Kwalee Labs Lays Off Luna Abyss Development Team After Game Pass

Weeks after launching Luna Abyss on multiple platforms, Kwalee Labs laid off the game's development team, including CEO Hollie Emery, due to reasons not disclosed.

Kwalee Labs recently released the first-person horror shooter Luna Abyss on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC. However, despite a day-one Game Pass launch, CEO Hollie Emery announced on LinkedIn that she and eight other team members were let go this week. Emery expressed gratitude for the industry and media support, despite facing challenges during development. Luna Abyss received positive reviews, with an 81% score on Metacritic. Although specific Game Pass figures are unknown, the game had a peak of 18,597 concurrent players on Steam at launch, dropping to 310 players in the last 24 hours.

Luna Abyss follows the story of Fawkes, a woman trapped on the moon Luna, battling cosmic horrors while exploring its depths. The game is expected to remain accessible on its current platforms. The layoffs at Kwalee Labs coincide with negotiations between Xbox's first-party studios and Microsoft to prevent closures, with outcomes uncertain.