Meta closes multiple game studios including Twisted Pixel and Sanzaru Games

Facebook owner Meta has confirmed it is shuttering several of its prominent first-party game development studios this week as part of a restructuring of its Reality Labs division.

The details:

• As confirmed by Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton in a statement to Gematsu, the company is closing Twisted Pixel Games, Sanzaru Games, and Armature Studio, three studios that it previously acquired to develop exclusive VR content for its Meta Quest line of headsets. The closures come alongside a reported 10% reduction in Reality Labs staff, equating to roughly 1,500 job losses.
• Meta says the studio closures and layoffs are part of a strategic shift to reallocate investment away from its in-house metaverse and VR initiatives and toward wearable technology, which includes smart glasses. This comes after it was reported that Reality Labs has incurred significant losses totaling over $70 billion USD since 2020.
• Among those affected by the cuts are Twisted Pixel designer and former Neversoft and Vicarious Visions developer Andy “andyTHPS” Gentile and Sanzaru senior-level designer Ray West, who shared the news via social media.

• Twisted Pixel Games, known for developing Marvel's Deadpool VR, which released just two months ago, was acquired by Meta in 2022. The studio also had a long history dating back to the Xbox 360 era, creating critically acclaimed Xbox Live Arcade titles 'Splosion Man and Comic Jumper.
• Sanzaru Games, acquired in 2020, was responsible for the Asgard's Wrath series and known for its past work developing PlayStation ports and 2013’s Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time. Meanwhile, Armature Studio was behind the widely praised port of Resident Evil 4 for Meta Quest and was also known for ports before its acquisition in 2022.