Until Dawn studio SuperMassive is reportedly laying off 90 employees

Until Dawn and The Quarry developer, SupperMassive, is reportedly set to lay off around 90 employees, or nearly a third of its staff.

That’s according to Bloomberg, which claims that the UK studio has informed around 150 staff members that they are at risk of redundancy. The studio, which is owned by Nordisk Games, is comprised of more than 300 staff.

In a statement published on its social media channels, SuperMassive confirmed it had entered into a period of consultation – as required by UK law – which would result in job losses.

“It’s no secret that the games industry is currently facing significant challenges, and unfortunately we aren’t immune to this,” it said.

“After much deliberation and with deep regret, we are therefore undertaking a reorganisation of Supermassive Games. As a result, we are entering into a period of consultation, which we anticipate will result in the loss of some of our colleagues.

“This is not a decision that’s been taken lightly, with many efforts made to avoid this outcome.

“We are all too aware of how unsettling and difficult this process is going to be for all our employees and will be working closely with all those involved to ensure the process is conducted as respectfully and compassionately as possible.

“We’re committed to focusing our efforts on our core strengths and upcoming titles to ensure the continued sustainability of the company.”

Earlier this month, it was announced that the co-founders of Supermassive, Pete and Joe Samuels, had stepped down from the company.

Over the past year, layoffs have become a frequent occurrence across the games industry. Job losses were widespread in 2023, with 9,000 layoffs estimated, and they don’t appear to be slowing.

The estimated total number of layoffs in 2024 so far has already reached 6,100 according to technical artist Farhan Noor’s website Game Industry Layoffs, which has been tracking confirmed games industry job cuts since the start of last year.