- "Nearly everyone" laid off at Hyper Light Drifter devs Heart Machine after publisher drops unannounced game - 17 September 2026
Heart Machine, the US-based makers of Hyper Light Drifter , its multiplayer spinoff Hyper Light Breaker , and last year’s Possessor(s) , have laid off "nearly everyone" on staff after an unnamed publisher pulled funding for their next, unannounced game. Read more
- Hyper Light Drifter - Companion Plushie! - 30 April 2025
SyComs, or “Synthesizing Computers”, are robot companions that accompany the player everywhere they go in the world of Hyper Light. Each character has their own unique SyCom companion, which serves as their interface with the technology of the world, allowing them access objects like doors, hatches, and computer terminals. Facing odds in a hazardous and often lonely world, having these stalwart companions around is both a practical necessity and a comfort. We're partnering with Makeship to create a plushie of the OG SyCom - the Companion from Hyper Light Drifter! Pledge your support of $2 in the next week to help bring this lil guy to life.
- 16 Hours Remain to get Hyper Light Drifter FREE w/Hyper Light Breaker Purchase - 28 January 2025
Our launch bundle + discount for Hyper Light Breaker ends in ~16 hours, at 10AM PST! So if you've had Hyper Light Drifter on your wishlist for a while, or if you've been on the fence about picking up Hyper Light Breaker...this is your last chance to pick up both games at the best price: $30!! After 10AM tomorrow, Hyper Light Breaker will be full price ($30) and will not come with Hyper Light Drifter ($20) for free. GET THEM NOW
- Heart Machine is on Patreon! - 24 December 2024
Check out our Patreon now! Why are we on Patreon? Games are the greatest form of expression and entertainment that we've ever created. There’s a common saying in games development that it's a miracle that any games are made, let alone good ones. Now, it’s even more brutal. Over the past two years, the industry has rapidly changed, flipped around and turned upside down. Funding for new projects is sparse, even for successful devs. Everything is far more expensive to make. Paths we used to be able to take to create projects no longer exist. You’ve likely heard about this on some front. It’s grim. 30% of all games developers have either been laid off or had their roles significantly reduced or affected over the past year alone. Studios have closed. Many have left. We at Heart Machine are not immune, having gone through layoffs in November of this year. Since the old models are not enough,…
- Hyper Light Drifter is a part of IGF Celebration Days event on Steam! - 12 July 2024
Hyper Light Drifter part of IGF Celebration Days, a digital showcase celebrating award-winning indie games, the Independent Games Festival, and the players who love indie games! As an IGF award-winning studio now going strong into our 11th year, we're honored to be a part of this celebration. Check out all the amazing projects that have been a part of the IGF legacy: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/IGF_CelebrationDays https://i.imgur.com/0CWSEfp.png
- CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF HEART MACHINE - 16 September 2023
A decade ago, we began a journey that would lead to the birth of Heart Machine - a game studio committed to crafting immersive, vibrant experiences that resonate with players on a profound level. As we celebrate our 10-year anniversary, we reflect on our history, achievements, community, and the exciting future that lies ahead. THINKING BACK Glitch City, Kickstarter, and Hyper Light Drifter In 2013, we took a leap of faith and launched a Kickstarter campaign for our debut project, Hyper Light Drifter. Little did we know that this campaign would not only secure the funds needed to bring our project to life, but also ignite a beautiful connection with supporters, players, and community members who believed in us from the outset. Fueled by a need for camaraderie and knowledge, we spent those early days of Drifter’s development as a part of Glitch City, a then-small collective of independen…
- Hotfix for April 4th - 4 April 2023
This update fixes an issue where you could no longer zoom out/in in the map screen.
- Hotfix for December 30th - 31 December 2022
This update contains a fix to input device assignment when playing coop.
- Hotfix for December 5th - 5 December 2022
This update contains the following fixes: Fixed an issue with pink gates Fixed something missing from the ending of the game Fixed some menu nav issues
- Nominate Hyper Light Drifter for the "Labor of Love" Steam Award! - 22 November 2022
If you know anything about our studio's history or the personal story of Alx Preston, our founder / creative director, you'd know that our flagship title Hyper Light Drifter is a true Labor of Love. Hyper Light Drifter is based on the vision and inspired by the life of its lead dev, Alx Preston. Alx was born with a congenital heart disease, and throughout his life has been hospitalized with digestive and immune-system issues relating to this condition. Alx conceived of Hyper Light Drifter as a means "to tell a story can identify with, expressing something personal to a larger audience, so more connected and have an outlet for the many emotions that crop up around life-altering issues." (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/02/hyper-light-drifter-heart-disease-inspired-alex-preston) Alx and a talented team of friends and collaborators Beau Blyth, Teddy Dief, Casey Hunt, Rich V…
- Hotfix for November 17th - 17 November 2022
This update contains the following fixes: Made it more streamlined to switch between keyboard and gamepad input Fixed an issue with loading save data that was preventing previously cleared Barriers from re-clearing
- Hotfix for November 10th - 10 November 2022
This update contains the following fixes: Achievement unlocking crash for some players Removed broken crystal shot weapon (Special Edition exclusive) Fixed Bully achievement
- Hotfix for October 27th - 27 October 2022
This update contains the following fixes: Addressed issue with playing coop with keyboard+gamepad Addressed a crash that could occur at the end of the game
- Hotfix for October 19th - 19 October 2022
This update was made specifically to fix a crash that could occur with late some game content.
