Tencent reportedly pulled support for Last Sentinel after studio cut 80 jobs
The cyberpunk open-world game has not been canceled, but Lightspeed LA is planning a new creative and development direction after delays and a poor playtest.
According to Bloomberg’s reporting, Tencent chose not to continue backing Last Sentinel after multiple delays and at least one partial reboot. Lightspeed LA, the studio developing the cyberpunk open-world game, has since laid off 80 people.
The project is not canceled at this point. Lightspeed is still working on Last Sentinel without Tencent’s support, though the studio plans to change its creative and development direction to better meet player expectations.
Last Sentinel’s long road to release
Last Sentinel had already spent six years in development when it was announced at The Game Awards in 2023. The game was presented as a large-scale open-world adventure set in a vertical city in cyberpunk Japan, with driving, shooting, and destructible environments.
The original reveal trailer remains the clearest public look at the project.
A separate batch of promotional videos released in 2025 did not show actual gameplay, which added to concerns about how development was progressing.
The team behind the game was much smaller than the groups that built Rockstar’s later open-world titles. Anonymous Lightspeed sources told Bloomberg that the studio was dealing with an unclear vision and a divisive management approach under former Rockstar San Diego studio director Steve Martin.
After a poor playtest and an unimpressive demonstration for Tencent executives earlier in 2026, Lightspeed reportedly assembled an improved version of Last Sentinel. The new build was not enough to restore Tencent’s confidence in the project, leaving the studio to continue without its publisher’s backing.
For now, the game’s future depends on whether Lightspeed can reshape a project originally pitched as a cyberpunk rival to Grand Theft Auto. The studio’s planned changes may give Last Sentinel a new path, but its release plans remain uncertain.
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