Little Nightmares Dev Laying Off Over 10% Employees, Directive 8020 Delayed To 2026

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Little Nightmares 3 Isn't Affected!

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  • The developer behind Little Nightmares has announced laying off 36 employees.
  • Those affected will receive full support from the developer. 
  • Directive 8020 has been delayed to the first half of 2026, and Little Nightmares 3’s development has not been affected. 

Layoffs have become increasingly common in the gaming industry, which is a concerning factor. Microsoft has recently laid off 9,000 employees, sparking a massive controversy. Many games were affected, and some were even cancelled. 

Following that, other developers, such as Spider Games, have also announced layoffs. Now, another one has joined the trend. The developer behind Little Nightmares has announced that it will be laying off over 10% of its employees

Why it matters: Employees randomly losing their jobs is unfair, but this has become a norm in the market, and little can be done to change it. 

Supermassive Games Layoffs
Supermassive Games Layoffs Has Announced Layoffs And the Delay of Directive 8020

Supermassive Games, the developer behind Little Nightmares, has just announced on Twitter that it will be laying off 36 employees

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.

While this is a pretty unfortunate and difficult decision, the studio will offer its full support to those who will be affected. This will help them get back on their feet, which is a good initiative. 

Despite the developer laying off over 10% of its employees, it doesn’t seem like any of the project is affected negatively. However, it should be noted that the survival horror title, Directive 8020, which was set to release on October 2, 2025, has been moved to the first half of 2026

As the response to the game has been generally positive from fans, the developer wants to provide them with the best experience. It should also be noted that there is no impact on the development of Little Nightmares 3.

What are your thoughts on another developer joining the layoffs trend? Were you excited about the launch of Directive 8020? Are you disappointed with the delay? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or join the official Tech4Gamers forums for discussion.

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