As Players Debate Whether To Purchase Possessor(s) After Heart...

"IF no one does this…I really just wasted 3 damn years of my life."

It's a messy time over at Heart Machine, developer of the beloved Hyper Light Drifter and its ill-fated hack 'n' slash successor Hyper Light Breaker. The latter debuted to mixed Steam reviews and muted sales when it carved its way into early access back in January, resulting in layoffs at Heart Machine and work on Hyper Light Breaker ceasing prematurely.

But it seems this wasn't enough to right Heart Machine's ailing vessel, as the studio began a second round of layoffs late last week. This time the cuts were focussed on the team creating the side-scrolling action/adventure Possessor(s), occurring less than a fortnight before the game is due to launch.

The combined layoffs have led some players to question whether to continue supporting Heart Machine financially. In a Steam discussion, user Adam posted that it's "hard to support devs when they can no longer see a cent from a game."

This was apparently posted in response to the initial round of layoffs, but other users began to debate whether developers who'd had their jobs working on Possessor(s) cut would see a return for their efforts. "I have no intention of giving money to a company that thanked them for that work by kicking them out before the game even launched", commented user inRemote.

Eventually, these queries prompted responses from representatives at Heart Machine and Possessor(s) publisher Devolver Digital. From Devolver, community strategist Harris Foster said the publisher was "saddened to hear the news of layoffs at Heart Machine" while also clarifying the situation regarding compensation for employees laid off from their roles on Possessor(s).

"Heart Machine has confirmed to us that all revenue-share eligible team members who contributed to Possessor(s) will continue to receive their share," Foster wrote. He then quoted Heart Machine's Creative and Design Director Alx Preston, who confirmed that team members scheduled to receive profit share will do so "regardless of if they are no longer here or remain at the studio".

Later in the thread, Possessor(s) narrative director Tyler Hutchinson chimed in. Initially, this was to dismiss a suggestion that Heart Machine had hired consulting firms like Sweet Baby Inc to work on the project (which would be nothing out of the ordinary even if they had).

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Source: PC Gamer