Lone Echo and The Order: 1886 Developer Ready at Dawn Reportedly Shut Down by Meta

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Ready at Dawn, the studio behind titles like Lone Echo and The Order: 1886, has reportedly been shut down by its current owner, Meta, after more than two decades in business. The news follows major staff cuts at the studio last year.

Ready at Dawn Studios was founded in 2003 by former Naughty Dog and Blizzard staffers, and was initially known for its work adapting Sony's Daxter and God of War franchises for the PlayStation Portable. In 2015, its first original game, The Order: 1886, was released to mixed reviews on PS4, and the company would later shift its focus to virtual reality.

Its first VR project was the acclaimed sci-fi narrative adventure Lone Echo in 2017, followed by the standalone multiplayer spin-off Echo VR (which closed last year), then a sequel in 2021. Following the success of Ready at Dawn in the VR space, Meta announced it was purchasing the studio in 2021.

Ready at Dawn's Lone Echo 2 released in 2021. Watch on YouTube

News of Meta's closure of Ready at Dawn comes via Android Central, which reports that the studio will be permanently closing its doors, effective immediately. The publication, citing a Meta spokesperson, says that today's closure is intended to ensure that Meta's VR-focused Reality Labs “remains within [its] new budget constraints and that Oculus Studios can have a “better long-term impact” in the development of virtual reality.”

Earlier this month, Meta reported a $4.5 billion second-quarter loss for its Reality Labs division, following a $3.8 billion loss in the first quarter.

Android Central does not disclose how many Ready at Dawn employees were affected by today’s closure, but Meta said the move “is not sufficient to trigger the California WARN Act,” suggesting no more than 50 employees remained at the studio following significant layoffs last year. At the time, those layoffs were said to have affected a third of Ready at Dawn’s staff, including the studio’s head.

Ready at Dawn employees affected by today's closure are said to have been “encouraged to apply elsewhere” within Meta, with the company saying it “wants to retain as many talented developers as possible.” Meta has also said the closure is not a sign of broader cuts to the number of first-party games it publishes on Quest, insisting it is “still committed to VR development.”

Eurogamer has contacted Meta for comment.

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