Techland, the developer of the popular survival horror series Dying Light, has announced the cancellation of two upcoming, unspecified projects. This announcement comes during a time of struggle for the company, which reported record multi-million-dollar losses in 2023 and 2024. The news has sent some fans reeling, as they are wary of what will happen with the studio’s future titles.
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According to a report by Insider Gaming, the developer sent a press release to media outlets stating that two of its upcoming games had been canceled, but did not officially confirm which titles had been affected. However, Insider Gaming reports that one of the projects was known internally as “Project Cornerstone” and would have been a fantasy action game inspired by Star Wars.
Following the announcement of the cancellation news, Techland released a further statement to Insider Gaming, clarifying their motivations and addressing a widespread concern among some members of the gaming audience.
“Game development is never a straight line, and sometimes fresh approaches are necessary to make great games. What’s important here is that none of the reported changes have resulted in staff reductions. Developers were moved to other projects and are working on a number of games in our pipeline. Our primary focus right now is to release Dying Light: The Beast for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. After the launch of Dying Light: The Beast, we will share more about future titles in due time,” said Techland’s statement.
While it is not uncommon for the scope or direction of projects to change during game development, gamers are understandably sensitive to such news, given recent significant industry movements. Last week, Microsoft laid off 9,000 employees, reportedly affecting Halo Studios and putting the future of the iconic Halo franchise in trouble.
In January, Sony announced the cancellation of two of its live-service games, making it the 10th such cancellation in just three years. Gaming journalist Jason Schreier reported that one of the titles was a live-service God of War game. With both the Halo and God of War series under threat, it seems like no franchise is safe from the current environment, no matter how iconic or beloved it may be.
Fans were disappointed by the cancellation of the unreleased Techland titles, and some were ringing alarm bells about the state of big studios and AAA gaming. A common sentiment among gaming consumers is that these large companies have reached a tipping point, where they are increasingly unable to produce financially stable titles because of the long development cycles for games and the complex industry landscape.
Founded in 1991, the Poland-based developer Techland found wide critical and commercial success with Dying Light in 2015, having sold over 30 million copies since its release. It is also known for Dead Island, another zombie survival game, and developing the western-themed first-person shooter Call of Juarez, which is now rumored to be receiving a sequel currently in development.
In 2023, multinational Chinese Giant Tencent purchased a controlling share in Techland, which was estimated to be the largest Mergers & Acquisitions deal made in Poland’s history. At the time, Techland founder and CEO Pawel Marchewka said the deal would “allow us to move full speed ahead with the execution of the vision for our games” and would “mark the start of a new chapter of Techland’s history.”
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