Supermasive Games Delays Directive 8020 As Over 30 Staff Are Set To Be Made Redundant

Developer Supermassive Games has announced that up to 36 of its staff are being made redundant, while also announcing that the release of its upcoming sci-fi horror title, Directive 8020, has been pushed back to 2026.

A statement from the studio posted across its social media channels has confirmed that the company is currently in the process of laying off staff. Citing the ever-evolving landscape that is the video game industry as the catalyst for a restructuring, the statement confirms that up to 36 employees may potentially lose their jobs at the end of this redundancy consultation period.

“The games industry remains a challenging and ever-evolving environment. As we adapt our team structure to better align with these changes, we’ve had to make the very difficult decision to begin a redundancy consultation process where we anticipate losing up to 36 of our colleagues.”

Within the same statement, Supermassive has announced that Directive 8020, the next game in the vague Dark Pictures series, has been delayed. Originally slated for release in October, Directive 8020 will now launch in the first half of 2026, providing the studio with additional development time.

While Directive 8020 is arguably the highest profile title being worked on at Supermassive, the studio is also developing Little Nightmares III, taking over the series from Tarsier Studios. According to the statement, the announced layoffs will not impact the development of Little Nightmares III, which has already seen a release date delay into 2026.

Everyone on the WellPlayed team wishes the best for those affected by the layoffs at Supermassive Games.