WayForward Technologies was founded in 1990 by Voldi Way as an independent video game design company, following on from a previous company he started that specialized in software for sheet metal fabrication. Early on, the company focused on producing software for the
Super NES,
Genesis,
Game Gear and
Game Boy Color. They branched out into educational games for the
personal computer and
Leapster. The partnership was successful, with the company winning awards for innovation at the 1995
Consumer Electronics Show. During this time, WayForward focused on licensed assets such as the
Muppets for their educational games. WayForward restarted their video game development business in April 1997, working as a "developer for hire" by providing services to software publishers. In 2006, the company produced and released
Justice League Heroes: The Flash just as the
Game Boy Advance was reaching the end of its commercial life cycle, which met with mixed reviews. WayForward has gone on to develop further titles for the Nintendo DS.
Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck, based on the 1951
Warner Bros. cartoon
Duck Amuck received mixed reviews upon release. On February 19, 2008, John Beck and Matt Bozon were speakers at the Independent Games Summit, part of the 2008
Game Developers Conference, discussing a range of issues facing independent games companies.
Lit was announced on March 5, 2008, and was released on February 9, 2009, for the
WiiWare online shop platform. A new game in the
Shantae series was considered for the platform. WayForward introduced a new character named Alta, who is a pink-haired girl that wields a scepter. She represented a new intellectual property. This was revealed on March 9, 2009, to be a DSiWare game called
Mighty Flip Champs!. WayForward created
Mighty Milky Way, another puzzle platformer with a new character named Luna. Its sequel,
Mighty Switch Force!, was released on the 3DS eShop on December 22, 2011, with a sequel two years later called
Mighty Switch Force! 2 on the
Nintendo 3DS' eShop. ''
Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?! was released on November 20, 2012. A sequel, Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know!, as well as Regular Show: Mordecai and Rigby in 8-Bit Land, were released in 2013. A sequel to Mighty Switch Force! was released on June 13, 2013. A new Shantae
game was revealed via Nintendo Power
, Shantae and the Pirate's Curse, which was released on October 23, 2014, on the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShop. Another game in the series, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero'', was
crowdfunded via
Kickstarter and released in December 2016. On
April Fool's Day 2013, Wayforward made a fake announcement for a game called
Cat Girl Without Salad! Fans responded positively to the game's concept, leading WayForward to later develop it into a full title, which was released via a
Humble Bundle in June 2016. In May 2017, Wayforward published the
PlayStation 4 and
Xbox One ports of Last Dimension's
Mystik Belle. In August 2025, WayForward announced a collaboration with
ModRetro, a manufacturer of
FPGA based
Game Boy Color clone consoles owned by
Palmer Luckey, to re-release
Sabrina: The Animated Series - Zapped!. The announcement of this partnership received significant backlash on social media, with users bringing up Palmer's pro-
Donald Trump statements and his military manufacturing company
Anduril Industries. WayForward initially deleted the posts announcing the partnership, clarifying that the rights holders of
Sabrina,
Archie Comics, were responsible for the deal with Palmer, and that they wouldn’t be receiving any royalties for each unit sold, however they later deleted the posts clarifying things, leading users to suspect WayForward was in fact in on the deal. ==Games==