Video game developer Supermassive Games, widely recognized for titles such as Until Dawn and The Dark Pictures Anthology, has declared an additional round of workforce reductions alongside a significant postponement for its upcoming Dark Pictures installment. In a statement disseminated across social media, the company attributed these staff cuts to the “challenging and continually evolving environment” that characterizes the contemporary video game industry.
Supermassive articulated the gravity of their decision, stating: “As we adapt our team structure to better align with these changes, we`ve had to make the very difficult decision to begin a redundancy consultation process where we anticipate losing up to 36 of our colleagues.” The developer underscored that this choice was not made lightly, acknowledging the profound impact it would have, and affirmed their commitment to offering comprehensive support to all affected employees.
While these internal restructuring efforts will fortunately have no bearing on the ongoing development of Little Nightmares III, Supermassive confirmed that the same cannot be said for Directive 8020, the newest entry in their popular The Dark Pictures Anthology series. “We remain focused on our upcoming projects and have made the decision to move the launch of Directive 8020 to the first half of 2026,” Supermassive announced. They further added, “The response to the game so far has been fantastic, and this additional time will help us deliver the very best experience for our fans. We`re deeply grateful for the patience and support of our community.”
Supermassive Games is currently under the ownership of Nordisk Games, a holding company that also controls Avalanche Studios, the developers behind the acclaimed Just Cause franchise. This latest series of layoffs at Supermassive follows a previous reduction in February 2024, which impacted as many as 150 positions. The broader video game industry has recently experienced widespread job losses, with major players, including Microsoft, implementing substantial staff reductions, game cancellations, and even outright studio closures.
Directive 8020 is envisioned as a survival-horror experience set to feature actress Lashana Lynch, who is widely recognized for her compelling roles as Maria Rambeau in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and as a key character in the James Bond film No Time To Die.