Two CEOs Gone in Two Years at Until Dawn Studio

When Supermassive Games co-founder Pete Samuels stepped down as CEO at the start of 2024 after 15 years leading the studio, it was already a seismic shift for the team behind Until Dawn and The Dark Pictures Anthology. Now his successor, Robert Henrysson, is out too, barely two and a half years into the job.

Henrysson announced his departure on LinkedIn on Monday, confirming he's leaving both the CEO role and his position as a partner at parent company Nordisk Games. "I was honoured to guide the studio through intense industry change, broadening its client base and establishing a culture of consistent quality across all aspects of the game development process," he wrote. Nordisk Games said in a separate statement that Graeme Law will serve as interim CEO while the studio searches for permanent leadership.

That's two complete leadership changes at the top in roughly two years, and the instability doesn't stop at the executive level. Supermassive faced restructuring in February 2024 that reportedly threatened 90 roles. In 2025, 36 employees were laid off, and the studio's next game, Directive 8020, was pushed out of its planned release window. The sci-fi horror title eventually launched on May 26, 2026, landing a 72 on Metacritic, which Nordisk framed as "the strongest critical reception in the series to date." A 72 being your high-water mark after five entries in a series is not exactly cause for celebration.

Henrysson previously served as chairman and interim CEO at Avalanche Studios before joining Nordisk Games in 2022. During his tenure at Supermassive, the studio also shipped The Casting of Frank Stone and Little Nightmares 3. Nordisk described his exit as coming at a "natural time" following Directive 8020's launch. Henrysson said he plans to spend the summer with his family before exploring advisory roles.

Meanwhile, the franchise Supermassive is most associated with is moving on without them. Sony announced during its June 2026 State of Play that Until Dawn 2 is in development at Firesprite Games, not Supermassive. Between the revolving door at the top, the layoffs, and its flagship IP being handed to another studio, Supermassive is a company that looks very different from the one that broke out with Until Dawn back in 2015.