Polyarc, the Seattle-based studio behind the critically acclaimed VR titles Moss (2018) and Moss: Book II (2022), has announced it is shutting down after nearly 12 years of operation. The remaining 29 employees have been laid off, and the studio has published a list of affected staff to aid their job search.
The closure stems from a larger unannounced project that lost its financing in December 2025 — roughly coinciding with Meta's withdrawal from VR publishing and third-party developer funding. Polyarc attempted to secure an external publisher as a replacement but was unsuccessful. In March 2026, approximately two-thirds of the staff were laid off.
To try to escape the shrinking VR niche, Polyarc released Moss: The Forgotten Relic for PC and consoles on July 16, 2026 — a remaster combining both Moss titles with DLC. Despite accumulating over 200,000 Steam wishlists before launch, the commercial response fell short, with fewer than 400 Steam reviews suggesting limited sales.
The original Moss demonstrated in 2018 that VR did not require a first-person perspective and remains one of the highest-rated VR games of all time. Moss: Book II won VR/AR Game of the Year at the 2022 Game Awards. Together, both titles accumulated over 160 awards and nominations.
Polyarc's closure is part of a broader VR industry downturn. In 2026 alone, nDreams closed three studios and cut 78 positions; Mighty Coconut (Walkabout Mini Golf VR) reduced staff; and Cloudhead Games (Pistol Whip), Vertigo Games (Arizona Sunshine), Combat Waffle Studios (Ghosts of Tabor), and Kluge Interactive (Synth Riders) all underwent significant cuts. Meta itself shuttered all internal development studios and its Oculus Gaming publishing division.
