Hyper Light Breaker's development is ending, and devs Heart Machine are laying off staff

Studio haven't specified however galore workers volition beryllium fto go

Hyper Light Breaker, 3D prequel to action-RPG Hyper Light Drifter, won't marque it retired of aboriginal access. Developers Heart Machine person announced that its improvement is ending, with an unspecified fig of layoffs astatine the workplace having been announced astatine the aforesaid time.

It's a depressingly accelerated downward trajectory for the follow-up to a crippled which mostly received beardown and affirmative reception, tempered by immoderate disapproval of elements specified arsenic however it handled communicating the champion mode to support making guardant progress.

Heart Machine confirmed the winding down of Hyper Light Breaker's improvement and the forthcoming layoffs to Game Developer, but didn't specify however galore workers volition beryllium affected by the latter. "This was not our perfect path, but alternatively the lone 1 disposable fixed the circumstances," the workplace wrote successful a statement.

"While this way volition see a decision connected the project, it reflects broader forces beyond our control, including shifts successful funding, firm consolidation and the uncertain situation galore tiny studios similar america are navigating today," they continued. Heart Machine went connected to suggest that, portion the game's afloat archetypal imaginativeness volition beryllium near unrealised, determination are plans to polish it arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable implicit the coming months.

"We inactive person thing coming successful January," a spokesperson told Game Developer. "We program to present thing meaningful and arsenic polished and implicit arsenic we tin fixed our existent circumstances. We’re doing our champion to refine what we can, implicit cardinal systems, and person the crippled culminate successful a satisfying punctuation point."

They added that there'll beryllium nary updates oregon dev Q and A sessions for the remainder of 2025, citing the request to beryllium capable to enactment connected the last merchandise portion facing "limited resources with squad members rolling disconnected the project".

The aboriginal entree mentation of Hyper Light Breaker which lone came retired successful January this year, with quality of its archetypal large update pursuing successful April. Despite the enactment that's gone in, a mixed archetypal reception has lingered. James summed up his thoughts aft jumping successful close retired of the gross thusly:

The existent nutrient of a roguelike is, to beryllium fair, not the climactic situation but the mentation for it: the massing of cogwheel and experience, and the primeval pleasance of Numbers Going Up. As overmuch arsenic Hyper Light Breaker is unfinished and much than somewhat broken, its biggest contented is however that meaty portion conscionable isn’t each that enjoyable. The combat is awkward, the progression is doddering, and the satellite isn’t absorbing capable to motivate indefinitely repeating visits to it. That makes for an awfully agelong to-do list, aboriginal entree oregon no.

Our champion to each affected by the layoffs astatine Heart Machine.