Hyper Light Breaker studio will end the game's development and lay off staff

Heart Machine, the studio behind the indie darling Hyper Light Drifter, has announced that it will be winding down development on its upcoming title, Hyper Light Breaker. The game, a third-person roguelike that entered early access in early 2025, will not see a full 1.0 release, and the studio has had to lay off an unspecified number of its staff as a result. The studio cited "broader forces beyond our control, including shifts in funding, corporate consolidation and the uncertain environment many small studios like us are navigating today" as the reasons for this decision. However, they have indicated that they plan to continue making games with their consolidated workforce, and that Hyper Light Breaker will receive one final update in January 2025, though no further updates are planned for the remainder of the year. Engadget's Jessica Conditt had previously praised the game's hoverboarding gameplay and described it as a "perfect amalgamation of Hyper Light Drifter and Solar Ash," the studio's other game.