Gaming

That's No Moon Cuts Artists Amid Crossfire Development Push

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Key takeaways

That's No Moon confirmed layoffs on August 6, with technical and environmental artists among those affected.
The studio is developing Crossfire, a single-player narrative game set in the multiplayer shooter's universe, with no release date yet.
The cuts follow similar layoffs at Double Fine and reflect a continuing wave of job losses across the gaming industry.

That's No Moon, the Los Angeles-based studio behind the upcoming single-player title Crossfire, has let go of an undisclosed number of employees, with affected workers going public via LinkedIn on August 6. Roles impacted include technical and environmental artists, though the full scope of the cuts has not been officially confirmed by the studio. IGN, which first reported the story, has reached out to That's No Moon for comment.

Founded in 2021 by veterans of Naughty Dog and Infinity Ward, That's No Moon entered the spotlight earlier this year when it unveiled Crossfire at Summer Game Fest 2026 alongside presenter Geoff Keighley. The game is a narrative-driven, single-player experience set in the universe of the long-running multiplayer shooter of the same name, though it carves out a much more focused storyline. It follows two operators from opposing factions — Layla Qassem and Delroy Cross — forced into an uneasy temporary alliance as they fight to survive.

Game director Jacob Minkoff has described Crossfire's 'adaptive cover' system as a central mechanic, one that lets characters dynamically shift their stances based on terrain and nearby enemies. Minkoff says the system 'fundamentally changes your relationship with the environment and becomes an active skill to master,' positioning it as a key differentiator for the title. The game does not yet have an official release date, though it is available to wishlist on Steam, the PlayStation Store, and the Microsoft Store.

The layoffs arrive as the broader gaming industry continues to shed jobs at an alarming pace. Last month, Psychonauts developer Double Fine lost roughly a quarter of its workforce following its return to independent ownership, a direct consequence of Xbox's sweeping restructuring. That's No Moon's situation adds another studio to a growing list of teams facing personnel cuts even while actively developing high-profile projects.

Crossfire is currently in development for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X. With a splashy reveal already behind it and an ambitious AAA scope, the studio faces the difficult task of maintaining momentum on a debut project while navigating what appears to be a significant internal restructuring.

The bigger picture

That's No Moon's layoffs are a pointed reminder that a high-profile reveal does not translate into financial stability, especially for newer independent studios operating in today's brutal cost environment. The studio launched with genuine pedigree — Naughty Dog and Infinity Ward alumni carry serious weight in the AAA space — but founding talent alone cannot insulate a studio from the broader economic pressures squeezing game development budgets industry-wide. Crossfire's Summer Game Fest 2026 showcase generated real enthusiasm, yet the studio is now trimming the very artists responsible for building the worlds players were just invited to get excited about.

The timing puts Crossfire in a precarious position competitively. Single-player, narrative-driven games without a release window are a tough sell to publishers and investors already skittish after a string of high-budget underperformers. Studios like Naughty Dog itself, Insomniac, and Santa Monica Studio have set an extremely high bar for this genre on PlayStation 5, and That's No Moon will need to deliver something that feels essential — not merely competent — when Crossfire eventually ships. Losing environmental artists mid-development is particularly concerning, given how much of a game's perceived quality comes from world-building and visual fidelity.

What readers should watch for next is whether That's No Moon secures a publishing deal or additional funding in the near term. An independent studio of this size, taking on a AAA scope without an announced publisher, is walking a financial tightrope. If the studio announces a partnership or a firm release window in the coming months, that would signal the cuts were a recalibration rather than a sign of deeper trouble. If silence persists, Crossfire's future becomes genuinely uncertain.

LagPing's take

We're covering this one because it fits a pattern we've been watching closely all year — studios with serious talent and promising projects still finding themselves unable to escape the industry's ongoing contraction. That's No Moon is not some fly-by-night operation; it was built by people who shipped some of the most celebrated games of the last two decades. The fact that even a studio with that resume is making cuts while actively developing its first game tells us the problem is structural, not just a matter of individual studio mismanagement. We also think Crossfire deserves more attention than it's gotten — the adaptive cover mechanic sounds genuinely interesting, and the narrative premise is compelling enough that fans of story-driven action games should be paying attention. We'll keep an eye on any official response from That's No Moon and any updates on Crossfire's development trajectory.

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