Beast Breaker devs are closing due to lack of funding, along with their historic workers union Rock Paper Shotgun Support us Join our newsletter Visit our store Sign in / Create account If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Beast Breaker devs are closing due to lack of funding, along with their historic workers union Vodeo Games had the first officially recognised game studio union in North America News by CJ Wheeler News Reporter Published on Sept. 8, 2022 13 comments Vodeo Games, the first game development studio in North America to unionise, are shutting down. The team behind turn-based RPG Beast Breaker announced their closure on Twitter, after being unable to find financial backers for another project. Beast Breaker wasn't a game I was familiar with but its little mouse protagonist looks charming, as you can see in the trailer below. Beast Breaker is an RPG starring a bouncy mouse. "The story is unfortunately a familiar one for small studios," Vodeo Games said. "Despite a year of avid efforts, we've been unable to secure funding for our next project from publishers and investors. As such, we've run out of funds and aren't able to keep the team together - and there is simply no Vodeo without our incredible team. "Our final efforts are going toward a Steam release for Beast Breaker. We hope that it will bring our creation to many new players, and continue to support our team even as we all go our separate ways." Beast Breaker was Vodeo Games' first and last project, released on PC and Nintendo Switch in September 2021. The studio had only been founded that year. They were set up by Asher Vollmer, designer of the compulsive mobile hit Threes. Although numbering just 14 staff, Vodeo Games made history when they became the first studio in North America to unionise in December last year by organising through CODE-CWA, the Communication Workers Of America's Campaign To Organize Digital Employees. The resulting union, Vodeo Workers United, said they were sad that the studio was closing down. "We learned a lot & will continue fighting for workers' representation moving forward by helping others & sharing our knowledge," VWU tweeted. The union had been in the process of collective bargaining with Vodeo but hadn't reached an agreement before it became obvious that the studio would close. Unlike other unions trying to form in the industry, the VWU was set up without being prompted by accusations of discrimination and poor working conditions. You can check out Beast Breaker on the Epic Games Store, where it's £12/$14/€14. Vodeo Games are still aiming to bring the game to Steam before they close their doors. More News Jack King-Spooner's next handcrafted game has a teaser demo out Judero brings chat and action in the Scottish Borders Alice O'Connor 17 hours ago 1 If you were hoping for any Overwatch 2 balance changes then you'll have to wait until season two The next season begins in December CJ Wheeler 18 hours ago 3 The Dead Space remake will chuck random Necromorphs at you as you wander the Ishimura In space, no one can hear you proper bricking it CJ Wheeler 18 hours ago 8 Valve register mysterious new Neon Prime trademark in the US It doesn’t seem to be for a particularly colourful Steam Deck CJ Wheeler 20 hours ago 11 Latest Articles What are we all playing this weekend? Well? Alice O'Connor an hour ago 21 Past Wordle answers Here's an archive of previous Wordle words Ollie Toms 2 hours ago 1 Wordle answer today (Saturday 15 October) Hints and the answer to today's Wordle word Rebecca Jones 9 hours ago Overwatch 2 hero tier list Which are the best heroes in Overwatch 2? Ollie Toms 16 hours ago Supporters Only You're probably better than me at One Many Nobody You go on without… uh, you? Sin Vega 17 hours ago Supporter podcast - The Nate Files episode 13: dry bones Bad science is also FUN science! Alice Bell 18 hours ago Japanese dating show Love Wagon has surprising parallels with Yakuza and Persona My new obsession Ed Thorn 2 days ago If you're hankering after Bayonetta 3, Valkyrie Elysium might be a good substitute It's not out on PC until next month, but the console demo has been a surprise charmer Katharine Castle 1 week ago 4 We've been talking, and we think that you should wear clothes Total coincidence, but we sell some clothes Buy RPS stuff here