Ballistic Moon, the studio of the upcoming Until Dawn remake for PlayStation 5 and PC, have apparently laid off an unspecified number of employees. While Ballistic Moon has not publicly commented on the staff cuts, two former developers have confirmed their redundancies on LinkedIn.
Junior game designer Cassy Cornish said they were sadly being made redundant after over a year working on Until Dawn. Technical designer Harry Williams also announced he had lost his job, having spent two years at Ballistic Moon helping to develop the Until Dawn remake. Both expressed thanks for their time at the studio and hopes to work with former colleagues again.
Like many others in this wonderful but turbulent industry, I am sadly being made redundant from my role as a Junior Game Designer at Ballistic Moon. The team have been wonderful and I"m so excited for our game to release in October!
The layoffs come just months before the enhanced edition of Until Dawn launches on October 4 for PS5 and PC. It"s unclear what prompted the staff cuts, but they likely eliminated contractual positions now that development has wrapped up.
The timing is unfortunate so close to release and adds to the challenges faced by the games industry this year. Over 11,500 games workers have already lost their jobs till May 2024, more than the total for all of 2023.
These include Take-Two Interactive which cut 5 percent of its employees earlier this year. Other layoffs have hit Sony"s PlayStation and Square Enix, which cut 900 members of its workforce a couple of months ago.
With highly anticipated titles like Silent Hill 2 launching only days after Until Dawn, some are worried the remake may be overshadowed and not meet sales expectations. Another commercial failure could further damage parent company Sony"s finances after recent money-losing launches.
Ballistic Moon has so far refused to comment on the rumored layoffs (via EuroGamer). The studio will be hoping for a smooth launch as Until Dawn"s release date draws near.