Polyarc, the studio behind Moss, is closing its doors
The creators of Moss said goodbye in a LinkedIn post on Friday
Polyarc, the studio behind the hit VR titles Moss and Moss: Book II, is closing down after nearly 12 years, the studio announced today via LinkedIn. The post reads:
Today is the end of an era for Polyarc.
After nearly 12 years riding the joyous rollercoaster of emotions that is making video games, our time together has come to an end. As we wind down active development, we are saying our farewells to each other.
Working together over all of these years has been an honor. Bringing surprise and delight to those who played our games has been a privilege. Thank you to everyone at Polyarc, our work is now finished.
The studios first title, Moss was heralded as a breakout hit for VR in the early days of the platform. Where most VR games would put you in a first person perspective for gameplay, Moss placed players in a fixed position in an environment while controlling Quill, the deaf mouse protagonist. Outlets at the time celebrated the character's use of American Sign Language as her way of communicating with the player and helping with the game's many puzzles. Both Moss and Moss: Book II were nominated for several awards; the latter won Best VR/AR Game at The Game Awards in 2022.
This is yet another devastating blow to the industry at large—one that has seen multiple studio closures and more layoffs than ever before this year. The LinkedIn post also includes a link to a Google Doc sheet with all of the developers' portfolios or LinkedIn profiles. If you're in a position to hire some talented people in the industry for your next game, we recommend giving it a look.
