More bad news from Guildford: Supermassive Games, the studio behind Until Dawn, The Quarry, and Directive 8020, is cutting up to 75 jobs. The studio announced this in an internal memo that quickly became public. Supermassive cited securing the company's long-term sustainability as the reason – a phrase that has become all too familiar in the industry.
The Third Wave of Layoffs in Just Two Years
For Supermassive Games, this is already the third round of cuts since 2024. Back then and the following year, the studio had each shed double-digit to nearly triple-digit employee numbers. This series of cutbacks coincides with further leadership changes: Former CEO Robert Henrysson had only stepped down in June. Those who have followed cases in recent years will recognize a pattern currently sweeping across the entire industry – even other major studios are making significant savings, as our recent report on layoffs at Halo Studios showed.
What This Means for Until Dawn 2 and the Studio's Future
Particularly bitter: The announced sequel, Until Dawn 2, isn't even being developed by Supermassive itself, but by Sony's in-house studio Firesprite. This means Supermassive is left out despite its own horror successes, while the studio simultaneously cuts staff. For fans of the existing games, nothing changes for current titles – Until Dawn, The Quarry, and Directive 8020 remain playable. Whether and how these layoffs will affect future Supermassive projects that haven't been officially announced yet remains to be seen.
From our perspective, this case primarily shows one thing: Even a studio with successful, well-known brands like Until Dawn is not immune to the industry's current cost-cutting spiral. The fact that the sequel to their flagship title is being developed by another studio will likely further strain internal morale.
Source: Game Informer
What do you think: Are too many studios with supposedly successful brands currently being affected? Discuss with us in the comments.
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