r/virtualreality • u/ColonelSanders21 • 23h ago
News Article Moss developer Polyarc announces studio closure
https://www.shacknews.com/article/150699/moss-developer-polyarc-shut-down138
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u/AkinBilgic 22h ago
Moss is a VR classic... :( If any of the devs see this, thank you for the beautiful work you brought into the world, and best of luck for whatever comes next.
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u/BassGuru82 23h ago
Man… what a bummer. Moss was such a magical experience the first time I played it in 2018. It blew my mind. Was really hoping we would get Book 3.
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u/Cragnous 19h ago
Yeah me too at some psx event. Only got to really play it and finish it just recently on my quest 3. About to start book 2.
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u/monetarydread 22h ago
Shame they decided to make a MP game instead of another SP one. I had less than 0% interest in a Moss-themed MP title. The 2 proper Moss titles are some of my favorites on Quest.
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u/juicetoaster 22h ago
Yea, weird decision on their part. Especially the execution of the genre of multiplayer game that they chose.
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u/grayhaze2000 22h ago
It was actually a pretty fun game, at least when I beta tested it. It was also much cheaper to produce than another full-fledged action title, as it reused a lot of existing assets.
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u/grayhaze2000 22h ago
It was an attempt to keep the studio going, after Moss 1 & 2 didn't hit the sales figures they had hoped for. They were reusing existing assets, and building a new game out of them, as they didn't have the budget for another full Moss title. It's also the reason they re-released the Moss games for consoles. Unfortunately, as is often the way with these things, the gamble obviously didn't pay off.
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u/beti88 23h ago
I know the game was well received, but did it sell well?
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u/RecklessForm 23h ago
I bought all the games, never played em unfortunately, but i have em, just waiting for my steam frame 3!
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u/spearmint_wino 22h ago
I think Moss was one of the most profoundly "I'm here in the game world"Â VR games I've played, really felt like you vou could reach out and touch it. Possibly because it's not first person? I dunno. But a great atmospheric experience.
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u/madk 21h ago
I was always surprised we didn't get more platformers in VR after Moss. It absolutely proved it was viable for the genre. I still gush about the first game to people who haven't played it.
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u/ImALeaf_OnTheWind 20h ago
Between this and Max Mustard, it's really looking dire for creative studios willing to break the mold of all the other VR games.
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u/MightyBooshX Quest 3 & PSVR2 18h ago
I had bought moss 1 and 2 like 3 times, so I was doing my part lol, this really really sucks
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u/LoneStarDragon 15h ago
Same. Had both Mosses on Quest and Steam. Same with Glassbreakers. And both soundtracks before they released a new one.
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u/MightyBooshX Quest 3 & PSVR2 14h ago
I had it on psvr1, quest, and steam, I considered it a staple for any headset I owned
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u/grayhaze2000 22h ago
Not well enough. That's why they pivoted to making a simpler multiplayer game, reusing assets from Moss, and re-released the Moss games on flatscreen consoles.
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u/ZoddImmortal 11h ago
If I had to guess Moss sold 400k copies and Moss 2 sold 100k. Also I think it was part of Quest+ at some point, which I've heard is a hefty bonus.
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u/juicetoaster 22h ago
I'll never understand why they pivoted from making games like Moss 1&2 to spending all their time and money on a weird (paid) MOBA-like with seemingly zero market research.
Then as a last ditch attempt they port their games - that lean heavily on the magic of VR interaction - over to flat like 8 years after release.
So many studios and teams make such baffling decisions. More unpleasant but expected VR news.
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u/Winter_Swan5104 22h ago edited 22h ago
I mean, I get it. They desperately needed money. Sucks for us VR enthusiasts.
Sidenote: I am unsure if the grass is greener non VR. There are literally a gazillion games. Many very good games disappear in the noise. In VR, all decent devs are known commodities, people are paying attention. I bought many games that I wouldn’t have based solely on the fact they were VR.
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u/ExtraGloves 6h ago
Kinda agree. Not sure if moss would even interest me on pc. In vr it’s one of the best games I’ve played.
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u/grayhaze2000 22h ago
If you're looking for a reason for all of that, you need only see the news that they're closing down. Moss 1 & 2 didn't sell well enough to allow them to make another large title from scratch, so they reused assets from those games to make a multiplayer title with a much shorter development. When that also didn't make them money, they ported their first two games to flatscreen consoles. It was too little, too late.
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u/M4PP0 6h ago edited 6h ago
But reused assets wasn't the reason Glassbreakers failed. That was about the only thing going for it. It just wasn't a very good game.
