Meta Closes Deadpool VR, Asgard’s Wrath & Resident Evil 4 VR Studios

Meta shut down Twisted Pixel Games (Deadpool VR), Sanzaru Games (Asgard’s Wrath), and Armature Studio (Resident Evil 4 VR).

The New York Times reported earlier that Meta is shedding greater than 10% of its Reality Labs division, particularly concentrating on groups engaged on VR and Horizon Worlds.

Now, UploadVR can affirm that these layoffs are being performed at this time, and we have seen a doc indicating the whole thing of three of Meta’s acquired VR video games studios are affected: Twisted Pixel Games, Sanzaru Games, and Armature.

Twisted Pixel Games

Twisted Pixel Games was based in 2006 and principally made Xbox video games printed by Microsoft for the primary decade of its existence. In reality, Microsoft owned the studio from 2011 till 2015, when it grew to become an unbiased firm once more.

Wilson’s Heart Review: The Oculus Rift’s Stylish New Thriller Delivers

WARNING: This is a evaluation for Wilson’s Heart. We’ve completed our greatest to maintain issues spoiler-free however some very mild story components and some gameplay surprises will probably be revealed. Do you understand that feeling you get if you’re standing on the finish of an extended, darkish

On contract from Facebook, between 2017 and 2019 Twisted Pixel launched 4 VR video games:

• Wilson’s Heart (Rift): a 2017 black & white psychological horror recreation with voice appearing from Peter Weller, Alfred Molina, Rosario Dawson, and Michael B. Jordan.
• B-Team (Go/Quest): a 2018 assortment of minigames, together with a operating recreation the place you keep away from obstacles and a wave shooter, ported to Quest in 2020.
• Defector (Rift): a 2019 action-packed spy thriller paying homage to Mission: Impossible.
• Path of the Warrior (Rift/Quest): a 2019 brawler, primarily a first-person VR tackle video games like Streets of Rage, Final Fight, or Double Dragon.

Marvel’s Deadpool VR Review: Merc With A Meta Quest

Marvel’s Deadpool VR captures the antihero’s essence effectively, however doesn’t absolutely ship on the potential of its fight.

In 2022, Twisted Pixel Games was acquired by Meta. And simply two months in the past, it launched what it had been engaged on since then: Deadpool VR, the most recent Quest-exclusive VR recreation.

That Meta is shutting down the studio already strongly suggests the $50 unique didn’t promote in addition to the corporate had hoped, or that it did not spur sufficient new Quest headset gross sales, the actual objective of Meta’s high-budget content material.

Sanzaru Games

Sanzaru Games was additionally based in 2006, and made a mixture of its personal video games and contract titles for firms reminiscent of Sony, porting the unique God of War collection to PS Vita.

Asgard’s Wrath Review: VR’s Best And Most Ambitious Game Yet

The huge action-adventure RPG from Sanzaru Games, Asgard’s Wrath, is lastly releasing on October tenth and we’ve spent the higher a part of the previous few days immersing ourselves within the annals of Norse mythology to deliver you our full, complete evaluation. Let me be extraordinarily and instantly clear:

Sanzaru Games was additionally contracted by Facebook to construct VR video games for the Oculus Rift and its Touch controllers, between 2016 and 2019:

• Ripcoil (2016): a launch title for the Oculus Touch controllers that was primarily an lively VR tackle Pong, the place you leaned your physique to catch and throw a cybernetic frisbee.
• VR Sports Challenge (2016): one other Oculus Touch launch title that featured soccer, basketball, hockey, and baseball, hoping to be the Wii Sports of early PC VR.
• Marvel Powers United VR (2018): Facebook’s 2018 blockbuster title for Rift+Touch, that includes 18 playable Marvel superheroes and on-line multiplayer co-op. Meta shut down the sport in 2020, and whereas a fan venture introduced again singleplayer in 2024, Meta bought it taken down.
• Asgard’s Wrath (2019): one of many meatiest made-for-VR video games of all time, Facebook’s 2019 Rift unique and Oculus Link launch title, an action-adventure RPG with over 30 hours of gameplay.

