Hyper Light Drifter studio Heart Machine faces an uncertain future after a recent round of devastating layoffs. In September, founder Alx Preston announced "nearly everyone at the studio had to be laid off" after an unnamed publisher decided not to move forward with the unannounced game Heart Machine had been developing. Speaking with Polygon on the latest episode of Point It Out, Preston said he's still in the process of figuring out "how to survive" and that he and several of his peers are all facing the same questions: "What types of games do we make?
What does the industry look like? What is the audience that we're serving? Where is the money coming from?" Funding for smaller projects has gotten tighter in recent years, but Preston said even publishers that "have the infinite money glitch" are still at risk.
For example, Xbox laid off thousands of employees and Ghost of Yōtei studio Sucker Punch Productions lost 10% of its staff. "When you're tiny, it puts pressure, in immense ways, on everyone," Preston said. He still doesn't know what's next for Heart Machine because finding funding is "brutal" for the whole industry.
Heart Machine burst onto the scene in 2016 with Hyper Light Drifter, a 2D action game with stylish retro art design. It received a wave of positive reviews from critics and fans, but Heart Machine's later games never reached the same highs. The studio even had to cancel the full release of the early access title Hyper Light Breaker in 2025 after undergoing a round of layoffs.
"If Heart Machine survives, I think the future is definitely different than the past," Preston said. That would mean smaller projects on shorter development timelines, tighter focus, and a different model for running the studio. "I don't want to be spending three-plus years on a given project." Long development cycles can lead to burnout as the team rushes to complete a game.
"That's not a great position to be in," Preston said. "Nobody's having fun at that point." You can listen to the full conversation on YouTube and your preferred podcast app. Preston spoke about how indie developers are navigating the industry with Blumhouse head of games Amanda Kruse and Yacht Club Games co-founder Sean Velasco.
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