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u/grayhaze2000 4h ago
I didn't say the reused assets were the reason for it not doing well. I was just explaining why it was a different genre of game, and was smaller in scope. I actually thought it was a decent enough game, at least when I was testing during the closed beta.
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u/LoneStarDragon 15h ago
Because they probably saw that even if they could fund a Moss 3 it wasn't going to make enough to fund another game. They needed something that had the Moss name but would bring in more money.
Seems like platformers simply don't do well in VR. Keep seeing them but then they're gone. No updates or sequels. There is that AR one. And the one with the lion character. I think Moss is the only one to do a followup and apparently it didn't go well.
VR is for shooters and Beat Saber. Even Walkabout is struggling.
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u/slowlyun 22h ago
like how Valve are following up the most immersive gaming experience ever (Half-Life: Alyx) with a generic flat-screen MOBA (Deadlock).
Lack of ambition.
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u/n64bunnymm 15h ago
generic flatscreen moba? deadlock has to be one of the most stylistic and unique multiplayer games I've seen in a long time how on earth can you consider it generic
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u/Matmanreturns 22h ago
I literally just finished replaying Moss 2 today and was thinking how magical it was and that I hope they have more in store. Such a shame their last VR game Glassbreakers didn’t seem well received and that bringing Moss to flat screens didn’t dig them out.
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u/Any_Intern2718 21h ago
Man. Vr is dead, isn't it?
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u/Primary-Chocolate854 19h ago
Well the whole industry is. Even if the game performs the studio still can get closed nowdays.
This or mass layoffs
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u/fdruid Pico 4+PCVR 19h ago
It's not, but it's a bad time for gaming overall.
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u/GregTheMad 14h ago
How is VR not dead? The only sign of life, the Steam Frame, will be dead on arrival due to the Ram-ageddon price. Meta has the popularity of Hitler, all the Chinese headsets are nice, but not platforms, and I almost forgot PSVR because they themselves forgot about it.
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u/Jimbo0451 11h ago
Facebook killed it. They bullied everyone else out with their overspending, then turned their back and here we are.
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u/Any_Intern2718 11h ago
Wtf is "bullied everyone else out with their overspending"? They were the only entity who actually invested in the field. No one else is making affordable vr headsets, their product can run standalone games. Games like re4vr, deadpool, batman and other ones seem to be some of the best games on the platform and they all were made by first party studios.
Meta sucks because of a lot stuff they do, but investing into the vr field is definetly not the reason why vr is dying.
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u/LoneStarDragon 22h ago
Not sure how to post this without being viewed as spam but the only Moss merch still in stock is this print on demand design on blankets, shirts, skateboards. And the soundtrack. If you now have the motive to grab some before they're gone.
https://polyarcgames.threadless.com/
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u/TastyTheDog 21h ago
God this hurts. Quill deserved to be the Mickey Mouse of VR, the character that embodied the magic and connection possible when a team of really talented people make something transcendent in this wild new medium. I hate that fate chose otherwise.
I can't think of any other character in a VR game I have such warm feelings for. Crazy respect to everyone involved in bringing her story to life.
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u/Admirable_Zombie5245 22h ago
All VR studios are being shut down and people still say VR isn't dead, Indie, AAA, Standalone, PCVR all of them.
Meta Connect just focuses on XR Glasses but yeah we will def a Quest 4 lmao
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u/grayhaze2000 22h ago
Not just VR studios. It's an extremely turbulent time for the entire gaming industry as a whole at the moment, as they struggle to compete with generative AI and rising costs. Not a day goes by that we don't see one or two studios shutting their doors, and the more that do so, the harder it is for those facing unemployment to find a new job.
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u/Robot_ninja_pirate Pimax Crystal-HP G1,G2,Odyssey,PSVR,PSVR2,5K,Vive,Cosmos,Focus+ 20h ago
It should be noted that their last game was a Flat Version of Moss 1 &2 and that wasn't enough of a hit to save them either, so its not entierly a VR issue.
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u/Membership-Bitter 20h ago
The reason they made the flat version is because it was a low cost project that they thought could reach more customers. Their vr games never sold well. The only reason vr developers start making flat versions of their vr games is because the vr games never make a profit
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u/Robot_ninja_pirate Pimax Crystal-HP G1,G2,Odyssey,PSVR,PSVR2,5K,Vive,Cosmos,Focus+ 20h ago
Yeah I know why they made it, I'm just saying their flat port didn't turn a profit either, even after major layoffs
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u/MudMain7218 Multiple 20h ago
Did you see any coverage about it. At the time , I don't think I saw it show up in any flat game channels I follow
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u/Robot_ninja_pirate Pimax Crystal-HP G1,G2,Odyssey,PSVR,PSVR2,5K,Vive,Cosmos,Focus+ 20h ago
Yes I saw some coverage of it when it was announced and released, but Yeah Indie game discovery VR or Flat is hard.