In 2020, Sanzaru Games was acquired by Facebook, and in 2023 launched Asgard’s Wrath 2, taking the core essence of Asgard’s Wrath to Quest 2 and Quest 3 standalone, with a semi-open world and a marketing campaign greater than 60 hours lengthy.

Asgard’s Wrath 2 Gets Last Content Update As Sanzaru Games Looks To The “Next Big Thing”

Asgard’s Wrath 2 has obtained its final content material replace, and developer Sanzaru Games are engaged on the “next big thing.”

Exactly one yr in the past, Sanzaru launched the final main content material replace for Asgard’s Wrath 2, stating that it was now engaged on the “next big thing” with no element launched on what that might be earlier than the studio closed.

Armature Studio

Founded in 2008, Armature Studio was primarily a porting studio, bringing PC titles to consoles and console titles to PS Vita.

Like Twisted Pixel and Sanzaru, Armature too was contracted by Facebook to construct early client VR video games:

• Fail Factory (2017): a whimsical puzzle recreation for the Samsung Gear VR the place you full duties in a cartoon robotic manufacturing unit. It was later ported to Oculus Go, Rift, and Quest.
• Sports Scramble (2019): a launch title for the Oculus Quest and one more hopeful “Wii Sports of VR”, it included tennis, bowling, and baseball.
• Resident Evil 4 VR (2021): By far Armature’s most important VR venture was porting Resident Evil 4 to Quest 2, one of many first main conventional video games to reach on standalone headsets.

Resident Evil 4 VR Review: An Incredible Way To Revisit A Classic

There are clear points with the port and it’s best to play the unique first, however Resident Evil 4 remains to be a robust expertise in VR. Read on for our Resident Evil 4 VR evaluation. Like you, I’m certain, I used to be anxious. Very anxious, in actual fact. Fans are rightfully protecting

Armature was acquired by Meta in 2022, and plenty of VR players had been eagerly anticipating what it had been engaged on since. Whatever it was, Armature too is now shut down.

Camouflaj & Others Continue

These will not be the primary acquired VR recreation studios Meta has eradicated.

In 2024, the corporate shut down Lone Echo and Echo Arena creator Ready At Dawn. And final yr it merged Onward developer Downpour Interactive into Camouflaj, the developer of Batman: Arkham Shadow, after ceasing growth of the VR shooter.

Meta Shutters Echo Arena & Lone Echo Creator Ready At Dawn

Meta shut down the event studio behind a few of VR’s finest video games.

According to the paperwork UploadVR noticed, 4 studios nonetheless stay lively at Meta:

Beat Saber and Population: One are reside service video games, and there is no indication of a sequel arriving for both. For Camouflaj, 4 months in the past the voice actor for Commissioner Gordon confirmed {that a} Batman: Arkham Shadow sequel was about to enter growth. It’s unclear whether or not that is nonetheless occurring, although UploadVR can affirm that Camouflaj is just not on the shutdown listing.

Batman: Arkham Shadow Sequel Entering Development, Voice Actor Confirms

A Batman: Arkham Shadow sequel is about to enter growth, the voice actor for Commissioner Gordon confirmed.

The closure of three studios is a part of a wider technique shift at Meta seeing funding from VR reallocated towards good glasses, a response to the gross sales momentum the corporate noticed final yr for every sort of system.

Through at the very least the primary three quarters of the yr, Quest headset gross sales had been down in comparison with 2024. Meanwhile, gross sales of Ray-Ban Meta glasses skyrocketed, with a number of variants promoting as quick as they are often manufactured.

Last month, Meta formally confirmed “shifting some of our investment from Metaverse toward AI glasses and Wearables”, and the closures of Twisted Pixel, Sanzaru, and Armature are a number of the first casualties of this shift.