Heart Machine, the American maker of Hyper Light Drifter, its multiplayer spin-off Hyper Light Breaker, and last year’s Possessor(s), have fired “nearly everyone” after an unnamed publisher pulled funding for their unannounced upcoming game.
Alx Preston, studio founder confirmed the deletions on LinkedInwhile noting that Heart Machine as an entity continues to exist – albeit precariously. “We were working on an unannounced title, funded by a publisher. This week, they decided to stop moving forward,” the message read. “Without this key revenue for the studio, without any other immediate prospects or other financing, almost everyone at the studio had to be laid off. It’s devastating.”
Preston adds that “everyone will receive as much support as possible, including job placement assistance,” before thanking the staff involved. “Navigating an increasingly challenging industry has been extremely difficult, and I’m not yet sure what’s next for Heart Machine’s survival,” he says. “However, we will continue to strive for a path while we are still here.”
The canceled game would have been Heart Machine’s fifth, including their 2016 debut, Drifter, and 2021’s sci-fi surfer, Solar Ash. The studio’s most recent games have been troubled: Hyper Light Breaker launched in Early Access with little sign of the original’s exploratory spirit and tight action, development then ceased during the year, and a series of smaller-scale layoffs followed. The side-scrolling Metroidvania Owners was released just a few weeks after these cuts, also to mixed reviews.
Still, it is deeply regrettable both that these layoffs likely prevent Heart Machine from finding an opportunity to turn around its fortunes, and that they happened in the first place. It’s been a torrid few years for the games industry in this regard, with everyone from publishing giants to newly formed indie developers seemingly sharing the belief that everything will be fine if they keep cutting jobs. Preston’s statement, while tinged with the same euphemisms and managed regrets we’ve seen in a hundred different press releases and company tweets, at least acknowledges that the studio is unlikely to operate without its employees.
