Los Angeles studio Heart Machine has once again initiated a series of layoffs, believed to be the second this month alone.
As I noticed Game developer, While the studio itself hasn't announced layoffs, a number of developers have taken to social media to share news of their layoffs, just 12 days before the launch of Devolver Digital's Possessor(s).
At least four developers said they were fired, including one senior 3D animator. declaring“Unfortunately, my time with Heart Machine has come to an end. I worked there for almost six years.”
“The Heart Machine just laid off a bunch more people, effective immediately.” said Yiyi, who worked on Heart Machine's community and PR team. “By the time Possessor(s) releases on November 11th, I don't know if anyone who worked on the game will even be working for the company anymore. This is gamedev.”
In November 2024 Heart Machine fired “part” of its team as he was developing Hyper Light Breaker. Then, on October 10, Heart Machine announces another unspecified number of job cutsstating that the company has parted ways with “a number of talented team members” as it winds down development of its Early Access project Hyper Light Breaker.
It is estimated that at least 4,400 developers will lose their jobs in 2025.Although many companies refuse to disclose the number of victims, the actual number is likely to be much higher. This is on top of nearly 15,000 layoffs in 2024 and 10,500 layoffs in 2023.
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