Heart Machine laid off nearly everyone after a publisher ended an unannounced project, leaving the Hyper Light Drifter studio’s future unclear.
The studio’s founder, Alx Preston, announced the layoffs on LinkedIn. In his heartfelt post, he said the publisher pulled funding, a key source of income for the studio, and called the unavoidable layoffs “devastating.”
The studio is best known for critically acclaimed pixel art games such as Hyper Light Breaker, Hyper Light Drifter, and Solar Ash.
- Learn More About Previous Studio Layoffs from 2024: Hyper Light Breaker Developer Heart Machine Suffers Layoffs
Heart Machine’s Future Is Unclear After Mass Layoffs
In his post, Alx Preston honestly expressed uncertainty about the studio’s future and whether it will survive. His current priority is to support everyone affected by the situation. However, he also said they will keep striving to build a hopeful path to stability.
Thank you so so much to all of the incredible people who contributed their efforts and talents to making amazing things at the studio. Thank you to our amazing community and fans.
Navigating an increasingly challenging industry has been extremely difficult, and I’m not sure yet what’s next for Heart Machine to survive. However, we’ll keep pushing to build a path while we are still here.
Unfortunately, major layoffs across the industry remain prevalent in 2026. Build a Rocket Boy, the developer of MindsEye, also recently laid off staff. That studio also faces imminent closure. Insider Gaming will continue to monitor these stories and report any updates as more information becomes available.
What are your thoughts on this unfortunate news from Heart Machine? What were some of your favorite games that they developed? Sound off about this story and all others in our official Discord server.
For more, check out news about layoffs affecting FuturLab, the studio behind PowerWash Simulator. Also, don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter.
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