Yet another major independent game developer has announced today it will likely be laying off a large portion of its workforce. This time, it’s Supermassive Games, the UK developer best known for its work creating narrative horror-themed games like Until Dawn and The Quarry.
Bloomberg reports that Supermassive Games will lay off about 90 of its team members. The developer reportedly employs about 350 people so this action will cut well over 20 percent of its workforce.
Supermassive posted a statement on its X (formerly Twitter) account today confirming that it is going through a “reorganization” which it believes ” will result in the loss of some of our colleagues.” The statement did not offer an exact number of team members that might be affected.
The statement added that it has tried a number of ways to avoid these layoffs to no avail. It says it will work with the affected employees “as respectfully and compassionately as possible.”
Supermassive has two upcoming games due for release in 2024. One is Little Nightmares III, the next game in the puzzle-themed horror game series from publisher Bandai Namco Entertainment. The other is The Casting of Frank Stone, a single-player game based in the Dead by Daylight game universe. Sony is also planning to release a remake of Until Dawn for the PS5 and PC in 2024, but Supermassive is not handling that update.
This is just the latest report of major layoffs in the game industry in just the first two months of the new year. Big job cuts have also hit Riot Games, along with the Unity game engine company and the continuing cuts made by the Embracer Group. The most impactful layoff reveal came in late January when Microsoft cut 1,900 jobs from its various gaming groups.