Meta has shut down its Twisted Pixel, Sanzaru Games, and Armature Studio as part of its massive job cuts to its virtual reality division, Reality Labs. These three studios, which Meta acquired over the last five years, had developed VR games for the studio.
As reported by Bloomberg, Meta has begun cutting over 1,000 jobs across the Reality Labs division, which oversees the company’s VR hardware (such as its Meta Quest headsets) and software. Reality Labs consists of roughly 15,000 employees, meaning about 10 percent of workers will be impacted. The layoffs began Tuesday, with employees from Twisted Pixel, Sanzaru, and Armature taking to social media to confirm their respective studio closures. The cuts are a result of Meta shifting resources from its VR and metaverse products to its AI wearables and phone features, which a Meta spokesperson confirmed to Engadget.
“We said last month that we were shifting some of our investment from Metaverse toward Wearables,” said the spokesperson. “This is part of that effort, and we plan to reinvest the savings to support the growth of wearables this year.”
Asgard’s Wrath 2
Sanzaru Games was founded in 2006 and was acquired by Meta in 2020. It released the Asgard’s Wrath series for Meta Quest, including the critically-acclaimed Asgard’s Wrath 2 in 2023. Before Meta, Sanzaru may be best known for working on the Sly Cooper series. It developed The Sly Collection in 2010, which led to the studio creating 2013’s Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. Sanzaru’s other developer credits include the PS2 port of Secret Agent Clank, Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal, and Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice.
Twisted Pixel formed in 2009 and found success during the Xbox 360 Live Arcade era with well-received games such as 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 recently, Marvel’s Deadpool VR.
Founded in 2008, Armature Studio initially worked on ports of titles such as Metal Gear Solid HD Collection and Injustice: Gods Among Us for Vita. Its first original title was Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate in 2013, but it would become best known for its 2016 title, ReCore. After being acquired by Meta in October 2022, Armature created titles such as Resident Evil 4 VR for Quest headsets in 2021.
Resident Evil 4 VR
These studios are the latest to be purchased and later shuttered by Meta. The same fate befell Ready At Dawn, developer of The Order: 1886 and the Lone Echo games, in 2024. The layoffs raise questions about the future of Meta’s VR business, but the company states it remains committed to video games. Oculus Studios director Tamara Sciamanna wrote in a memo obtained by Bloomberg that “With this change we are shifting our investment to focus on our third-party developers and partners to ensure long-term sustainability.”
