Wizard with a Gun is, as the title makes clear, a top-down co-op roguelite featuring a wizard with a fever, which we described in our 80% review as "a lean roguelike with some rough edges but never feels like a waste of time."

"'Wizard with a Gun' is off to a strong start, but sales are not strong enough to sustain our studio," wrote Patrick Morgan, founder and president of Galvanic Games, on LinkedIn.

"Last year was a particularly tough year for gaming, and while we had many encouraging talks at DICE and GDC, the process of signing new projects, even in a good year, takes longer than the runway we have left."

Morgan stated.

Morgan said he is "incredibly proud" of "Wizard with a Gun" and that working with publisher Devolver Digital was "a dream come true." However, he added that it is bittersweet because the studio is gone, even though he "knows I accomplished everything I set out to do when I founded Galvanic."

"The irony of spending a decade building the ideal team only to have it end after your most productive year may never be forgotten," Morgan wrote.

"Bittersweet" is a much kinder way of putting it than I would, but it unfortunately epitomizes the state of the video game industry today: as indie developer Maisie Ó Dorchaidhe said in May, no matter the team, the game, the amount of blood, sweat, tears and overtime work There seems to be no safety or security in this business. [As Ó Dorchaidhe tweeted after Microsoft's decision to close Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks, each layoff or closure is different. While not as infuriating as successful studios being shut down by their corporate parents in the pursuit of "growth," it still reflects the fragility of the overall state of the business right now: with the exception of a very few live service products and a solo developer who caught lightning in a bottle, it's not a relief for anyone. It is not.

In February we delved deeply into the impact of the 16,000 gaming industry layoffs that occurred during 2023, a number that was, frankly, staggering. But 2024 looks to be even worse: June is not even half over, and already Behaviour Interactive and Sumo Group have been laid off, Timbre Games has shut down; in May, Avalanche Studios Group, Intercept Games, Phoenix Labs, and Square Enix either laid off or closed studios; Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog Games, and Roundhouse Games also closed in May.