Moonshot Games, the developer behind sci-fi shooter Wildgate, has confirmed layoffs at the studio, according to a statement from its parent company Dreamhaven. The cuts come less than a year after the game’s initial release and highlight the continued instability facing studios across the industry.

While the exact number of affected staff has not been disclosed, Dreamhaven acknowledged the decision was made after Wildgate struggled to maintain momentum in the months following its July 2025 launch.

In a statement provided to Game Developer, Dreamhaven explained that despite recent improvements, the game’s performance wasn’t enough to sustain Moonshot’s existing team size.

Wildgate launched on the Epic Games Store at the start of 2026, which reportedly led to a noticeable bump in player numbers. However, Dreamhaven says that increase still fell short of what was needed to keep the studio fully staffed.

“Despite the increase in player numbers and overall positive reception, it wasn’t enough to sustain the size of our development team,” Dreamhaven said.

“So we made the difficult decision to reduce team roles to ensure we can continue delivering updates to the game while working in a way that supports the studio in the long term.”

The company stressed that development on Wildgate is continuing, with the team currently focused on the game’s next content update, which will introduce several quality-of-life improvements.

One of the most notable additions on the way is a highly requested progression system, which Dreamhaven says is expected to arrive later this quarter.

Wildgate’s Ongoing Challenges

Wildgate has faced an uphill battle since launch. Just a month before the Epic Games Store release, reports indicated the game had sold around 130,000 units, a figure that appears to have raised sustainability concerns internally.

This isn’t the first round of cutbacks at Dreamhaven either. In September 2025, the company confirmed layoffs that primarily impacted its publishing division, underscoring broader financial pressures across the organization.

Moonshot now joins a growing list of studios affected by layoffs over the past year, as developers grapple with rising costs, softer sales, and shifting player expectations. Even games that manage to grow their audience post-launch are no longer guaranteed long-term stability.

For now, Dreamhaven says it remains committed to supporting Wildgate and Moonshot Games, albeit with a smaller team, as it looks for ways to keep the project viable moving forward.

Whether upcoming updates and systems can help Wildgate find a more stable footing remains to be seen but for Moonshot, the road ahead is clearly a more cautious one.