After leading the studio through 2 rounds of layoffs and 1 game release, the CEO of Supermassive is stepping down

Less than two months after the release of its latest game, Directive 8020, Supermassive Games CEO Robert Henrysson has announced that he is stepping down from the position as well as his role at parent company Nordisk Games.

“As the CEO of Supermassive 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,” Henrysson wrote in a farewell message posted on LinkedIn (via Game Developer).

“Leading a studio is never a one-man job—it is the entire team’s effort. Our commitment to continuous improvement was, and continues to be, central to everything we do. To everyone at Supermassive Games, I am so grateful for everything I’ve learnt and experienced with all of you. You are the greatest storytelling game studio on earth, you rock! And I wish you all the best in the future.”

A separate message posted by Nordisk credits Henrysson for taking on “a broad operational role, supporting existing portfolio companies through a period of considerable change, including serving as the Chairman and Interim CEO of Avalanche Studios Group.” He was appointed as CEO of Supermassive “with a clear mandate: to lead Supermassive Games through the successful delivery of Directive 8020. During his time, he rebuilt the studio’s leadership team, sharpened its strategy and oversaw the completion and launch of Directive 8020, the latest instalment in the Dark Pictures series.”

And in that role, he was seemingly successful: Directive 8020 holds a “mixed” user rating on Steam and a relatively small number of user reviews compared to other Dark Pictures games. But we liked it quite a bit, calling it “unmissable adventure for any fan of sci-fi horror” in our 85% review, and Nordisk praised Directive 8020 for earning “the strongest critical reception in the series to date,” reflecting “the hard work and commitment of the entire Supermassive Games team, supported by Robert’s leadership throughout this important period.”

It also bears noting that Henrysson led Supermassive through two rounds of layoffs in the leadup to Directive 8020, in February 2024—shortly after he took over from departing founders Pete and Joe Samuels—and then again in July 2025. Supermassive was hardly alone in that, though: The games industry has been rocked by thousands of layoffs over the past few years, as the heady stuck-at-home days of the Covid-19 pandemic gave way to the harsh light of reality, which apparently just about no executive in the videogame business was able to foresee.

Henrysson said he’s going to spend the summer with his family, but left the door open to new roles: “Fundamentally I love the games industry and the people in it, so I’ll be open to taking on selected advisory roles and exploring what comes next.”