Just three months after 12 roles were axed from Myst developer Cyan Worlds, another wave of layoffs has swept through the studio, impacting around 14. The studio announced the change in workforce on social media.
“Hi all—we’re sorry to say that we’ve had another round of layoffs at Cyan,” read the short message. “We’ve updated our previously shared sheet to reflect folks still (or newly) looking for opportunities”.
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The studio did not mention how many people were affected by the new round of layoffs. However, the Google Sheet shared by the studio had 14 names, including their contact email, the role they played at Cyan Worlds, and the position they are interested in.
Back in March, when the studio let go of 12 employees, it said, “Industry conditions have forced us into a tricky spot where we are having to weigh the future of our studio against the month-to-month realities of game development in 2025”.
The company said it will offer severance packages to workers impacted by the decision. Cyan Worlds joins Don’t Nod, The Chinese Room, and Build a Rocket Boy as studios that laid off employees or intend to lay off in June.
Impacted Cyan Worlds developers react to the layoff
Cyan was founded in 1987 and released three games, namely The Manhole, Cosmic Osmo, and Spelunx. They followed the success of these games with Myst. The game and its sequel, Riven, have now sold over 15 million copies. Myst also holds the record of being the best-selling video game of the 20th century.
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GameBaba Universe saw two posts made by people who were affected by the latest round of layoffs. Lead game designer Harrison Pink said, “It breaks my heart”, adding that the studio did right by him.
“The industry is a complete mess right now, and I don’t blame any of this on the folks at Cyan, who have done as right by me as they possibly could.”
Environment artist Jeremiah Castro, who was also impacted by the latest job cut, said he was sad, adding that “Cyan has been a major part of my life”. Castro joined the studio in 2007 and has been a consistent contributor to the art department since 2012.
Since 2023, the video game industry has continued to see recurring waves of mass layoffs and studio closures. While the frequency of such announcements has declined significantly, it is evident that the industry may never return to how it used to be.
