Keoken Interactive, the developer behind games like Deliver Us The Moon and Deliver Us Mars, recently made the difficult decision to lay off almost all of its staff members. The only individuals remaining at the studio are its two founders.

CEO Keon Deetman and managing director Paul Deetman took to social media to share the news after failing to secure funding at the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC) in March. According to their announcement, the studio had explored all possible avenues for funding, publishing, and partnerships, but ultimately had to part ways with the rest of its team. Reports from GameIndustry.biz indicate that 11 full-time employees and 2 freelance contractors were affected by the layoffs.

In response to this difficult situation, the Deetman brothers are now appealing to any studios with open positions to consider hiring their former staff members. Despite this setback, the founders remain optimistic about the future and are planning to launch a Kickstarter campaign for their next project—Deliver Us Home, a sequel to the popular game Deliver Us Mars.

Signs of trouble at Keoken first emerged in March when the founders shared a video detailing their challenges in securing a publishing deal. After pitching multiple games to numerous publishers over a two-year period without success, they decided to go public with their projects in hopes of generating interest. Among these projects were Deliver Us Home and two Deliver Us The Moon spin-offs, including a VR experience.

With a workforce that had once numbered 45 individuals, Keoken had already downsized to 20 employees by early 2024, before the recent round of layoffs. In an interview with GameIndustry.biz, the Deetman brothers revealed that they had even gone without pay for months in an effort to keep the studio afloat.