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Mike Stevenson

@stopmotioner.bsky.social

420 followers 430 following 8 posts

Former stop motion animator turned game developer.
One half of Basenji Interactive.
Currently slinging code with Graceful Decay.

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Mike Stevenson

@stopmotioner.bsky.social

Game studios are struggling industry-wide, but this one hits hard. Cyan is one of the oldest surviving indie studios, full of incredibly talented world builders. I hope that everyone can land on their feet.

Cyan Worlds @cyan.com · Mar 28

Cyan friends and family, we have some difficult news to share today.

(More details in-thread below.)

A MESSAGE FROM CYAN:

Today we would like to share with you some very unfortunate news. Despite our best efforts to avoid it, Cyan has made the difficult decision to reduce our overall staff size—resulting in the layoff of twelve talented staff members, roughly half the team—effective at the end of March.

Industry conditions have forced us into a tricky spot where we are having to weigh the future health of our studio against the month-to-month realities of game development in 2025. Throughout the past year, we have been ultra-transparent with the entire Cyan team about the choppy waters we find ourselves in, as well as the dangers ahead. While the news of a layoff was not a surprise to the team, it was (and is) still deeply saddening for all of us.

Although we have done our best to pad the landing for those affected with severance packages, we would implore any fellow developers looking for world-class talent to reach out.

For now, our number one priority is to secure financing for our next project, and to restabilize the studio. We’ve been around for a very long time, and have been through tough times before. Our sincere hope is to continue to be around, and to provide the types of experiences that only Cyan can deliver.

As always, we are grateful for all the love and support from our amazing player community.

Sincerely, Cyan Leadership

March 28, 2025 at 8:02 PM

Reposted by Mike Stevenson

🍂Evan Balster🍂

@art.imitates.life

An E-bike battery burned my house down on the first day of GDC. Seeking mutual aid from financially stable colleagues.
gofund.me/47306b15

A column of fire envelops an RV in a pine forest late at night.

My bedroom and office reduced to ashes. The metal walls and roof are largely destroyed, revealing the forest beyond.

A class C RV gutted by fire. The heat of the fire has killed most of the plant life in a nearby garden.

A segment of an RV's exterior wall. The heat of the fire has melted through the aluminum panels.

March 19, 2025 at 3:38 AM

Mike Stevenson

@stopmotioner.bsky.social

I’m converting a couple N64 controllers to
Bluetooth using 8BitDo mod kits. Works super well! PSX and GameCube controllers are up next.

Nintendo 64 controller next to a rumble pak, analog stick, USB cable, and circuit board, arranged on a wood table.

Nintendo 64 controller with the front cover removed, revealing a black Bluetooth circuit board and other internal components. The original orange circuit board and its attached cable are laid out on a wood table above the opened controller.

January 2, 2025 at 9:06 PM

Reposted by Mike Stevenson

Steve Biegun

@sbiegun.bsky.social

Interested in VR/AR dev? I've gotten to know a lot of these creators over the past decade. Lovely community! #unity #ue5 #vr #ar go.bsky.app/MmFKt66

November 13, 2024 at 12:22 AM

Reposted by Mike Stevenson

Ben Lang

@ben.roadtovr.com

Twitter has become too much of a hellscape so I’m trying Bluesky again.

XR NETWORKING THREAD 🚨 If you’re in the industry and want to connect with new people coming in (or vice versa), drop a line here to introduce yourself so people can follow you. RT to spread this list around!

November 5, 2024 at 4:18 AM

Mike Stevenson

@stopmotioner.bsky.social

I'm playing through some old PC games for design inspiration, and have rediscovered Bungie's original Marathon series. It's still being maintained after 30 years, including a recent Steam release!
store.steampowered.com/developer/al...