All articles tagged with #heart machine
Heart Machine laid off most staff after a publisher canceled an unannounced title, leaving the studio’s future uncertain; leadership says they’ll provide support and help with placements as they navigate difficult industry conditions, following mixed receptions to recent games like Hyper Light Breaker and Possessor(s).
Devolver Digital and Heart Machine will bring Possessor(s) to Switch 2 on April 29, 2026, following its PS5 and PC debut in November 2025. The side-scrolling action-adventure blends platforming and Metroidvania-style exploration as Luca teams with a demon host to navigate a ruined mega-city, featuring tight combat, aerial juggle mechanics, and improvised weapons across an open-ended world.
Indie studio Heart Machine has voluntarily recognised a 13-person bargaining unit formed by staff, represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA). The move follows several rounds of layoffs and signals the studio’s intention to negotiate a first contract to protect workers, reflecting growing union activity in the games industry.
Workers at Heart Machine, the indie studio behind Hyper Light Drifter, formed a wall-to-wall union with Communications Workers of America Local 9003 after a supermajority of eligible staff voted in favor; the 13 frontline employees are now represented amid layoffs and staffing cuts in 2024–25.
Heart Machine, a game studio based in Los Angeles, has announced layoffs and is winding down development on its early access game Hyper Light Breaker due to broader industry challenges, but plans to release a final, polished version in January 2024.
Hyper Light Breaker, developed by Heart Machine, is winding down development due to studio layoffs caused by broader industry challenges, but a more polished final version is planned for January 2026, without fully abandoning the project.
Heart Machine is ending development on Hyper Light Breaker, the follow-up to Hyper Light Drifter, and has laid off staff due to funding and industry challenges. The game will not reach full release, but the studio plans to release a polished version in January 2025 and continue making other games like Possessor(s).
Heart Machine, the developer behind Hyper Light Drifter, is winding down development of its upcoming game Hyper Light Breaker due to poor player reception and broader industry challenges, resulting in layoffs and an uncertain future for the project, though they plan to release a final update in January.
Hyper Light Breaker, the upcoming game from Heart Machine, is not a sequel to Hyper Light Drifter but rather its own online co-op hack-and-slash game with loot-based runs and extraction mechanics. Set in the same universe but 15 years earlier, the game features a neon color palette and a synth soundtrack, offering a different gameplay experience while still capturing the beauty of its predecessor. With plans for Steam Early Access this summer, the game aims to provide an immersive world with interlocking systems and potential for long-term engagement, while the possibility of a Hyper Light Drifter 2 remains uncertain.
Hyper Light Breaker is a third-person roguelite adventure game set in a luminous fantasy-cyberpunk universe, with a focus on hoverboarding through an open-world landscape called the Overgrowth. The game features hand-crafted and procedurally generated biomes, boss battles, and tactical combat mechanics such as parrying. Set to go live in early access on Steam this summer with three-player online co-op, the game offers customizable loadouts and abilities, but the hoverboard steals the show as the main attraction.
Heart Machine has released the first gameplay trailer for Hyper Light Breaker, its 3D rogue-lite follow-up to Hyper Light Drifter. The game will feature a mix of handcrafted and procedurally generated elements in a vast, ever-changing 3D landscape known as the Overgrowth. Players can use acrobatic abilities and third-person combat to take on monsters and bosses in an attempt to overthrow the Abyss King. The game will enter Steam early access in autumn 2021.
Heart Machine has released the first gameplay trailer for Hyper Light Breaker, which will be a departure from its predecessor, Hyper Light Drifter, and will feature an open world known as the "Overgrowth." The game will have nods to Breath of the Wild, Dark Souls, and PlatinumGames titles, and will offer "endless loadouts" and "endless deaths." The optional co-op play will allow players to band together to take on some of the game's more difficult challenges. Hyper Light Breaker will arrive on Steam early access this fall, instead of the previously announced spring release.