Meta turns its back on VR games: Batman sequel and Harry Potter VR cancelled
The sequel to "Arkham Shadow" will not be released. Meta is ending several projects and cutting funding for VR game development.
The VR games industry will apparently have to do without Meta's support in the future. The social media giant is withdrawing.
(Image: Meta Platforms)
Meta is further withdrawing from VR game development. As the industry magazine UploadVR reports, the planned sequel to “Batman: Arkham Shadow” will not be released. At the same time, profound restructuring is taking place at the last remaining internal game studios. “Arkham Shadow,” developed by Camouflaj, is considered one of the best VR games ever and is a reference title for Meta's VR headsets, Quest 3 and Quest 3S. According to the report, a successor was already in development internally.
However, Camouflaj itself was no longer intended as the developer, but Sanzaru Games, which was previously responsible for the two titles in the “Asgard's Wrath” series. However, Meta has completely closed Sanzaru as part of a wave of layoffs. Camouflaj, which expressed interest in a sequel in 2024, is also facing significant cuts. While the studio formally remains, it will no longer develop VR games in the future. Instead, the remaining core team is to create tutorial content for future devices, such as a possible Meta Quest 4.
Funding programs also cancelled
Another report from Android Central suggests that Meta has also cut funding for external studios. The majority of the funding provided by Oculus Publishing for developers under the “Meta Horizon Start Program” is said to have been scrapped. Meta is said to have pumped a total of 60 million US dollars into VR game funding by 2026. There will be no more.
Meta's withdrawal from VR gaming is said to have led to layoffs of about 70 percent of the employees at Cloudhead Games, the studio responsible for the long-established rhythm shooter “Pistol Whip.” The well-connected YouTuber GamertagVR also quotes internal sources who claim to know about the cancellation of another well-known Quest exclusive game. Meta is said to have commissioned Skydance Interactive (“Behemoth,” “The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners”) with a VR game from the “Harry Potter” universe. However, such a title has not been officially confirmed.
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VR gaming no longer plays a role at Meta
With the closure of Sanzaru, Twisted Pixel (“Marvel’s Deadpool VR”), Armature Studio (“Resident Evil 4 VR”), and the recently merged, then shrunk Downpour Interactive and Camouflaj, Meta has closed five of the best VR game studios ever within a few months. Currently, only three internal teams remain active: Beat Games (“Beat Saber”), BigBox (“Population: One”), and Ouro Interactive, which focuses exclusively on content for the social VR platform Horizon Worlds. It is therefore clear that Meta will no longer produce its own exclusive titles for future VR headsets and will rather act as a hardware and marketplace provider.
Virtual reality has long since slipped down Meta's priority list, and cuts in the responsible departments were already indicated months ago. However, the extent to which the VR division of Reality Labs has been affected is still a shock to the entire industry. Über 1500 jobs are being cut, and further cuts may follow. In 2025 alone, Reality Labs is to cut its budget by 30 percent – significantly more than any other department in the company.
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Meta's Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth announced internally that the company will focus more on augmented reality and AI wearables in the future. Virtual reality, on the other hand, will only be supported to a reduced extent. Meta has been building up the VR division since 2014 and expanding it with billions of dollars. However, the hoped-for success in the mass market did not materialize. According to Bosworth, the Metaverse project will continue but will focus more on mobile devices in the future.
(joe)
