Heart Machine, the independent studio behind games like Hyper Light Drifter and Solar Ash, has been forced to lay off almost its entire staff. Studio founder Alx Preston announced the difficult news on LinkedIn, citing the collapse of a publisher deal for an unannounced project as the direct cause.
"We had been working on an unannounced title, funded by a publisher," Preston wrote. "This week, they decided to no longer move forward with it. Without this key income for the studio, any other immediate prospects or other funds, nearly everyone at the studio had to be laid off. It's devastating."
Preston indicated that the studio would provide as much support as possible to the departing employees, including assistance with finding new roles. He also put out a call for any available positions suitable for the laid-off team members.
Heart Machine first gained critical acclaim with the release of Hyper Light Drifter in 2016. Its follow-up, Solar Ash, was released in 2022. The studio also faced challenges with its early access title Hyper Light Breaker, ultimately ceasing its development and enacting layoffs prior to this most recent event. The action-platformer Possessor(s), released after those earlier layoffs, received "mostly positive" reviews on Steam but garnered a limited number of player assessments.
The future of Heart Machine remains uncertain. Preston stated that the studio will "keep pushing to find a path," but added, "I'm not sure yet what's next for Heart Machine to survive."