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Supermassive Games lays off 70 staff following sci-fi horror release

British developer Supermassive Games has reduced its workforce by 70 employees following the launch of its latest sci-fi horror title, Directive 8020.

FTMQ Gaming, written by our newsroom0 views

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Picture: Kotaku

British video game developer Supermassive Games has laid off more than 70 employees on October 5, 2026, Kotaku reported. The job cuts follow the launch of the studio's new sci-fi horror game, Directive 8020, earlier in the year. [1][7]

The details of the redundancy came from Frank Tindle, who was among those departing. Writing on LinkedIn, Tindle stated that he was leaving his position as IT and Facilities Director alongside more than 70 other staff members, including developers, artists, and producers, Kotaku reported. [1]

Supermassive Games is based in Guildford, Surrey. The British studio is widely known for creating horror titles, including Until Dawn, The Dark Pictures Anthology series, and The Quarry. [7]

The layoffs arrived after Directive 8020 received mixed user reviews on Steam following its release, according to Kotaku. [1]

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In short

  • Supermassive Games laid off more than 70 employees on October 5, 2026.
  • The layoffs include developers, artists, producers, and leadership staff.
  • The redundancies follow the release of the studio's sci-fi horror game Directive 8020.

Sources

Every paragraph above points to the numbered items it rests on. Read the originals here.

  1. [1]Supermassive Lays Off 70 People Less Than Six Months After Releasing Its New Sci-Fi Horror GameKotaku, 1h ago (the report this story comes from)
  2. [2]2023 PS5 Adventure Game 70% Off on PS Store, DLC IncludedPlayStation LifeStyle, 10h ago
  3. [3]2023 PS5 Adventure Game 70% Off on PS Store, DLC Includedplaystationlifestyle.net, 10h ago
  4. [4]Hellblade Dev Begins Shedding Staff, Months After Revealing New Game at Xbox ShowcasePush Square, 8h ago

Background

  1. [5]Less Than Jake on Wikipedia
  2. [6]Sky Sci-Fi on Wikipedia
  3. [7]Supermassive Games on Wikipedia

Our newsroom writes these reports with the help of software, from the 7 sources listed and nothing else, and checks them against those sources. Facts can still be wrong or move on; the originals are the record. Spotted a mistake? Write to daniel@monsterkong.com.

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