Ambitious Tencent Action Game Last Sentinel Canceled After Six Years of Development - Media Reports

It was previously reported that 80 people were laid off from Lightspeed, the studio working on the game.

The ambitious open-world action game Last Sentinel, developed by Lightspeed LA studio with the support of Tencent, will apparently not reach release. Simultaneously, the studio laid off about 80 employees. Bloomberg reports this.

Last Sentinel was announced several years ago as a large-scale open-world action game set in a futuristic Tokyo on the brink of apocalypse. The project combined gunfights, dynamic action, and cyberpunk aesthetics, and actor Troy Baker participated in the game's promotion. After the first trailers were published, many compared the game to Cyberpunk 2077, and Tencent itself hoped to create a competitor to the Grand Theft Auto series.

However, according to Bloomberg, development faced serious problems. According to sources, internal game tests conducted in early 2026 caused a negative reaction, and Tencent management was dissatisfied with the current state of the project.

According to Schreier, despite the team's additional efforts, Last Sentinel never reached the quality level Tencent expected. Sources claim that the project looked raw and could not compete with the upcoming Grand Theft Auto VI.

An attempt was made to rectify the situation by bringing in an experienced Tencent designer. However, according to the Bloomberg report, on July 28, this specialist, along with Lightspeed LA founder Steve Martin, informed employees that the company no longer intended to continue developing the project.

After this, layoffs occurred at the studio, affecting about 80 people. At the same time, Lightspeed LA issued an official statement emphasizing that the studio continues to operate and is not closing. The company also reported that it is changing the creative and production direction of its projects to better meet expectations.

An official announcement about the cancellation of Last Sentinel has not yet been made. Nevertheless, according to Bloomberg, after six years of development and investments amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, the project was most likely shut down.