Until Dawn developer Supermassive plans to lay off around 90 workers
Supermassive Games, the developer behind titles like Until Dawn and The Quarry, announced internally that it would lay off around 90 employees, as reported by Bloomberg. 150 workers in total have been informed that they are at risk of redundancy. In 2022, the company employed around 350 workers according to its own website, so 90 people being laid off would represent roughly 25% of the workforce.
A statement sent to Bloomberg by the studio confirmed plans of a reorganization that “will result in the loss of some of our colleagues.” Echoing many recent statements given after layoffs in the gaming industry, Supermassive wants to focus its efforts on its core strengths to sustain itself in the future.
Horror game developer Supermassive Games is laying off around 90 workers.
Supermassive Games
Founded in 2008, Supermassive Games began its life by making DLC for LittleBigPlanet and a few smaller titles published by Sony before moving on to larger projects. It eventually specialized in horror games, landing a critical hit with Until Dawn in 2015, which it followed up with entries into The Dark Pictures Anthology for Bandai Namco and The Quarry for 2K Games.
It has two games scheduled for release in 2024: Little Nightmares 3 with Bandai Namco and The Casting of Frank Stone with Behaviour Interactive. Another part of The Dark Pictures Anthology has been announced, but does not have a release date yet.
Supermassive’s layoffs are part of a larger industry effort to cut costs that’s been going on at least since 2023 with big players like Embracer, Amazon, Riot Games, and Microsoft all shedding weight. Smaller studios like Supermassive and ZA/UM add to the woes.
