Supermassive Games Implements Major Second Round of Cuts Affecting Over 70 Developers
The British horror game studio Supermassive Games has completed a second significant reduction in workforce with more than 70 employees departing in a previously announced restructuring effort. This marks the second major layoff wave within roughly a year, following cuts in July 2025 that delayed the studio's game Directive 8020. The studio's recent film adaptation of Until Dawn and continued work on The Dark Pictures Anthology series have not insulated the company from industry-wide contraction pressures.
Supermassive Games has now shed over 100 staff members across two separate restructuring phases within approximately 16 months. The studio's decision to self-publish Directive 8020 represented a shift from its previous partnership model with Bandai Namco, yet the title's commercial and critical underperformance failed to stabilize the company's financial position. Leadership changes accompanied these measures, with the CEO's departure in mid-2026 occurring just months after the second layoff announcement.
The developer's portfolio of horror franchises—spanning the original Until Dawn and its multimedia expansion into film, plus The Dark Pictures series spanning five installments—had generated sustained revenue streams. However, these properties apparently proved insufficient to weather broader industry-wide contraction pressures affecting multiple studios during this period.
The layoffs may impact the broader gaming industry's talent retention, as experienced developers from a established studio enter a competitive job market. Workers with specialized expertise in narrative-driven horror games could face extended unemployment or relocation challenges. The departures may also affect ongoing project timelines across the industry if key personnel transition to competitors. Casual audiences who discovered Until Dawn through its film adaptation represent a consumer base that could see delayed or altered future horror game releases as production capacity contracts.