Less than a year after its Steam Early Access launch on January 14, 2025, indie studio Heart Machine announced layoffs and the end of development for Hyper Light Breaker. This open-world roguelite sequel to the beloved Hyper Light Drifter promised co-op gameplay but stumbled with consistently “mixed” Steam ratings. Also worth mentioning is that its recent peak player count barely reached 23 online.
From the start, Hyper Light Breaker faced criticism for working with Sweet Baby Inc., a narrative consultancy that “helped” shape the game’s story and characters. This connection immediately sparked a major firestorm among players who viewed it as “woke” interference that ruined the pure action focus of the original Drifter.
Despite the developers cutting ties with SBI over a year ago to regain control, the damage was done. The game was hit with review bombs that slammed everything from clunky combat to a forced story, sinking the score and scaring away buyers. Videos accusing “Sweet Baby Inc kills another game” tied the low player counts and bugs to that early decision, creating a toxic spiral the team couldn’t escape.
On top of the external issues, the launch itself was rough. Players complained about brutal difficulty, laggy performance, and a lack of content that didn’t justify the $30 price tag. The developers later admitted they had overshot the challenge and had relied on those harsh reviews for free QA testing. While patches attempted to fix the mess by tweaking combat and adding content, most players just left the game.
With resources depleted, Heart Machine is now focused on cleanly wrapping up development. They promise one final major update in January 2026 to polish key areas and give the game a solid conclusion, even though the full vision won’t be realized. There will be no further communication or tweaks this year, just focus on delivering that finale.
