league-of-legends

Tencent pulls support for Last Sentinel; Lightspeed LA lays off 80 staff

Lightspeed LA laid off 80 employees after publisher Tencent lost confidence and opted not to continue funding Last Sentinel, a six-year cyberpunk open-world project. The game—set in a vertical cyberpunk Japan with destructible environments and driving/shooting gameplay—was announced at The Game Awards 2023 but suffered delays, a poor playtest and an unimpressive demo. Lightspeed is continuing work on Last Sentinel without Tencent’s backing and plans to shift the game's creative and development direction, leaving the project's commercial prospects uncertain.

• Lightspeed LA cut 80 staff after Tencent decided not to move forward with funding Last Sentinel.
• Last Sentinel entered development six years ago, was announced at The Game Awards 2023, and has endured multiple delays and at least one partial reboot.
• The title was being developed as a cyberpunk open-world set in a vertical Japanese city with destructible environments and driving-and-shooting systems, on a much smaller team than recent Rockstar open worlds.
• Poor playtests, an unimpressive demonstration to Tencent, an unclear creative vision, and a polarizing management approach from former Rockstar San Diego director Steve Martin prompted Tencent to withdraw support; Lightspeed continues development independently and will shift creative direction.