Den of Wolves Studio 10 Chambers Announces Major Layoffs

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The developers of the game GTFO, 10 Chambers Collective, have announced a major restructuring that includes layoffs, even affecting some of the company’s founders. This change comes as the Swedish studio is beginning work on its next game, a cyberpunk heist title called Den of Wolves.

10 Chambers is a game studio based in Stockholm, Sweden, founded in 2015 by developers who previously worked on the popular games Payday and Payday 2. They’ve released one game so far: GTFO, a four-player co-op horror game that had sold around 3 million copies on Steam by early 2026, according to Gamalytic. In December 2023, 10 Chambers revealed their next project, Den of Wolves, a cyberpunk heist game played from a first-person perspective. This new game is a return to the style of the original Payday games, differing from the more horror-focused GTFO.

10 Chambers Laying Off Many Employees, Including Some Co-Founders

Dominik Bošnjak / TopMob | Source images: 10 Chambers Collective

In mid-February 2026, 10 Chambers announced it was laying off a significant number of employees as part of a major company reorganization. According to a statement to Game Developer, the changes are intended to help their game, Den of Wolves, reach its full potential. The restructuring will affect many positions, including those held by several of the studio’s co-founders. While the company hasn’t publicly named those affected to protect their privacy, Hjalmar Vikström, formerly the chief development officer, announced his departure on LinkedIn as of February 15th.

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The company hasn’t said exactly how many people were affected by the recent layoffs. News of the job cuts first appeared on LinkedIn, with employees sharing their experiences before the company officially confirmed the restructuring. In a statement, the company highlighted that Ulf Andersson, creative director, and Simon Viklund, composer—both co-founders—are still dedicated to finishing and launching Den of Wolves and continuing to lead the studio afterward. While acknowledging the layoffs are significant, the company is presenting them as a reorganization to improve its structure, not a shift in the overall plan for the game.

The recent layoffs have left the future of 10 Chambers’ next game uncertain. Although the studio showed off early previews of Den of Wolves to some media in spring 2025, they haven’t said how close the game is to being finished. They described the project as being in “pre-alpha” during the latter half of 2025, but this term is quite broad. It could mean the game is a very early prototype with many features still being developed, or a more complete version that still needs content and refinement, making it difficult to estimate how much work remains.

10 Chambers Collective Developer Timeline

  • Mid-2015: founded in Stockholm, Sweden
  • December 2017: GTFO announcement at TGA
  • December 2019: GTFO early access release
  • December 2021: GTFO 1.0 release
  • December 2023: Den of Wolves announcement at TGA

These recent layoffs are the second time in two years that 10 Chambers has reduced its staff, following a smaller restructuring in February 2024 that eliminated five positions. The company hasn’t specified exactly how many employees were affected by the February 2026 cuts. 10 Chambers plans for its new game, Den of Wolves, to be developed and released similarly to its first game, GTFO, starting with a launch into Steam Early Access. This Early Access period will serve as a long-term beta test, allowing the developers to gather player feedback and improve the game before its official release.

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2026-02-16 08:36