Summary
Until Dawnremake developer Ballistic Moon has been “effectively” shut down, with its entire staff save for its founders and perhaps a handful of other employees reportedly now out of a job. The 2024 remake ofUntil Dawnwas Ballistic Moon’s first game, and if the reports are accurate, it will also likely be its last.
Therelease of the originalUntil Dawnin 2015 opened up a lot of game enthusiasts' eyes to Supermassive Games. Previously known mainly for creating some entries in theLittle Big Planet2D platformer series, the popularity of the choices-matter interactive horror drama game helped Supermassive find its niche, sparking the creation ofThe Dark Pictures Anthologyand the studio’s second large-scale horror drama, 2022’sThe Quarry.
Many fans were surprised when theofficial announcement of anUntil Dawnremakein May 2024 mentioned a different developer, Ballistic Moon. Parent company Sony initially seemed to have big plans in mind for the development studio, but a report fromInsider Gamingciting multiple unnamed sources now claims that almost everyone at Ballistic Moon has been laid off, including the entirety of its development, public relations, and marketing divisions. Sources quoted in that report stated that the owners had been proposing new projects and seeking to fund them, but that the shutdown would mean the end of support forUntil Dawn’s remake despite persistent complaints of bugs. The UK-based studio has made no official remarks via its website, which is badly outdated, as it still lists theUntil Dawnremake as “coming soon” despite the game’s launch early last October.
Developer Ballistic Moon Has Essentially Been Shut Down
Layoffs at the development studio didn’t all come at once. In fact, the first round oflayoffs hit Ballistic Moon a month beforeUntil Dawnremake’s release, with at least a dozen of its development team members put out of work in September 2024. According to the new report, around 20 others were let go in December. The unnamed sources had generally good things to say about working for Ballistic Moon, though there were sporadic complaints of unpaid overtime.
The reported shutdown of Ballistic Moon throws some suspicion into previousteases of anUntil Dawnsequel. Actor Peter Stormare, who plays Dr. Hill in the games and the movie adaptation coming in April, had previously shared a fan theory about a sequel on his Instagram account, though if a sequel is going to happen, it would likely have to either revert to being developed by Supermassive or find a new development studio altogether. Additionally, the remake was not met with as warm a reception as the original.OpenCriticlists the remake as Fair, with a Top Critic Average of 69, which is 10 points lower than the original release’s Strong score of 79.
