Today is turning out to be a disastrous day for workers in the video game industry, and more specifically for virtual reality studios and developers. Having reported just this morning on the imminent closure of the best-selling game Rec Room, we must now report on the redundancy of a large part of the Polyarc Games team.
The studio behind the Moss series, which has released two main instalments, announced today in a statement on LinkedIn a "significant reduction" in its team.
"Today we have shared some very difficult news at Polyarc.
"Following an unsuccessful effort by the entire team to secure funding after the cancellation of a major project, we have been forced to make the decision to significantly reduce the size of the company. This means we are saying goodbye to many talented people who have been a fundamental part of what we have built.
"We would like to thank everyone affected. Your work, your creativity and your commitment have been invaluable. Together we have created wonderful games and we would not have come this far without you. Your contributions will continue to shape our culture and the games we create.
"Polyarc has exceptional developers across all disciplines. If you are looking for staff, please do get in touch. We would be delighted to introduce you to someone. In the coming days, we will also share a spreadsheet with information about those affected and provide a link.
"Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey."
Polyarc had been struggling with financial difficulties for several months. Its latest title, Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss, went largely unnoticed upon its release in November.
Indeed, the company responsible for one of the main devices used to play Polyarc's games, Meta, has carried out several rounds of redundancies in its Reality Labs division, leading to the closure of several of its VR game development studios (thanks, Gamesindustry.biz).
Of course, this only serves to heighten suspicions that the virtual reality genre may see its niche shrink even further in the coming months and years.