Update (10/09/25): In an additional statement sent to Game Developer, Heart Machine sought to clarify the future of early access title Hyper Light Breaker and explained the plan is to polish the game as much as possible before winding down development.
The indication, however, is that the studio will not be able to realize its original vision for the project.
“We still have something coming in January. We plan to deliver something meaningful and as polished and complete as we can given our current circumstances. We’re doing our best to refine what we can, complete key systems, and have the game culminate in a satisfying punctuation point,” said a studio spokesperson.
“Given our limited resources with team members rolling off the project, we won’t be releasing any more updates or hosting any Q+As for the rest of this year. We want to make sure the team can focus fully on getting this next release into the best shape possible.”
Original story: Indie studio Heart Machine is making layoffs and ending development on early access title Hyper Light Breaker.
A studio spokesperson confirmed the news in a statement to Game Developer but didn’t specify how many people are being made redundant.
The news comes less than a year after Hyper Light Breaker launched into early access on January 14, 2025. The open world, online, rogue-lite currently has a “mixed” rating on Steam from over 2,500 user reviews.
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Heart Machine previously laid off a portion of its workforce in November 2024 but said the “strong and timely” launch of Hyper Light Breaker might “rekindle opportunities” for those impacted. This time around, the company said it was forced to cut jobs due to “broader forces beyond our control.”
“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. This was not our ideal path, but rather the only one available given the circumstances,” reads a statement.
“While this path will include a conclusion on the project, it reflects broader forces beyond our control, including shifts in funding, corporate consolidation and the uncertain environment many small studios like us are navigating today.”
Heart Machine said it remains “deeply grateful” to everybody who contributed to its projects and will continue building video games as a “smaller core team.” The studio also pledged to do everything in its power to support impacted staff.