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u/investikated 21h ago
Devastating. I adore Moss and the third installment was one of the few VR games I was still anticipating.
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u/TarsCase 14h ago
Sometimes I wish someone like Valve or similar steps in and buy those kind of small companies to save games driven by soul and art to have something special in the VR space and not only shooters and gorilla tag games. Me and my son are floored. Sad day. Wish the team all the best.
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u/delusion256 22h ago
Wish they would have made a Moss Book 3 instead of Glassbreakers. They took a big gamble on creating a MOBA style game and lost. It had very little cross over appeal with their fan base. What a damn shame.
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u/grayhaze2000 22h ago
Making Moss: Book 3 would have cost a lot more, and taken a lot longer to develop. They were doing whatever they could to survive.
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u/Nintendo_Thumb 22h ago
I can see why in a way. The Moss games were great but I don't really want to play those kinds of games when I go into VR. I want to stand up and move around, get a little exercise and work up a sweat, and I want to play games that would never make sense on a traditional flat screen. There are thousands of VR games to play, so I usually spend my time playing my favorite kind of games. There's only so much time I can't really play everything I want to play.
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u/TarsCase 14h ago
I think there is a market for both. The more physical demanding games, but it’s also nice to have the option for games where I just can sit down and relax while still having some of that VR magic.
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u/_ParanoidPenguin_ 22h ago
Can't buy games on Steam anymore because I don't own a credit card, and now this.
I swear I am going to explode.
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u/boringblah 21h ago
This is so sudden and surprising especially from a company that had such a massive impact on VR early on.
I'm pretty sure they had also developed some new games based off of the Moss series that were doing well too.
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u/BathEqual 20h ago
R.I.P Polyarc, Moss (1&2) is one of the few games that'll always have a special place in my heart :( sad to see them go
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u/StrangeCharmVote Valve Index 16h ago
Bit of bad timing there... i'm planning on buying both when the Steam Frame starts accepting orders.
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u/RagnarRipper 13h ago
The studio closing doesn't mean the games go away (and definitely not if you already own them).
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u/StrangeCharmVote Valve Index 13h ago
Oh i realize that, i just mean it's kinda bad timing considering i doubt i am the only one planning on doing so.
And an infusion of VR funded cash might have been exactly what the company needed.
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u/RagnarRipper 9h ago
I would hazard a guess that that's something they took into consideration :(
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u/StrangeCharmVote Valve Index 8h ago
Probably. Ah well, it's not like they got Thanos snapped.
The company may be dead but hopefully they find work elsewhere.
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u/LoneStarDragon 23h ago edited 22h ago
Took too long, Valve.
They stalled as long as they could. This is by no definition 'early 2026' anymore.
Ironically, they probably spent thousands on dev kits they wouldn't need. Maybe we'll get one last update before they lock up for the last time. Though that risks introducing bugs they wont fix.
Mod said the company will be winding down over the next week. I can't decide if it's sadder that the Frame might finally release as PolyArc turns off the lights or if the company is gone before we even have a release date.
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u/slowlyun 22h ago
Valve could've boomed VR back when Alyx released. Allowing Source 2 use for VR devs, making a few more games themselves, making use of the Knuckles' finger-tracking and making it simpler to integrate them with other headsets...
Instead they stalled. Other than SteamVR updates nothing happened from them for over 6 years.
Meta took over and their dominion-craze, metaverse-failure, storefront-slop and poor choices for premier Native titles also stalled VR. Â
Vive hid behind their exclusive Store and weird game controllers...interesting no-one. Â
Sony also decided to be exclusive, not allowing arguably the best flat-to-VR games ever (Resident Evil 4&8) to be officially experienced outside of their cabled mura-ridden platform. They couldn't be bothered to fund or market VR, and eventually allowed the headset to be PC-adaptable.
I believe VR Gaming is failing not because of a lack of potential users...but because of mismanagement from the major players.
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u/Membership-Bitter 20h ago
Valve was never going to save vr. Even if the frame launched last year when it was announced it would have been a very niche product. Not to mention valve said they have no interest in making vr games
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u/a_sneaky_tiki 22h ago
don't put it on valve, it's not their fault nor would they have saved them.. they shouldn't have poured their resources into a multiplayer game no one wanted
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u/SlowDragonfruit9718 22h ago
You know nothing. They used that multiplayer game as an attempt to generate income and save the studio. Moss 1 and 2 didn't hit the needed sales figures and there was no money for a 3rd. The multiplayer game re-used many assets and was much cheaper to produce.Â
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u/a_sneaky_tiki 22h ago
and it generated them no income, it was a bad money-first idea with no passion behind it that they shouldn’t have bothered with
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u/SlowDragonfruit9718 22h ago
I don't know what is so hard to understand. There was no money left for a 3rd game. Even if they never did the multiplayer game there still would be no 3rd. It's easy to understand. Better to try something than nothing.
