Ballistic Moon, the developer of the Until Dawn remake, has apparently shut down with all but a few members of their staff made redundant. In a recent report by Insider Gaming, the UK developer shut down after a string of layoffs that began even before the game’s release.
The closure of Ballistic Moon marks a dramatic end to the brief lifespan of the studio in the gaming industry. Founded in 2019, the studio’s only released game to date is the 2024 remake of Until Dawn, an overhaul of Supermassive Games’ critically acclaimed 2015 survival horror game. The remake was developed through Sony Interactive Entertainment, but the game received a lukewarm reception, with players widely criticizing persistent bugs and technical flaws.
The news has been broken that Ballistic Moon began letting employees go as early as September 2024, a month before the remake’s launch. There were said to have been a dozen developers let go at the time, then some 20 additional ones in December. The studio’s marketing and PR team was also dissolved, according to reports. While past employees reported that they enjoyed working in the office setting, there were grievances of unpaid overtime.
The studio’s site is still old, with Until Dawn still “coming soon” even though the game was released in October 2024. Insider Gaming sources suggest that the Ballistic Moon founders had been looking for new projects to shop around for capital but hadn’t succeeded.
The shutdown also raises questions regarding the possibility of a sequel to Until Dawn, something that was teased by the voice of Dr. Hill in both the game and its forthcoming movie adaptation, Peter Stormare. If a sequel does happen, development will almost certainly have to return to Supermassive Games or a new studio altogether.
The remake of Until Dawn, according to OpenCritic, enjoyed a Top Critic Average of 69, which is dramatically lower than 79 for the original. Due to Ballistic Moon’s allegedly reported shutdown, the game can be supported that might be ended early, and bugs omitted. Ballistic Moon and Sony both declined to address what occurred at the studio.
