From Failure to Rebirth: The Turbulent Journey of Evercore Heroes

The games industry is notorious for its unpredictability, and past successes are no guarantee of future triumphs. This is a harsh reality that Travis George, CEO of Vela Games, has experienced firsthand over the past few years. George's career in the gaming industry began at Activision, but he later joined Riot Games as a game designer in 2008, coinciding with the rise of League of Legends. As the team lead for League, George had a deep understanding of the game's inner workings and its community. However, he eventually moved to Dublin with Riot to focus on corporate development, before deciding to establish his own studio, Vela Games, in 2018. The initial vision for Vela Games was to create a welcoming and friendly online game, but this dream was soon overshadowed by the harsh realities of the fast-paced and competitive gaming industry. George admits that the team had grand ambitions, aiming to develop the next big free-to-play multiplayer online game. This game, Evercore Heroes, launched into closed beta in June 2023 as a competitive PvE title, where four teams of four players worked together to complete objectives while defending their Evercore. The ultimate goal was to create a game that anyone could enjoy playing online, by reducing negative player behavior and adversarial mechanics, and eliminating barriers to entry. Unfortunately, the game failed to attract a sufficient audience, and the closed beta ended in August 2023, just two months after its launch. In hindsight, George acknowledges that the team may have been overly ambitious, and the perception that they were trying to compete with League of Legends may have been misleading. The truth was that Vela Games was attempting to innovate in the competitive PvE space, which proved to be a daunting task. The feedback from the beta was mixed, with some praising the game's technical aspects but criticizing its unclear gameplay loop. George believes that the team was trying to do too much at once and that they should have focused on a more straightforward approach. The funding landscape had also changed dramatically, making it difficult for the studio to secure the necessary funding to continue developing the game. As a result, Vela Games was forced to downsize and make significant redundancies, with around 80% of the team being let go. This was a difficult decision for George, but he felt it was necessary to ensure the studio's survival. The experience has been a valuable lesson for George, who now emphasizes the importance of starting small and growing gradually. The new version of the game, Evercore Heroes: Ascension, has been completely reimagined as a roguelite with procedurally generated missions, and it is set to launch into Steam Early Access. Although this new direction may not appeal to all fans of the original game, George is confident that it is the right path forward. He advises other developers to be cautious and to ensure that they have a game that players want before launching. The journey of Evercore Heroes serves as a reminder of the challenges and uncertainties of the gaming industry, but also of the importance of perseverance and adaptability in the face of adversity.