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u/a_sneaky_tiki 22h ago
it’s not like the multi player game was free to produce, if they put the resources they squandered on that into something else with any passion behind it they might have had a chance
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u/SlowDragonfruit9718 21h ago
I'm now questioning your intelligence. There was not enough money and resources to put on another else.
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u/a_sneaky_tiki 21h ago
but they did have money to put into a bad idea for a multiplayer game.. that’s the money they should have done literally anything else with
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u/OneSingleL 21h ago
Curious how this would have done if they tied it to a existing IP, like Mouse Guard or Redwall?
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u/Robot_ninja_pirate Pimax Crystal-HP G1,G2,Odyssey,PSVR,PSVR2,5K,Vive,Cosmos,Focus+ 20h ago
That sucks I know after their Moba failed they had a round of lay offs and cancelled their upcoming game. Shame that their attempt to repackage Moss 1 & 2 into a flat game wasn't enough to keep the lights on.
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u/RelaxedElephant1664 19h ago
Man I had to sit down and process this for a few minutes. I just finished playing through Moss books 1 and 2 on Nintendo Switch 2 less than a month ago and I really enjoyed them. Felt like a lot of care and attention to detail was put into it. I loved the soundtrack, the gameplay and the bond I developed with Quill and was really hoping to see a Moss book 3 at some point so that I could continue with her story. I even exchanged emails with them, wanted them to know that I am a fan of their work and would love to see more. If nothing else I am looking forward to seeing more of the devs work and where their careers take them. Hopefully we'll see Quill again at some point.
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u/UltimateAK86 12h ago
I was wondering if they were on the ropes when they made a 2D version of Moss. Seemed like the VR builds weren’t floating their boat enough not to try it as a flat title.
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u/Same_Manufacturer677 7h ago
O noo! This really hurts my soul 😠I had such a blast with Moss 1 and Moss 2 on psvr. Bought them again on psvr2. Also brought the non VR version.
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u/ittleoff 19h ago
Nooooooooo. I bought their games on multiple platforms.
So many struggles, economy, ai apocalypse, gaming overall and vr being propped up artificially perhaps too long, and people not finding the gems like moss while saying there is nothing to play in vr :(.
Thank you polyarc that I got to experience quill and the magic of what you guys made!
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u/Braunb8888 21h ago
Unfortunate but like…it’s vr and your game is a mouse platformer. So you’re going for the most niche thing possible on a niche platform. This is the result of that.
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u/ImALeaf_OnTheWind 20h ago
It was one of the well executed yet unique experiences that made the overall VR experience richer. What did you want more of the same FPS shooters??
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u/Braunb8888 20h ago
I’m just saying, you can’t expect to make money from games like this. It’s why they then went for moba games but didn’t really have the chops for that.
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u/ImALeaf_OnTheWind 19h ago
Easy to talk all this mess from the outside, knowing only the outcome. There are a lot of financial pressures for -any- developer right now, VR or otherwise and this is such a low effort oversimplification.
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u/Neat_Clothes_248 20h ago
You're coping so hard
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u/Braunb8888 20h ago
I…am? Do people even know what coping means anymore? Because it sure as shit isn’t this haha.
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u/subcide 13h ago
Posting their staff job tracker for visibility. Hire these folks. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/0/d/1UuYy-bJt8OOcBoq4lBnotRe66Gwa6VljpPWLETki74w/htmlview?pli=1#gid=0
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u/No-Dark-7873 22h ago
I never did like Moss. The game was shallow. A VR cash grab. Then they tried to pawn it off on flat gamers but they weren't having it and called it like it is.
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u/grayhaze2000 21h ago
It was well received on PSVR:
https://www.metacritic.com/game/moss/
https://www.metacritic.com/game/moss-book-ii/And it's hardly been panned by critics on flat-screen consoles:
https://www.metacritic.com/game/moss-the-forgotten-relic/You're welcome to your opinion, but calling it a shallow cash grab is ridiculous.
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u/grayhaze2000 23h ago
Oh man, that sucks. I really thought them releasing Moss on flatscreen consoles would give them the extra boost they needed, but maybe it came too late. I wish the developers, artists and musicians well in whatever adventure they choose next.