Roughly three weeks ago, Heart Machine, the developer behind Hyper Light Drifter, confirmed it was parting ways “with a number of talented team members” and ending the development of Hyper Light Breaker. Less than two weeks before the launch of the studio’s next project, Possessor(s), more developers have been let go.
At the time of writing, there has not been an official confirmation about the new layoffs from the studio. However, several developers impacted by the latest round of layoffs at Heart Machine have posted about it on BlueSky and LinkedIn.
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In total, this would be the studio’s third layoff within a year, considering that in November 2024, they laid off a “portion” of their team during the development of Hyper Light Breaker.
“As we wrap up our work on Hyper Light Breaker, we’ve had to make the difficult decision to part ways with a number of talented team members,” read the statement provided by the studio at that time. “This was not our ideal path, but rather the only one available given the circumstances.”
Impacted Heart Machine devs share their experiences following the latest layoff
GameBaba Universe counted around 6 posts from people who the latest round of layoffs at Heart Machine has impacted. One of the posts we saw was from a developer who has spent 6 years with the studio.
“My time at Heart Machine has come to a close,” wrote senior 3D animator Jordan Campbell. “Worked with them for almost 6 years, and was among the first and longest to work on Hyper Light Breaker. Working with them was undoubtedly invaluable, and I’ll miss the folks there a lot.”
My time at Heart Machine has sadly come to a rather abrupt end. I was there for almost 6 years, & had been working on Breaker since summer 2020. It was a pleasure working with them!Now, a new chapter begins.
Senior animator Anna Vrieling, who has been with Heart Machine for nearly four years, was also impacted. Although she has previously posted that she was looking for a new role, she added that her layoff happened “a bit sooner than… originally anticipated”
Hi everyone… So this happened a bit sooner than I had originally anticipated. I am actively looking for work (along with so many others in this industry 💪😔🤘). If anyone is looking for a goober of an animator to join their team, please feel free to message me. <3 www.linkedin.com/in/annavriel…
— Anna Vrieling – Looking for Work (@bananamation.bsky.social) 2025-10-30T19:11:28.771Z
Senior designer Mars Ashton wrote, “I’m looking for a full-time position! Level Design, Game Design, Narrative Design, Technical Writing, QA, you know me. I’m flexible and can fit a number of roles. Like a swiss army knife of a guy.”
Graphic Artist Marissa Borowski, senior systems engineer Katy Tomlinson, and senior game designer Michelle Flamm all posted about looking for a new role. A senior gameplay engineer also posted about being laid off from the studio.
I just wanted to post, I'm laid off. Just shouting into the void of the internet! It was a beautiful and wonderful team of people to work with at HM.
The total number of layoffs this year is estimated to be around 4,400. The exact number is difficult to track, given that most companies don’t disclose the number of employees they let go. However, the number seems encouraging when compared to the nearly 15,000 redundancies announced in 2024.
