Meta Closes Twisted Pixel, Sanzaru Games, And Armature Studio

Meta has shut down its Twisted Pixel, Sanzaru Games, and Armature Studio as a part of its large job cuts to its digital actuality division, Reality Labs. These three studios, which Meta acquired during the last 5 years, had developed VR video games for the studio.

As reported by Bloomberg, Meta has begun chopping over 1,000 jobs throughout the Reality Labs division, which oversees the corporate’s VR {hardware} (equivalent to its Meta Quest headsets) and software program. Reality Labs consists of roughly 15,000 workers, that means about 10 % of employees shall be impacted. The layoffs started Tuesday, with workers from Twisted Pixel, Sanzaru, and Armature taking to social media to verify their respective studio closures. The cuts are a results of Meta shifting sources from its VR and metaverse merchandise to its AI wearables and telephone options, which a Meta spokesperson confirmed to Engadget.

“We said last month that we were shifting some of our investment from Metaverse toward Wearables,” mentioned the spokesperson. “This is part of that effort, and we plan to reinvest the savings to support the growth of wearables this year.” 

Sanzaru Games was based in 2006 and was acquired by Meta in 2020. It launched the Asgard’s Wrath sequence for Meta Quest, together with the critically-acclaimed Asgard’s Wrath 2 in 2023. Before Meta, Sanzaru could also be finest identified for engaged on the Sly Cooper sequence. It developed The Sly Collection in 2010, which led to the studio creating 2013’s Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. Sanzaru’s different developer credit embody the PS2 port of Secret Agent Clank, Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal, and Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice.

Twisted Pixel shaped in 2009 and located success in the course of the Xbox 360 Live Arcade period with well-received video games equivalent to The Maw, ‘Splosion Man, Mrs. ‘Splosion Man, Comic Jumper, and The Gunstringer. Twisted Pixel was acquired by Meta in 2022, where it developed VR titles including Wilson’s Heart and, most just lately, Marvel’s Deadpool VR.

Founded in 2008, Armature Studio initially labored on ports of titles equivalent to Metal Gear Solid HD Collection and Injustice: Gods Among Us for Vita. Its first authentic title was Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate in 2013, however it could change into finest identified for its 2016 title, ReCore. After being acquired by Meta in October 2022, Armature created titles equivalent to Resident Evil 4 VR for Quest headsets in 2021.

These studios are the most recent to be bought and later shuttered by Meta. The similar destiny befell Ready At Dawn, developer of The Order: 1886 and the Lone Echo video games, in 2024. The layoffs increase questions on the way forward for Meta’s VR enterprise, however the firm states it stays dedicated to video video games. Oculus Studios director Tamara Sciamanna wrote in a memo obtained by Bloomberg that “With this alteration we’re shifting our funding to concentrate on our third-party builders and companions to make sure long-term sustainability.”