Corepunk community manager says layoffs happened, but claims core dev team is still intact

Rumors about layoffs at Corepunk kicked off overnight after a message from someone described as an Artificial Core artist said “almost all” of her colleagues were laid off. That quickly turned into players speculating the Ukrainian MMORPG was in serious trouble.

On the game’s Discord, community manager Alumio pushed back on the idea that Corepunk is shutting down, calling it a “normal layoff cycle,” though they suggested it wasn’t limited to the art team. Alumio also said the timing lines up with a new round of funding and a shift in business model or strategy, and claimed “almost all the core team that actually implements stuff is still around.” According to the Discord post, the situation is expected to be addressed in an upcoming Q&A.

One other clear takeaway from Alumio’s messages: Corepunk still isn’t headed to Steam “any time soon.”

The Q&A thread Alumio referenced is currently collecting questions in Discord. Players are asking about a lot of practical, near-term stuff, including when the next wipe might happen, what the launch plan looks like, what’s on the 2026 roadmap, and whether new classes are coming. Others are pressing on bigger-picture concerns like the game’s economy and crafting, player retention, reliance on instanced content, and why communication has been quiet for months.

Corepunk has been in early access since 2024, but without a Steam release, it’s tough to gauge how it’s performing publicly beyond word of mouth.