Three months following the launch of Directive 8020, Supermassive Games has announced a significant reduction in its workforce. In a concise statement shared on X, the studio revealed that it is initiating a redundancy process that will affect up to 75 employees. The studio emphasized that this decision is a necessary measure to ensure the long-term sustainability of the company.
The layoffs follow a mixed reception to Directive 8020. While some, like PC Gamer’s Elie Gould, praised the game as “one giant leap for sci-fi body horror” in an 85% review, the overall feedback seems to have little bearing on the studio’s current predicament. This marks the third round of layoffs at Supermassive in under three years, with previous cuts in 2024 and 2025 also attributed to the challenging landscape of the gaming industry and an urgent need for action—often resulting in workforce reductions.
Industry veteran Brenda Romero remarked earlier this year, reflecting on the cyclical nature of the gaming sector, “we were there in the ’80s for the crash, and this is definitely crashier.” Such sentiments resonate particularly when juxtaposed against the backdrop of substantial profits reported by larger corporations, where executive compensation often reaches multi-million-dollar figures. While Supermassive may not be on the scale of Blizzard, it operates as a division of Nordisk Film, which is part of the Egmont Group. This parent company reported an operating profit of €140 million (2 million) on revenues of €2.2 billion (.5 billion) in 2025.
As for the future of Supermassive, the exact number of employees remaining post-layoffs remains unclear. Efforts to obtain further details from the studio have been initiated, and updates will be provided as they become available.
