Alx Preston, head of developer Heart Machine, has announced some unfortunate news for the studio.
Via a post on LinkedIn, he has shared that "nearly everyone" at Heart Machine has been laid off, and the developer's future is uncertain.
The reason for the sudden job cuts comes down to funding; a publisher was providing financial support for an unannounced game, but recently decided to pull out of the project, leaving Heart Machine with little choice but to let go of most of its staff.
"We had been working on an unannounced title, funded by a publisher," Preston writes. "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."
He assures that those affected will be "provided with as much support as possible" as they begin searching for new work.
"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."
Heart Machine is best known for its debut game, Hyper Light Drifter, a highly rated pixel art action game. It's also behind titles like Solar Ash and Possessor(s), as well as Hyper Light Breaker, which is currently in Early Access on PC.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2026/09/its-devastating-hyper-light-drifter-dev-lays-off-nearly-all-staff-after-publisher-pulls-funding
