Until Dawn Remake Studio Suffers Layoffs Ahead of Release

Ballistic Moon is "significantly" making changes to its staff size.

PlayStation's new version of Until Dawn is set to launch in a little more than a month but the studio behind the game, Ballistic Moon, has announced that it's now going through layoffs. Announced earlier this year, PlayStation revealed that it was recreating its popular horror title Until Dawn for modern platforms. Rather than tapping Until Dawn's original developer in Supermassive Games to work on the project, a studio known as Ballistic Moon, comprised of veterans from Supermassive, was brought in to helm the title. Now, with Until Dawn's remake nearly set to release, turmoil has hit the company. 

In a post on the studio's official LinkedIn page, Ballistic Moon said that it is now in the process of "significantly" scaling down its size. It was stressed that this move is being made in the conclusion of Ballistic Moon finishing its work on Until Dawn. Along with apologizing to those employees impacted, Ballistic Moon said that it will do its best to support Until Dawn after its launch and will continue to look for "new opportunities and collaborations". 

"As the games industry continues to face complex challenges, we at Ballistic Moon are confronted with some difficult realities," reads the statement. "It is with deep regret and a heavy heart that we must make the tough decision to significantly scale down our team to secure the future of our studio. This comes after our development of Until Dawn for PS5 and PC. We want to express our sincere gratitude to every team member for their hard work, dedication, and unwavering commitment to Ballistic Moon. Saying goodbye to such a talented and passionate group of people is incredibly difficult, and we are profoundly sorry for the impact this restructuring will have on our employees and their families. As we navigate this transition, Ballistic Moon remains focused on supporting the launch of Until Dawn and is committed to exploring new opportunities and collaborations for the future."

This move at Ballistic Moon is a bit of a shock, especially since it's happening prior to Until Dawn's release. More often than not when various video game studios have been hit with layoffs, it's as a result of projects failing to meet commercial expectations. For Ballistic Moon to be going through layoffs in advance of Until Dawn is definitely eyebrow-raising and begs further questions about the game's quality, among many other things. 

Until Dawn is set to release next month on October 4th and will come to both PS5 and PC. A film adaptation of the game is also currently in the works and began production a little less than a month ago. 

[H/T VGC]