Former coders claim long-time Mac developer closing its doors

(Updated with correction of Dominic Feira's employment status)Ambrosia Software, a long-time maker of Mac software stretching back to System 7, is not going out of business -- at least according to its founder and president, Andrew Welch. He took to Twitter to dispel accusations that the company was closing up shop, following tweets to that effect from former coders who announced on Wednesday they had been let go. The company, currently best known for its screen capture tool Snapz Pro X and ringtone maker iToner, confirmed the layoffs but said the company is not folding.

Welch tweeted on Thursday "To paraphrase Mr Clemens, the rumors of our demise have been greatly exaggerated. We are still in business, and supporting our products!" in response to the tweets of former employees Rudy Richter, Jon Gary and Jeremy Knope. All three said they were out of a job (and quickly deluged with job offers), but Richter (in a follow-up tweet) said that Ambrosia had "closed up shop." Richter is also well-known for his development work on Growl.

Ambrosia is fondly remembered by Mac gamers and bloggers for its long-running Snapz Pro as well as a string of hit games in the OS 9 era, including its original game hit Maelstrom, Caterpillar clone Aperion, Mars Rising, Swoop, Escape Velocity and Ferazel's Wand. In the OS X era, the company has had hits with games such as pop-pop, Deimos Rising (a sequel to Mars Rising), Darwinia and EV Nova, the third instalment of the Escape Velocity series, along with its Wiretap Studio audio-capture application. Ambrosia also makes a variety of iOS software, mostly simple games such as solitaire and sudoku variations.

They layoffs could signal a refocusing for the company, or perhaps are a simple economic move. The laid-off coders are still listed on the company's staff page, and lead programmer Dominic Fiera is apparently still working for the company. Work on the Wiretap line of products is still ongoing, and the company's web page gives no indication of any closure or significant changes. Welch has not indicated any new plans or changes for the company as of yet.

Update: MacNN has been told that lead developer Dominic Feira was also laid off at the same time as the other programmers were laid off.

by MacNN Staff