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. Travis George, CEO of Vela Games, has experienced this 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, where he worked on League of Legends. He eventually moved to Dublin to focus on corporate development, but in 2018, he decided to found his own studio, Vela Games, along with colleagues Lisa Newon George and Brian Kaiser. The initial goal was to create a welcoming online game, but the harsh reality of the industry soon took its toll. Evercore Heroes, the studio's flagship game, launched into closed beta in June 2023 but failed to attract a sufficient audience, leading to its eventual demise. George reflects on the experience, acknowledging that the team had big ambitions but ultimately fell short. The game's concept was to create a competitive PvE title that addressed some of the negative aspects of League of Legends, such as toxic player behavior and adversarial game mechanics. However, the execution was flawed, and the game failed to gain traction. In hindsight, George recognizes that the original concept was too complicated, leading to barriers to entry for new players. The funding landscape also played a significant role in the game's demise, as the COVID-19 pandemic led to an explosion of venture capital investments, which later burst, leaving Vela Games without the necessary funding to continue development. The studio was forced to downsize, and around 80% of employees were made redundant. George describes the experience as 'gutting' and acknowledges that it was one of the toughest decisions he has ever had to make. However, the team has since regrouped and is now working on a reimagined version of the game, Evercore Heroes: Ascension, which launches into Steam Early Access. The new game takes a different approach, with procedurally generated missions and a focus on cooperative play. George's advice to other developers is to start small, be patient, and ensure that their game is great before releasing it. He cautions against rushing into launch and emphasizes the importance of finding an audience and building towards it. George's experience serves as a reminder of the challenges and unpredictability of the games industry, but also highlights the importance of perseverance and learning from failure.