Heart Machine, the studio behind Hyper Light Drifter, Hyper Light Breaker and Possessor(s), has laid off “almost everyone” after a publisher decided to pull funding for the team’s next, as-yet-unannounced game.The news was confirmed by studio founder Alx Preston in a LinkedIn post. According to Preston, Heart Machine still exists, but is facing a difficult situation after losing its main immediate source of revenue.“We had been working on an unannounced title, funded by a publisher. This week, they decided to no longer move forward with it”, the founder wrote. With no other projects or resources available in the short term, the studio had to let go of almost its entire team. Preston described the situation as devastating.The founder also said that affected employees would receive as much support as possible, including help finding new positions. Addressing the company’s future, Preston said he did not yet know what the next step would be to ensure Heart Machine’s survival, but added that the studio would continue trying to find a way forward for as long as it remained active.The canceled game would have been Heart Machine’s fifth project since the release of Hyper Light Drifter in 2016, following 2021’s Solar Ash. The studio’s recent history has been marked by difficulties: Hyper Light Breaker entered early access without recapturing some of the original’s spirit of exploration and action, while development was ultimately halted in the same year, accompanied by a smaller round of layoffs.A few weeks later, Possessor(s) was released to mixed reviews. Following the latest cuts, Heart Machine’s future is uncertain, although Preston indicated that the company still exists.
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