Hinterland confirms layoffs after delaying The Long Dark sequel
Hinterland is laying off 10 full-time employees after delaying The Long Dark sequel Blackfrost.
Studio founder and CEO Raphael van Lierop shared the news on LinkedIn and explained the company has also decided against extending the fixed-term contracts of four employees.
"Like most self-publishing developers, Hinterland is not insulated from the tumultuous state of the game industry at this time. But this decision is primarily motivated by progress around our projects. Blackfrost, our sequel to The Long Dark, needs more time in development before we will be able to launch it in Early Access," wrote van Lierop.
"Pushing the game out beyond the end of 2026 means pushing significant expected revenue out as well, and these layoffs will help us preserve the financial resources required to get the game to launch as well as to continue supporting our other games."
The redundancies won't impact the release of The Long Dark Episode Five: The Light at the End of all Things, which is still slated to launch on March 31, 2026. Van Lierop, however, emphasized that Hinterland will become a "weaker studio" as a result of the cuts.
"Every single one of these Hinterlanders is a great person and an excellent developer. As the head of the company, you should cast your judgement on me and not on them," he added. "Any development studio in the industry would be fortunate to have any single one of these team members. We are a weaker studio for losing them, and they will be sorely missed."
Layoffs and studio closures continue to dominate the news cycle in 2026. This week alone, notable companies such as Riot Games and Wildlight Entertainment made significant cuts, while the closure of Ashes of Creation developer Intrepid Studios was confirmed via a WARN notice.
