At the time of this writing, Heart Machine, the studio behind games like Hyper Light Drifter, Solar Ash, and more recently, Hyper Light Breaker, is less than two weeks from releasing its next game, Possessor(s). It’s also reportedly just had its second wave of layoffs in less than a month.
Spotted by Game Developer, after the studio confirmed a wave of layoffs at the beginning of October, along with halting further development on Hyper Light Breaker, more former developers from Heart Machine have taken to social media to confirm that they’ve been laid off in a second wave this month.
At least four now former Heart Machine developers took to Bluesky to confirm they have been laid off, with one even posting a video where they paint a particularly dark picture of the shape the studio is in, saying, “Heart Machine has just laid off a bunch more people, effective immediately. By the time Possessor(s) comes out on November 11th, I don’t know if anyone who worked on the game will even be at the company anymore. That’s game dev.” The post captions the video “Layoffs at Launch: that’s game dev.”
Another post reads, “My heart is heavy and I might have more to say on that later, but I’ve got news today that my time at Heart Machine will come to an end after Possessor(s) ships. I’m honestly too busy…literally shipping the game to start actively looking for work, but I’ll be looking for my next gig in December.”
One of the developers impacted by the layoffs had been with Heart Machine for nearly six years before being cut this month. Beyond those who’ve posted, it is unclear how many developers have been impacted in this round. The studio has yet to make a formal statement akin to the one it made earlier this month, although with the launch of Possessor(s) so close, the studio may just be waiting until after the game has launched to comment further on its status.
To call these layoffs ‘unfortunate’ barely covers it. Heart Machine is a rarity in the modern industry as an indie studio that has stuck around for over a decade, with Hyper Light Drifter being one of the more beloved indie games in the last fifteen years. Now, it seems to be barely getting Possessor(s) out the door; its follow-up to the indie game that put the studio on everyone’s radar will never really leave early access, and it doesn’t feel unrealistic to say the studio might not make it to the end of 2025.
Hopefully, of course, that’s not the case and the studio can find a path to survival once Possessor(s) has launched.
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