Supermassive Games, the studio behind narrative horror titles like Until Dawn and The Dark Pictures Anthology, has announced a significant reduction in its workforce, impacting up to 75 employees. This marks the third round of layoffs the Guildford, U.K.-based developer has undergone in the past three years. The company confirmed the decision via a public statement, describing it as a "difficult decision to begin a redundancy consultation process" and a "necessary step to help ensure the sustainability of the company."
The studio's most recent release, Directive 8020, launched in May to a largely positive review from IGN, which highlighted its polished visuals and improved gameplay. However, user reception on Steam has been mixed, with approximately 1,400 reviews posted. This follows a pattern of lukewarm responses to some of the studio's recent projects, including the 2025 sequel Little Nightmares 3 and the 2024 Dead by Daylight spin-off The Casting of Frank Stone.
This latest round of job losses follows previous staff reductions in February 2024, which affected around 90 employees, and another in July 2025, when 35 employees were let go. These cuts have nearly halved the studio's workforce, reducing it from an estimated 350 staff in 2023 to potentially around 175. The company currently has no new projects publicly announced.
Founded in 2008, Supermassive Games established a global reputation for horror game development, particularly after the success of its 2015 title Until Dawn. This success led to the creation of The Dark Pictures Anthology, a series of standalone narrative horror games known for their branching storylines driven by player choice.