Cyan Worlds, renowned for its work on the classic games Myst and Riven, has announced that it has laid off approximately half its workforce. The developers stated that these job cuts were expected due to the current realities of the gaming industry in 2025.

In a candid statement, the studio acknowledged that the decision was not a shock for the remaining team members. They emphasized:

“We are weighing the future health of our studio against the month-to-month realities of game development in 2025.”

The company characterized their leadership as being “ultra-transparent” regarding the fluctuations in the gaming market, alluding to the ongoing challenging conditions that triggered these layoffs. Hummel took to social media to share her feelings about the industry changes, expressing:

“God, this industry sucks right now. I’m not affected by this layoff, but a lot of absolutely amazing people were—I’ve worked with this team for a year and a half now…”

With the gaming sector seeing significant layoffs in recent years, this situation highlights the difficulties even established studios like Cyan Worlds are facing. The company’s immediate goal is to stabilize its operations while hoping to remain viable in the long term. As noted, the development studio recently released a remake of Riven and has ongoing projects, including the remastered version of Myst.