Cyan, the indie studio behind VR-supported revivals of basic puzzle adventures MYST (1993) and RIVEN (1997), introduced a second tranche of layoffs following a spherical in March that diminished the corporate by half.
Cyan introduced the information in a Bluesky publish, linking an up to date Google doc with contact particulars of affected staff.
The up to date record contains 14 names, though it’s unclear what number of had been affected on this second spherical versus March layoffs. A number of of the listed staff had been beforehand confirmed to have departed earlier this yr. Moreover, inclusion within the doc was voluntary.
Cyan introduced in March that it was shedding twelve workers members, “roughly half the workforce,” the studio confirmed. Since Cyan ostensibly had round 24 staff earlier than March layoffs, it’s probably now all the way down to single digits following the latest spherical.
On the time, Cyan mentioned its “primary precedence is to safe financing for our subsequent challenge, and to restabilize the studio,” additional noting the studio has “been round for a really very long time, and have been by way of powerful instances earlier than.”
“Trade circumstances have pressured us into a tough spot the place we’re having to weigh the long run well being of our studio in opposition to the month-to-month realities of recreation improvement in 2025,” Cyan mentioned in March. “All through the previous yr, we have now been ultra-transparent with the complete Cyan workforce in regards to the uneven waters we discover ourselves in, in addition to the risks forward. Whereas the information of a layoff was not a shock to the workforce, it was (and is) nonetheless deeply saddening for all of us.”
Caught up within the latest layoff spherical was Lead Recreation Designer and Author Harrison Pink, who joined the corporate in 2023. In a LinkedIn publish, Pink calls the trade is “an entire mess proper now.”
“It breaks my coronary heart to say it, however sadly I used to be caught up on this layoff,” Pink says. “The trade is an entire mess proper now, and I don’t blame any of this on the oldsters at Cyan, who’ve finished as proper by me as they probably may.”
Cyan is greatest recognized for creating Myst, the groundbreaking 1993 puzzle journey recreation that turned a cultural phenomenon and helped popularize CD-ROM gaming.
Through the years, the studio launched 4 different direct entries within the Myst franchise, together with Riven (1997), Myst III: Exile (2001), Myst IV: Revelation (2004), and Myst V: Finish of Ages (2005).
Cyan’s first foray into VR gaming started with the discharge of Obduction (2016), a religious successor to Myst that was efficiently crowd-funded by way of a Kickstarter marketing campaign in 2013. The primary-person sci-fi puzzle journey was launched throughout PC VR and the unique PSVR, in addition to console and PC.
In 2021, Cyan then launched a 3D remake of Myst, which launched on Quest, PC VR, PC and console, updating the almost 30-year-old recreation with fashionable graphics.
In 2023, the studio launched Firmament (2023), its atmospheric puzzle journey within the spirit of Myst and Obduction, launched throughout PC, console, PC VR and PSVR 2. Shortly afterwards, Cyan launched the 3D remake of Riven, bringing the sport to Quest, PC VR, PC and console.
The latest layoff spherical follows the discharge of ‘Rime’, a brand new free Age added to the Myst remake, launched on March twentieth. In the meantime, the studio is on the brink of launch Firmament on PS5 and PSVR 2 on July 2nd.
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