Valve doesn't release first-party projects very often but, when it does, a big splash is anticipated. Such was the anticipation for Artifact, a digital card game based on DOTA 2 and designed by Richard Garfield, the creator of Magic: The Gathering. Sadly, the future doesn't look bright for the game. Richard Garfield was among the 13 employees laid off at Valve last week.

Richard Garfield and Skaff Elias, the former vice president of Magic: The Gathering publisher Wizards of the Coast, are both no longer under contract with Valve, PC Gamer reports.

"We weren't surprised by the layoff considering how rocky the launch was," Garfield told Artibuff, the Artifact-focused publication that reached out to him about the layoffs. "The team was enthusiastic about the game and we're confident that they had a good product but it became clear it wasn't going to be easy to get the game to where we wanted it. The layoff makes sense for a number of reasons. To name a couple; now that the game is out there time is more critical, so more voices within the team that you have to navigate may not be as good as making less considered decisions faster. Another - the expertise that 3 donkeys brought is less critical after listening to us for 4+ years."

Garfield seems to imply that Valve hasn't given up on Artifact and that the continued development could benefit from not having more dividing voices on staff. He outright states that his and Elias' expertise is no longer needed, but it will be interesting still to see how Valve proceeds from this point forward. Artifact has a "Mixed" rating overall with 445 recent reviews leaning "Mostly Negative," so it will be an uphill battle. You can read our full Artifact review to see what we thought of "MOBA of card games."

Artifact is available now on Steam. If you're wanting to give the game a shot, remaining hopeful that Valve can turn it around, check out our 5 tips for Artifact beginners guide. Stay tuned to Shacknews for additional gaming and tech updates.