Heart Machine revealed earlier this month that it was laying off a significant number of staff and "winding down" the development of its most recent early access game, Hyper Light Breaker. This was shortly after the studio announced its upcoming stylized side-scroller action horror game, Possessor(s). Now, however, it seems as though a number of developers and staff who worked on Possessor(s) are also getting the boot, less than two weeks before the game's November 11 launch. The layoffs weren't announced by the studio itself, but rather in a series of posts on Bluesky by the affected workers. One post read : "My time at Heart Machine has sadly come to a rather abrupt end," suggesting an immediate end to their six-year stint at the studio. This is the third round of layoffs at Heart Machine in the last year, with the first coming in November 2024, shortly ahead of the launch of Hyper Light Breaker.

At the time of writing, it's unclear just how many workers were laid off, but it appears as though the layoffs will affect multiple roles in different departments. One worker who worked on PR and community and management, commented in a video that "by the time Possessor(s) comes out on November 11, I don't know that anyone who worked on it will even be at the company anymore." She also mentions that the layoffs would be effective immediately, echoing the sentiments of other posts and suggesting that some staff members have been retained until the game launches. This was confirmed by a producer who was laid off , who says that her time a Heart Machine "will come to an end after Possessor(s) ships," adding that she is too busy "literally shipping the game to start actively looking for work."