It's no secret that Heart Machine has had a rough time of it of late, with the indie studio behind the massively popular Hyper Light Drifter laying off a significant number of its staff ahead of the release of Possessor(s) and effectively cancelling the development of Hyper Light Breaker less than a year after the game launched on Steam. Now, it seems as though Heart Machine is on the brink, with a recent statement from the studio's CEO, Alx Preston, confirming the news on LinkedIn.

In the statement, the CEO and founder of Heart Machine confirms that it has had to lay off "nearly everyone" at the studio, after a publisher it was working with on an upcoming game "decided to no longer move forward with it," effectively leaving the studio without funding and without any immediate prospects for funding. He explains that he is "not sure yet" what is next for Heart Machine or how the studio will survive, effectively suggesting that Heart Machine is expected to shut down in the coming weeks or months unless something changes regarding its financials. The full statement from Preston follows.

Heart Machine revealed earlier this month that it was laying off a significant number of staff and "winding down" the development of its most recent early access game, Hyper Light Breaker. This was shortly after the studio announced its upcoming stylized side-scroller action horror game, Possessor(s). Now, however, it seems as though a number of developers and staff who worked on Possessor(s) are also getting the boot, less than two weeks before the game's November 11 launch. The layoffs weren't announced by the studio itself, but rather in a series of posts on Bluesky by the affected workers. One post read: "My time at Heart Machine has sadly come to a rather abrupt end," suggesting an immediate end to their six-year stint at the studio. This is the third round of layoffs at Heart Machine in the last year, with the first coming in November 2024, shortly ahead of the launch of Hyper Light Breaker.

At the time of writing, it's unclear just how many workers were laid off, but it appears as though the layoffs will affect multiple roles in different departments. One worker who worked on PR and community and management, commented in a video that "by the time Possessor(s) comes out on November 11, I don't know that anyone who worked on it will even be at the company anymore." She also mentions that the layoffs would be effective immediately, echoing the sentiments of other posts and suggesting that some staff members have been retained until the game launches. This was confirmed by a producer who was laid off, who says that her time a Heart Machine "will come to an end after Possessor(s) ships," adding that she is too busy "literally shipping the game to start actively looking for work."

Hyper Light Breaker, the sequel to the massively popular indie hit, Hyper Light Drifter, is set to release on Steam on January 15, 2025. The only catch is that the game will release into early access, meaning it will likely change significantly during its first year on the market. At launch, Hyper Light Breaker will cost $29.99.

While Hyper Light Breaker shares a name with and hits a lot of the same aesthetic notes as Hyper Light Drifter, it isn't exactly a sequel in the classical sense. Hyper Light Breaker is set "decades before" the events of Hyper Light Drifter, and the aesthetic looks like an upgraded version of the hyper stylized 3D graphics we saw from Heart Machine in Solar Ash, as opposed to the top-down 2D pixel art of Hyper Light Drifter. Unlike Solar Ash, though, the core gameplay loop will rely on rogue-lite mechanics and hack and slash combat, making it a unique entry in the Hyper Light universe. Additionally, Hyper Light Breaker will be a co-op game, with support for up to three players in a squad.