Ready at Dawn – the studio behind the likes of Lone Echo and The Order: 1886 – has reportedly been shut down by its currently owner, Meta, after over two decades of operation. The news follows heavy job cuts at the studio last year.
Ready at Dawn Studios was founded in 2003 by former members of Naughty Dog and Blizzard, and was initially known for its work adapting Sony’s Daxter and God of War franchises for the PlayStation Portable. In 2015, its first original game, The Order: 1886, released to mixed reviews on PS4, and the company would later shift its focus to VR.
Its first VR project was 2017’s acclaimed sci-fi adventure Lone Echo, followed by standalone multiplayer spin-off Echo VR (which shut down last year), then a sequel in 2021. Amid Ready at Dawn’s success in the VR space, Meta announced it was purchasing the studio in 2020.
News of Ready at Dawn’s closure by Meta comes via Android Central, which reports the studio is permanently shutting its doors, effective immediately. The publication, citing word from a Meta spokesperson, says today’s closure is intended to ensure Meta’s VR-focused Reality Labs “stays within [its] new budgetary constraints and that Oculus Studios can make a ‘better long-term impact’ in VR development”.
Earlier this month, Meta reported a second quarter loss of $4.5bn at its Reality Labs division, which followed a $3.8bn loss during its first quarter.
Android Central doesn’t reveal the number of Ready at Dawn employees affected by today’s closure, but was told by Meta that the move “isn’t enough to trigger the California WARN Act” – suggesting no more than 50 employees remained at the studio following significant layoffs last year. At the time, those layoffs were reported to have affected one third of Ready at Dawn’s staff, including its studio head.
Ready at Dawn employees impacted by today’s closure are said to have been “encouraged to apply elsewhere” within Meta, with the company claiming it “wants to retain as many talented developers as possible.” Meta reportedly also said the closure isn’t a sign of wider cuts to the number of first-party games it releases on Quest, insisting it’s “still committed to VR development”.
Eurogamer has contacted Meta for comment.