- We Are OFK - 18 August 2022
Greetings, Drifters! We have rare news: Some time after we released Hyper Light Drifter, our teammate Teddy Dief set off on their own, to explore different realms of game design and storytelling, building a new team from our native Los Angeles. I’m excited to share that today, the fruits of Teddy & team’s labor is released: We Are OFK https://ucbee250c2f7a9416a16cd6ed6d3.previews.dropboxusercontent.com/p/thumb/ABq3He07fQmOWpbu0aQGrQUzwQAF64mOW606trmIlDuO5MhfIEMTY8EKVK16YCik97qY0eH8BnALPOmiKpmDG-6sh8ENc5Qd2xBhqjpf4tD82mVjBp7pL-nAprmOEBzMP0XBZEn9BClI4v18XmMQZ-BRpCi_ljtJ4aXcXgFPjnrWwzsmf_5bRXZGdxhaSnEPnyiMGobXOy9_bEu312Nu98RuJJCDF_QFDdbs5yzIwce3JV-LgoAPU_MyJHyRxgJat_v_mg6lD4tTZCKmL-Us9kGgqfARldckPd9cA1yT_BMlBtVpUaqW2QPADNXx2ZQMTc3qoWtFTgkp3x0DtyP2lzS2-ygFVY8HXhWT2DtHeCVU89-o1RNguxI4Xfl-290PmqT9vFJz2TuZI_6xUdDf6Zye6ggjpWBGh2p_QsR4i1Y9hcWQF-H4s0i2DK5G-HX8DLq18dovgBdBz1ks1FaiflGc/p.png A musi…
- Hyper Light Drifter follow-up Solar Ash is out now - 2 December 2021
Heart Machine's Solar Ash is out now, inviting players on a skating adventure to kill giant bosses. It's a follow-up to their previous game, Hyper Light Drifter , but this time around they've swapped the 2D style for 3D, and are sending you out into a big open world. I'm very much looking forward to jumping into its lush and colourful alien landscapes. Oh, to be a sci-fi skater. Read more
- The best action games on PC - 7 February 2020
Everyone loves a good action game. It’s the driving force behind so many of our favourite PC games, but only a few can lay claim to being the best action games of all time. That’s why we’ve compiled this list – to sort the pulled punches from the bestest biffs that PC has to offer. Whether it’s the joy of pulling off a perfect combo, riding the wave of an explosive set-piece or the hair-raising thrill of dodging enemy attacks in slow-motion that gets you going, there’s an action game here for you. (more…)
- Mutant Year Zero and Hyper Light Drifter free on Epic Games Store - 16 August 2019
Another week, another free game on the Epic Games Store – two, even. Until next Thursday you can grab the tip-top tactical action of Mutant Year Zero: Road To Eden and the top-down zip-zoom explore-o-action of Hyper Light Drifter for free. MYZ is a wild freebie, both because it came out less than one year ago and because it’s chuffing lovely. Our former Alec (RPS in peace) proffered plenty of praise in his Mutant Year Zero review but I, a fool, did not heed his wisdom until a demo came along this year to show me oh yep, it is great. Now you can see that in full for free. Don’t be as daft as me. (more…)
- In my memory, Hyper Light Drifter is a perfect piece of video game storytelling - 16 August 2019
Hyper Light Drifter is free on the Epic Store right now, and it's just the excuse I've been waiting for to return to this dark, enchanted world. I haven't really played Hyper Light Drifter since it came out, so the game that exists in my mind is probably subtly different to the game that sits somewhere on my hard-drive. No matter. In my memory, Hyper Light Drifter is the perfect piece of video game storytelling, and I think the reason for this is sort of perverse and interesting. Let me be more specific. Hyper Light Drifter strikes me as being the perfect piece of video game environmental storytelling. And to play straw men for a second, I have an idea in my head of how environmental storytelling should probably work in most games. The world of the game should be filled with doodads. Things to click on to get an animation or a reaction, sure, but also text files, audio logs, emails care…
- Your next free games on the Epic Store are Hyper Light Drifter and Mutant Year Zero - 8 August 2019
Should your increasingly insurmountable library of video game freebies still not quite be tottering enough for your liking, Epic has revealed that Hyper Light Drifter and Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden will be available for nowt on its store next week. For those that need an introduction, Hyper Light Drifter is the work of developer Heart Machine, and originally launched on PC back in 2016. It's an utterly triumphant top-down slasher that mixes evocative exploration and puzzling with tough, evasion-based combat. All of which unfolds across an enigmatic, beautifully crafted world that's ripe with mysteries and and secrets for the curious adventurer to discover. It impressed Eurogamer's Christian Donlan enough for him to whip out his pulsating Recommended stamp when it passed across his desk for review in 2016. Read more
