The studio behind the Until Dawn remake, Ballistic Moon, reportedly lays off staff ahead of the game's official release in October 2024.
Despite the talks of the layoffs, there has been no official statement released by the studio itself. Furthermore, the exact number of employees who have been affected by the development is not yet clear.
Ballistic Moon Layoffs
There have already been a couple of developers from Ballistic Moon who shared on their personal LinkedIn accounts that they have been made redundant. One employee, Cassy Cornish, said that like many others, she was sadly made redundant from her role.
Another developer, Harry Williams, said that he had been made redundant after working for two years on Until Dawn 2024. He added that he loved working as a technical designer and enjoyed his time with his co-workers, according to VG247.
While no other developers immediately shared with the public that they were laid off by Ballistic Moon, the situation added to the tens of thousands who have already been let go in the video games industry in the past few years.
Ballistic Moon was established a few years ago and is partially led by a former Supermassive Games developer. The studio's upcoming Until Dawn remake is set to be its first title and it is scheduled to launch on Oct. 4, 2024.
This year, there have already been more than 11,500 people who have lost their jobs in the video games industry. This has now surpassed the 10,500 staff who have been laid off throughout 2023, said Eurogamer.
The layoffs this year include those from Take-Two Interactive which cut off 5% of its employees and other layoffs have hit Sony's PlayStation and Square Enix. The latter cut 900 members of its workforce just a few months ago.
The Until Dawn Remake's Fate
Now, some fans are worried that since other titles, such as the Silent Hill 2 remake, are launching a few days after the Until Dawn remake, the latter could be overshadowed and not meet sales expectations.
If Ballistic Moon experiences another commercial failure, it could result in further financial damage to its parent company, Sony, according to NeoWin.
The latest layoffs also add to the Until Dawn remake debacle as the game is reportedly going to have a $59.99 price tag. This has caused fans to once again debate whether or not this is a good price tag for remakes.
While it hasn't yet been confirmed, Dealabs leaker billbil-kun was the one who talked about it, and as he is one of the most reputable leakers right now, his claims give some form of validity to the price tag.