KO_OP, the worker-owned Canadian studio behind Goodbye Volcano High and the recently launched Young Suns, has cut 13 positions in a move the team framed as a collective survival vote after failing to land new project funding. The decision hit team leads and elected executives alongside rank-and-file staff, following months of cash-flow warnings shared with all members.

The studio's Bluesky statement stressed that profits from Young Suns — currently on Xbox with more platforms incoming — will continue flowing to those let go, and any future funding wins will trigger rehires. Unlike the usual opaque corporate notices, KO_OP detailed a democratic process where members appointed planners and ratified the cuts upfront.

This comes amid a brutal funding drought for indies, where even transparent co-ops aren't immune to the same pipeline collapse plaguing the broader industry. The move keeps the lights on for prototypes and ongoing Young Suns support, but the optics of 'democratic layoffs' won't erase the human cost when the money dries up.

The real test is whether this model can rebound or if it just delays the inevitable for a studio that's been operating on borrowed time in a changed landscape.