Supermassive Games announces layoffs of 36 employees and delays Directive 8020 release to 2026 – The Dark Pictures: Directive 8020

These days, with the closing of the fiscal quarter of many studios and companies, there has been renewed talk of layoffs in the video game industry. One of the studios that has announced staff cuts has been Supermassive Games, creators of Until Dawn (the PS4 original) and The Dark Pictures Anthology, whose next project is Directive 8020, set in deep space.

It seems that this downsizing has also affected the game’s development, and Directive 8020, which was originally due out this autumn, is now planned for release in the first half of 2026.

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.

This decision was not taken lightly, and we know this will be an incredibly difficult time for everyone. Our absolute priority will be to offer full support to all those affected.

We remain focused on our upcoming projects and have made the decision to move the launch of Directive 8020 to the first half of 2026. The response to the game so far has been fantastic, and this additional time will help us deliver the very best experience for our fans. We’re deeply grateful for the patience and support of our community.

There is no impact on the development of Little Nightmares III.

We hope those affected will find a new position elsewhere as soon as possible.