Meta is laying off about 10 percent of the staff in its Reality Labs division, a group that focuses on virtual and augmented reality. As part of these cuts, the company is also shutting down several of its virtual reality game studios, according to posts from former employees.
The layoffs appear to include the closure of Twisted Pixel Games, Sanzaru Games, and Armature Studio, reports The Verge. These studios worked on well-known titles, including Marvel’s Deadpool VR, the Asgard’s Wrath series, and the Resident Evil 4 VR port. News of the closures first surfaced after former Twisted Pixel level designer Andy Gentile shared online that he had been laid off.
Other former employees later confirmed that the studios were closing. “Unfortunately, Twisted Pixel Games has been closed as a result of strategy changes at Meta,” former Twisted Pixel senior artist Dan Greenfield posted on LinkedIn.
Former Sanzaru senior level designer Ray West also shared, “As many will hear soon, several Meta game studios were closed today, including Sanzaru.”
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Another former employee echoed that message while looking for new work. “Due to an unexpected closure of Sanzaru Studios, I’m open for work,” former Sanzaru lead environment artist Tyler Fluharty said.
It’s important to note that Meta has not officially confirmed the individual studio closures.
However, Meta did comment on the wider Reality Labs layoffs. In a statement to The Verge, Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton said that “We said last month that we were shifting some of our investment from Metaverse toward Wearables. This is part of that effort, and we plan to reinvest the savings to support the growth of wearables this year.”
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The changes show Meta moving away from some metaverse projects as it focuses more on wearable devices and other hardware going forward.
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