Ready at Dawn Studios Shuts Down After 20 Years, Citing Meta’s Budgetary Constraints

Ready at Dawn Studios, a game developer with over 20 years of experience crafting titles for platforms like the PSP and Meta Quest (formerly Oculus Rift), has shut down its operations. The closure, effective immediately, comes as a result of Meta’s recent budgetary constraints, according to Android Central, who broke the news.

The company, which had been working on the Lone Echo VR series for parent company Oculus Studios, has been impacted by Meta’s efforts to streamline its Reality Labs division. This decision is intended to “ensure that Reality Labs stays within the new budgetary constraints and that Oculus Studios can make a ‘better long-term impact’ in VR development,” according to sources familiar with the situation.

Former employees have confirmed the shutdown on LinkedIn, and Meta is encouraging laid-off workers to consider applying for open positions within Oculus Studios.

Ready at Dawn, founded in 2003 by former Naughty Dog members, initially focused on PSP games like Daxter and God of War: Chains of Olympus. Their first original IP, The Order: 1886, was released in 2015, garnering a mixed reception but finding a dedicated fanbase. The studio transitioned to VR development in 2017 with the launch of Lone Echo, and was subsequently acquired by Oculus Studios.

Their final game, Lone Echo 2, arrived in 2021, followed by the discontinuation of support for Echo VR to focus on other projects. In 2023, Ready at Dawn was affected by a wave of layoffs at Meta, impacting thousands of employees across the company.

Last week, Meta released its quarterly financials, revealing that Reality Labs, its AR/VR and metaverse segment, incurred a $4.49 billion operating loss. The division has consistently reported losses over the past four quarters, totaling around $59.5 billion since the start of 2019.

Despite these losses, Meta executives have assured investors that the company will continue to invest in its “full set of ambitions” within Reality Labs, including virtual reality. CFO Susan Li emphasized the importance of the upcoming Quest 3 headset and Meta’s push into AR glasses.

While Ready at Dawn’s closure marks a significant loss for the gaming industry, Meta has confirmed that further cuts to games development are not anticipated.

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