Weekend Highlights (June 28-29)

At the studio that developed Myst, there were new layoffs, the creator of Stardew Valley hinted he might try to resurrect Hytale, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 became the highest-rated game of the first half of 2025 according to Metacritic — here's a rundown of the main events in the gaming industry over the past weekend.

• Studio Cyan Worlds, known for the iconic Myst series, announced a round of layoffs. It was the second this year. The previous layoffs happened in March when they parted ways with half the staff. This time, Cyan Worlds did not specify the number of layoffs. However, their list of specialists seeking new jobs currently includes 14 people — some have been there since spring, while others just joined.
• The creator of Stardew Valley, Eric Barone, in correspondence with YouTuber Myne, indicated that he is generally open to helping resurrect the canceled minimalist sandbox Hytale. When asked if he would consider investing in the project, Barone replied, “Possibly,” but emphasized he first wants to know what went wrong and what the plan is. Simon Collins-Laflamme, founder of the Hytale-developing studio Hypixel Studios, who left the team five years before it shut down, is more decisive. He wrote on X that if his family agrees, he might invest $25 million in the game's development. But whether any real action will be taken or it will remain just talk is difficult to say.
• Metacritic published a list of the highest critically rated games released in the first half of 2025. The top spot went to the French JRPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which scored 93 out of 100. Joining it in the top 5 were Blue Prince (92 points), Split Fiction (91 points), Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (90 points), and despelote (89 points).
• Atlus announced that Persona5: The Phantom X — a free-to-play spin-off of Persona 5 — was downloaded 1.5 million times in the first day following its release in Japan and the West. They did not specify how downloads were divided between PC and mobile versions. Meanwhile, the game's peak online count on Steam reached 41.6 thousand players, making it one of the franchise's best results. Previously, only Persona 3 Reload drew more concurrent players — 45 thousand.