Wednesday, 14 August, 2024 UTC
Summary
Archiact, best known for developing Journey to Foundation and Doom 3: VR Edition, will close in two weeks.
We've known for some time that Archiact has been facing trouble following previous layoffs across multiple departments in January. While it's since delivered a PC VR release for Journey to Foundation back in June, the Canadian studio will permanently close its doors on August 26th.
Here's the full statement:
Archiact’s journey is coming to a close. On August 12, we informed the staff that the studio will close in two weeks.
And what an amazing journey it has been. Founded in 2013 as a pioneer in VR, Archiact has been dedicated to the development of immersive reality games. The studio published over 35 games, partnered with the most important companies in the industry, and pushed the possibilities of VR and MR.
Most importantly, it served as a home over the years to hundreds of talented developers. They believed in the power of games and the promise of immersive reality. And they believed in one another and all of the players they touched.
Thank you to everyone who made this journey possible.
Archiact's closure isn't the only notable VR studio we've seen shutting down recently. Following previous layoffs last year alongside Onward studio Downpour Interactive, Meta closed Ready At Dawn last week after acquiring the Lone Echo studio back in 2020. The move followed recent reports that its Reality Labs AR/VR division has been ordered to cut spending by 20%.
It's also another reminder that the wider video games industry continues to navigate a particularly turbulent time. VR developers and publishers previously affected include Resolution Games, Lode, TinyBuild, Codemasters, First Contact Entertainment, Humble Games, Supermassive Games, Downpour Interactive, PlayStation London, and Firesprite. As of June 2024, it's estimated that nearly 11,000 developers have been affected by layoffs this year alone.