The trend of layoffs and firings within the tech and gaming industries continues with the developers of Until Dawn, Supermassive Games, who just announced that the studio intends to lay off a very large portion of its workforce. The team is known for its horror titles which give all the choice to the player and function a lot like an interactive movie than a run-of-the-mill horror game.
The announcement was made via X (formerly Twitter) when the team mentioned the difficulties within the gaming industry, and how the trend of layoffs is running rampant. Supermassive Games says it is not immune to those same challenges and is undergoing a restructuring to enter a period of consultation. These deep-rooted changes will, of course, impact most, if not all, of the company’s employees.
Supermassive Games Mass Layoff Was Unavoidable, Firing Around 90 Workers
The official announcement from Supermassive Games did not mention how many people were being fired, but according to other sources, around 90 workers were subject to the mass layoff. It is clear that this was not something the team could avoid.
This is not a decision that’s been taken lightly with many efforts made to avoid this outcome.
Supermassive Games via Twitter/X
The studio originally began way back in 2008 and hit the mainstream around 2015 when Until Dawn caught the eyes of people who enjoyed slasher flicks and horror games. The narrative-driven games differentiated Until Dawn from other horror games at the time.
More recently, Supermassive Games is working on the fifth title in The Dark Pictures Anthology series. Other horror gems that the studio is working on are Little Nightmares 3 and The Casting of Frank Stone.
The year has only started and we’ve already witnessed over 6,000 lost jobs within the industry because of these mass layoffs. Other major contributors to the mass firings include, but are not limited to, Microsoft, Embracer Group, and Sega.