May turned out to be an unusually hectic period for major game releases, which may help clarify why Luna Abyss‘ debut went largely unnoticed on PC and on next-gen consoles. This sci-fi bullet-hell shooter appeared to receive favorable critical coverage, yet even so, the complete development team at Kwalee Labs has now been dismissed.
Kwalee Labs CEO Hollie Emery shared the update on LinkedIn, explaining that the entire workforce was let go following a choice that was “completely beyond their control.”
“We’re grateful for the warmth and support [Luna Abyss] received from both the industry and critically from journalists and media,” Emery said. “Throughout the process we encountered plenty of hurdles, but this journey was the defining moment of our careers—and we’re genuinely proud that it has finally come out (thanks to everyone who believed in us!).
“Sadly, starting yesterday, the full team has been made redundant; this was a decision we couldn’t influence at all. Because of that, every member of the team is now looking for new roles starting today.”
Luna Abyss is currently sitting at a ‘very positive’ rating on Steam, drawing on 599 reviews, though its highest concurrent player total from 23 days ago was only 317 players. With that in mind, it seems plausible the title didn’t reach Kwalee’s internal performance expectations. Specific sales numbers haven’t been made public, but it did launch straight into Game Pass on Xbox, Cloud, and PC. As a side note, the UK-based publisher Kwalee still lists Luna Abyss prominently on its website as of the time of this writing.
Luna Abyss centers on Fawkes, “a prisoner of Luna caught between a mysterious prophecy and their sentence,” and plays as a single-player, first-person action-adventure with substantial platforming, along with jaw-dropping bullet-hell showdowns. After spending time with most of it, I’d argue it’s among the most memorable action experiences of 2026 to date—thanks to fresh level design and shooting that nods to Metroid Prime, which holds your attention even before the horror-inspired artistic direction. I also suspect that Saros’ chances might have been stronger as a more straightforward action game, had it not leaned on roguelite mechanics.