On May 21, 2026, relatively unknown studio Kwalee Labs launched its cosmic horror bullet hell shooter Luna Abyss after seven long years of development. It seemed like people liked it quite a lot, but less than a month later, the entire development team has been laid off and the studio has been shut down.
At the time of writing, Luna Abyss has 86% positive Steam reviews and a “generally favorable” 81 rating on Metacritic, and if those metrics aren’t convincing enough, GamesRadar+’s own Austin Wood called it “amazing.” Unfortunately, the game’s positive reception wasn’t enough to save the entire Kwalee Labs team from being made redundant.
Studio CEO Hollie Emery announced the sad news on LinkedIn (thanks, Game Informer), expressing appreciation for players and directing potential recruiters to team members who are now looking for jobs.
“We’re enamoured by the love and support it received both by our industry and critically by journalists and media,” Emery says. “Whilst we faced many challenges along the way, it has been the highlight of our careers – and we are incredibly proud that it has finally seen the light of day (thank you to everyone who believed in us!).
“Unfortunately as of yesterday, the entire team has been made redundant; a decision that was completely outside of our control. As a result, the entire team are available for work as of today.”
As I wrestle with flashbacks from Tango Gameworks’ closure in 2024 shortly after the release of the excellent rhythm-based action Hi-Fi Rush, it’s safe to say good reviews haven’t been a reliable safety net for developers for quite some time now. Emery doesn’t get into the specifics of Kwalee Labs’ closure in her announcement, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say it didn’t meet sales expectations. The game was a day-one Game Pass drop and player counts on that platform aren’t available, but data from SteamDB paints a frankly abysmal picture.
Luna Abyss puts you in the unfortunate shoes of a prisoner named Fawkes who’s sent to explore an abandoned megastructure deep beneath the surface of the mimic moon Luna in search of technology left there by a lost colony. Ominously, “every move you make will be overseen by your artificial prison guard named Aylin,” according to the game’s official description.
You can still buy the game on all of the usual platforms for a modest price of $29.99. Sadly though, the likelihood of a sequel is extremely low now.
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