Luna Abyss launched on Xbox Game Pass, PC, and PS5 on May 21 after seven years in development. On June 16, the entire nine-person team behind it was laid off.
Kwalee Labs CEO Hollie Emery confirmed the shutdown in a LinkedIn statement, calling the layoffs "a decision that was completely outside of our control." The studio is now closed. All nine developers are on the job market as of June 17.
"Unfortunately as of yesterday, the entire team has been made redundant," Emery wrote. "The team are an incredibly talented, senior bunch of developers, independent spirit mixed with an AAA-class dedication to quality.
Specialists in Unreal Engine, and absolute pros at delivering high-quality, award-winning, optimised projects to vision." The timing is brutal.
Luna Abyss earned strong reviews, an 86% positive rating on Steam and a "generally favorable" 81 on Metacritic, with GamesRadar+ calling it "amazing." Those scores meant nothing.
Emery did not specify why the team was cut, but the game's player counts on Steam tell a grim story. SteamDB data shows sales fell short of expectations despite the day-one Game Pass placement. The game also launched on PS5, suggesting multiplatform sales weren't enough to offset costs.
Luna Abyss is a cosmic horror bullet-hell shooter where players explore an abandoned megastructure beneath a mimic moon. It's still available for purchase at $29.99 across all platforms. But with the studio dissolved and the team scattered, post-launch support is dead on arrival.
The layoff is the latest sign that strong critical reception no longer guarantees job security in games. The Hi-Fi Rush studio Tango Gameworks was shut down by Microsoft in 2024 months after releasing a critically acclaimed title, setting a grim precedent that Luna Abyss has now followed.
