A well-respected console and VR game developer, Ready at Dawn, is closing down immediately. Android Central reports that the developer's parent company, Meta, made the decision today. According to its report, a Meta spokesperson said the decision was made so that the company's Reality Labs can stay within newly set up budget limits. The spokesperson added that the affected team members can still apply for open positions in Reality Labs, but there's no word on how many people were affected.
Ready at Dawn was first launched in Irvine, California, in 2003. Its first games were made for Sony's PlayStation Portable game console, including Daxter (a spinoff of the Jax and Daxter series), along with God of War: Chains of Olympus and God of War: Ghost of Sparta.
In February 2015, Ready at Dawn launched its most ambitious game. It was a PS4 exclusive called The Order: 1886. The 19th century-based "Steampunk" themed game was set in an alternate timeline in the UK as members of the Knights of the Round Table fought supernatural creatures. However, the game got mixed reviews, and sales were not as high as expected.
In 2017, Ready at Dawn released its first VR game, Lone Echo, for the Oculus Rift while also releasing the multiplayer-themed Echo Arena on the same day. The sci-fi-themed action games got positive reviews, and another game in that same universe, the FPS Echo Combat was released in 2018.
Meta, then using the Facebook name, acquired Ready at Dawn in 2020 to make exclusive games for its VR headsets. In 2021, the studio released Lone Echo II, but after that, the studio did not launch any further games.
Even with the closing of this studio, the Meta spokesperson told Android Central this was not a signal that there will be cuts in the number of future Quest first-person games and that it is still committed to its VR division.
2 Comments - Add comment