Den of Wolves was revealed at The Game Awards 2023 with a brutal cinematic trailer teasing bloody cyberpunk heists. Developer 10 Chambers didn’t reveal any gameplay or a launch date however it acquired the shooter on individuals’s radars. Over two years later it’s nonetheless not out and the studio behind prior Steam hit GTFO is already going through layoffs.
Information of the cuts broke first on LinkedIn on February 13 when particular person builders began sharing their layoff tales. “This wasn’t on my 2026 bingo card, but here we are wearing the green LinkedIn banner for a while,” wrote one affected employee. 10 Chambers later confirmed the layoffs in a press release to Game Developer and others.
“We can confirm that we’re taking a hard look at how we work and how the studio is set up, so Den of Wolves can become the game it deserves to be,” it learn. “This unfortunately means a significant restructuring of the studio, impacting a large number of roles, including several of the studio’s co-founders.”
It continued, “We remain focused on the vision of Den of Wolves. Ulf Andersson and Simon Viklund remain fully committed to the game and to leading the studio forward. When we have more concrete news to share, we’ll do it through our official channels.”
From horror shooter to cyberpunk heists
One one that isn’t nonetheless dedicated to the upcoming multiplayer shooter is 10 Chambers co-founder Hjalmar Vikström. He revealed his departure from the studio after a decade of working there earlier within the week. “Next up for me is going indie–making way smaller games, focusing on health and family, and just enjoying game development,” he wrote on LinkedIn.
10 Chambers launched GTFO in Early Entry in 2019 and it instantly gripped gamers with its grime-y and claustrophobic coop horror gameplay. It revolved round prisoners preventing mutants and avoiding hazards whereas finishing opaque aims in an underground complicated. It was uncompromisingly brutal and gained a faithful following consequently, often spiking to almost 20,000 concurrents on Steam and buying 1000’s of constructive opinions within the course of.
Den of Wolves applies a equally harsh method to sci-fi heists, however with way more bold trappings. It combines the smash-and-grab break-ins of a Payday with a second layer of nightmare-fueled gameplay the place groups hack into fleshy human thoughts vaults to retrieve the dear information saved in them. It’s a neat idea that acquired first rate previews in early 2025 however there’s nonetheless no launch date.
Shopping for extra time for Den of Wolves
“I’ve been begging management to give us a release window for Den of Wolves in the trailer–but no,” 10 Chambers comms director Robin Björkell stated alongside a new community gameplay trailer in December. “They won’t budge. These developers really don’t want to make promises they can’t keep for the sake of marketing. It makes my job harder, but as a gamer myself, I respect it. I told them we at least need to prove that the game exists, and that was the starting point for this trailer.”
The cuts at 10 Chambers come as many sport corporations wrestle in an ultra-completive launch atmosphere the place growth schedules are taking longer and funding {dollars} are drying up. Wildlight Leisure, the staff behind January’s new PVP shooter Highguard, recently underwent mass layoffs simply weeks after launch and months after a splashy Sport Awards 2025 reveal.
“If you know me you’ve heard this before: Making games is hard,” 10 Chamber’s outgoing cofounder wrote on LinkedIn. “And these past years have taken their toll. But thinking back I’m proud of how we managed to punch above our weight and deliver GTFO. Both the Early Access release from a team of 9, and also the releases culminating with GTFO 1.0 from the bigger 10 Chambers team. I’m grateful for the friends I’ve made and everything I’ve learned.”
