Cyan Worlds, the creators of Myst Obduction, Firmament, and RIVEN, announced they’ll be letting go of 12 employees by the end of March. The news came through a social media post on Friday afternoon where they explained this tough decision came despite their best efforts to avoid layoffs.
“Industry conditions have forced us into a tricky spot where we are having to weigh the future health of our studio against the month-to-month realities of game development in 2025,” the company shared in their announcement.
The team at Cyan has known about the financial challenges for some time now. The studio has been transparent with everyone about what they called the “choppy waters” and “dangers ahead.” While team members weren’t caught off guard by the news, it doesn’t make it any less heartbreaking for everyone involved.
Employees affected by the cuts will receive severance packages. The company is also actively helping them find new positions by sharing their information with potential employers in the industry.
Moving forward, Cyan Worlds is focusing on securing funding for their next project and stabilizing the studio. “We’ve been around for a very long time, and have been through tough times before,” they noted.
Cyan Worlds has quite a history in gaming. Founded in 1987 by brothers Robyn and Rand Miller, they’ve launched dozens of games during their impressive 38-year run in the industry.
Unfortunately, these layoffs aren’t happening in isolation. The gaming industry is facing a brutal start to 2025, with reports showing more than 2,000 game developers across over 40 studios losing their jobs in just the first quarter of the year.
Some of gaming’s biggest names are making deep cuts. Ubisoft has eliminated hundreds of positions, while Warner Bros. Games has shut down multiple development teams including Monolith Productions, Player First Games, and their San Diego studio.
Other notable developers–Crystal Dynamics, Iron Galaxy, Sumo Group, NetEase Games, and even Netflix’s gaming studios (Night School and Stories) have all reduced their workforce recently.
Industry watchers point to increasing development costs, economic uncertainty, and changing consumer spending as key factors behind this troubling pattern of job losses throughout the gaming world.
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