Polyarc, the creators of Moss and Moss: Book II, have announced a significant round of layoffs due to a lack of funding. The air around virtual reality keeps getting thinner, and the damage is no longer limited to the hardware itself, but is now hitting the teams that actually knew how to make something worthwhile with the technology. That is bad enough on its own, but it also paints an even uglier picture of how thoroughly Sony has left this front to fend for itself. Polyarc is not sunk, but it is now very clearly one more studio showing just how weak the PlayStation VR ecosystem has become.

Virtual reality has been suffering from enormous problems for some time now. What began as a virgin and incredibly fertile market, with players interested in this new perspective on gaming, has ultimately fizzled out: the lack of substantial games and the price of the devices have squandered much of its future. Now, as PSVR2 continues its descent into obscurity, Polyarc, one of the studios closest to PlayStation and known for developing some of the brand’s best virtual reality games, has confirmed a significant wave of layoffs.

For those unfamiliar with the company, it earned critical and public acclaim thanks to titles like Moss and Moss: Book II, considered two of the best experiences available on both PSVR and PlayStation VR2. In fact, both adventures, starring the charismatic Quill, reached the same level as other flagship titles for the device, such as Astro Bot Rescue Mission.

Following a Lack of Funding, Polyarc Has Announced a Significant Round of Layoffs

However, the studio has faced several setbacks in a short period, jeopardizing its future in the market. First, it canceled a major project, leaving it without new funding to continue its work. Now, as a consequence, the Americans have been forced to “significantly downsize the company”.

In a statement published on LinkedIn, Polyarc expressed its gratitude to the affected employees, emphasizing that their creativity and dedication had been key to the studio’s success, but that the current adverse situation had led them to take this action. “We made wonderful games together, and we wouldn’t have come this far without you,” the message reads. For now, the number of affected employees has not been specified, although the statement suggests that the impact has been significant.

This case adds to a worrying trend within the industry, especially in the field of virtual reality. In the specific case of PSVR2, the lack of support from Sony after the device’s launch has left much of the burden on third parties, weakening the game catalog and contributing to an increasingly difficult environment for studios like Polyarc. In fact, with the price reductions of PlayStation hardware, many fear that the end of this technology is coming sooner rather than later.

Source: 3DJuegos