Developer Heart Machine has laid off more employees, just weeks before the launch of its next game. According to a number of now former employees, the studio behind Hyper Light Breaker and the upcoming Possessor(s) has let them go ahead of the latter’s November 11th launch.
Based on social media posts, the layoffs took place on October 28 and 29.
“I just wanted to post, I’m laid off,” said one impacted employee. “Just shouting into the void of the internet! It was a beautiful and wonderful team of people to work with at HM.”
Another said that their time with the company will end after Possessor(s) launches while community and PR manager Yiyi Zhang actually posted a video about the cuts.
“Heart Machine has just laid off a bunch more people, effective immediately,” she said. “And by the time Possessor(s) comes out on November 11, I don’t know if anyone who worked on the game will even be at the company anymore. That’s game dev.”
Zhang has clarified that she was also let go from the company prior to making her video.
The latest round of layoffs comes just two weeks after Heart Machine said it was letting go of staff and winding down development of Hyper Light Breaker.
Insider Gaming has reached out to Heart Machine for clarification on the layoffs. Should a response be received, it will be added to this story.
What do you think about the second round of layoffs at Heart Machine in a month? Do you think the studio will last much longer? Leave your thoughts down in the comments, and join the official Insider Gaming Discord server.
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Mike has been covering the gaming industry since 2012, and has reported on some of the largest events in the industry while also working as an investigative reporter. Outside of…
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Want to clarify that at the time of making / posting the video, I was already laid off. So it’s not a statement on behalf of Heart Machine. Just me alone pushing words out of my own face. ~Yiyi
Thank you for clarifying, Yiyi. I’m so sorry to hear you were let go as well….gotta love this industry