Cyan Worlds, the studio behind the Myst franchise, laid off 12 employees late last week. The news was shared via Cyan Worlds' social channels. These 12 employees made up roughly half of the entire team at Cyan Worlds.
The statement released by the team says that news didn't really come as a surprise. They note how "industry conditions have forced us into a tricky spot where we are having to weigh the future health of our studio against the month-to-month realities of game development in 2025."
Cyan Worlds offered a list of those employees that were laid off last week who have consented to have their contact information shared. These employees are looking for new jobs and opportunities from studios that may be hiring.
In June 2024, Cyan Worlds released a remake of their classic adventure game, Riven: The Sequel to Myst.
A full transcript of Cyan Worlds' statement can be found below.
[quote]A MESSAGE FROM CYAN:
Today we would like to share with you some very unfortunate news. Despite our best efforts to avoid it, Cyan has made the difficult decision to reduce our overall staff size—resulting in the layoff of twelve talented staff members, roughly half the team—effective at the end of March.
Industry conditions have forced us into a tricky spot where we are having to weigh the future health of our studio against the month-to-month realities of game development in 2025. Throughout the past year, we have been ultra-transparent with the entire Cyan team about the choppy waters we find ourselves in, as well as the dangers ahead. While the news of a layoff was not a surprise to the team, it was (and is) still deeply saddening for all of us.
Although we have done our best to pad the landing for those affected with severance packages, we would implore any fellow developers looking for world-class talent to reach out.
For now, our number one priority is to secure financing for our next project, and to restabilize the studio. We’ve been around for a very long time, and have been through tough times before. Our sincere hope is to continue to be around, and to provide the types of experiences that only Cyan can deliver.
As always, we are grateful for all the love and support from our amazing player community.
Sincerely, Cyan Leadership
