Supermassive Games confirms layoffs and delay for Directive 8020

Supermassive Games has announced via a recent social media post that it will be laying off several employees at the development studio and moving the release date for the anticipated Directive 8020.

The developer has cited the games industry being a "challenging and ever-evolving environment" as the reason for the now confirmed layoffs of 36 employees, and that the studio doesn't take these changes lightly. However, Supermassive writes that in order to adapt the new team structure to align with industry changes, it had to begin the redundancy process of employees, with the developer writing that it will be offering its full support to those affected.

As for the projects the developer is currently working on, Supermassive has decided to move the release date of Directive 8020 to "the first half of 2026." The developer praised the response gamers have had to the title, and said this delay will enable the studio to further polish the title to deliver the best experience it can for its fans.

Additionally, Supermassive commented on the release of Little Nightmares III, and said the layoffs and delay of Directive 8020 will not impact the release of Little Nightmares III, which is scheduled to release on October 10, 2025.