laid off due to the game’s lack of success. The team was passionate about the game and confident that they had a good product, but it became clearer to know it wasn’t what we wanted. Retirement has many causes. For example, now that the game is out, time has become more important, ideas no longer help much in quick decision making. Another is that the experience that 3 donkeys bring doesn’t carry much weight after Valve has been listening to us for over 4 years.”

However, Garfield remains optimistic about the future of Artifact. “Both Skaff and I remain optimistic about the quality of the game and offer feedback and advice because we want to see the game perform well. We love working with Valve, and I’m really impressed by their focus on the quality of the game and the experience it gives players.”

Meanwhile, Artifact’s player base has been steadily decreasing since the game’s launch. Let’s wait and see how Valve will turn the situation around.