Formerly known as Facebook, Inc., a tech company Meta has just confirmed that three of its first-party VR studios are closing following layoffs. These closures include Sanzaru Games, the developer of Wrath of Asgard and its sequel, two highly-rated Meta Quest exclusives.
Founded in 2006 by former Activision employees, Sanzaru Games made its debut in 2008. Ninja ReflexA party game for the Nintendo Wii and DS that received mixed reviews from critics. A year later, Sanzaru developed a PS2 port of the game Secret Agent ClankA PSP Ratchet and clank spin off. Sanjaru continued to work closely with Sony in the early 2010s, providing both A crafty collection and Sly Cooper: Thief in TimeAlong with the PS Vita port God of War collection.
In 2019, Sanzaru Games and Oculus Studios released Wrath of AsgardA unique action-RPG that has earned praise from critics. After the launch of Wrath of AsgardSanzaru Games was acquired by Facebook/Meta and joined Oculus Studios in February 2020. Under this new banner, Sanzaru was released. Asgard's Wrath 2 In 2023, a Meta Quest 3 special that currently sits at a 91 top critic average on OpenCritic, making it the highest rated VR game on OpenCritic Half-Life: Alix.
On the morning of January 12, 2026, the New York Times reported that Meta planned to lay off about 10-15% of the employees working under its Reality Labs unit. This division includes Oculus Studios. This report appears to be true, as on January 13, Meta confirmed the closure of three studios under its Reality Labs banner: Sanzaru Games, Armature, and Twisted Pixel. News of the layoffs was first broken on X by @andyTHPS, a former Vicarious Visions dev who was working on Twisted Pixel until January 13th. Andy wrote, “It looks like the entire Twisted Pixel game studio has been shut down. Even the Sanzaru games.”
Gematsu reported on the layoff, confirming that Twisted Pixel, Sanzaru, and Armature were all shut down. Gematsu also obtained an official statement regarding the closure from Meta, which read:
“We said last month that we were shifting some of our investment from Metaverse to Wearables. This is part of that effort, and we plan to reinvest the savings to support the growth of wearables this year.”
While Sanzaru is responsible for two of the most acclaimed Meta Quest VR games currently available, Armature and Twisted Pixel have also proven themselves over the years. Established in 2008, Armature is best known for its development Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate and Xbox One console exclusives ReCoreBut PS Vita ports have also been produced Metal Gear Solid HD Collection and injusticeAnd most importantly, is responsible for praise Resident Evil 4 Meta Quest 2 port, which has a top critic average of 86 on OpenCritic. Armature did not release any games while under the meta.
Twisted Pixel also has a long history in the video game landscape, having been founded in 2006. Twisted Pixel is perhaps best known for this. 'Splosion Man and Ms. Splosion ManTwo of the most acclaimed and iconic games of the Xbox Live Arcade era. Twisted Pixel was acquired by Meta in November 2021, and was the studio's one and only game under the banner last year. Marvel's Deadpool VR. However Deadpool VR While far from the most respected Meta Quest title, it has still earned a good critical reception, sitting at the top critic average of 78 on OpenCritic at the time of writing. But despite all their individual successes, Armature, Twisted Pixels, and Sanzaru Games have all officially shut down, and all are unlikely to return in the future.
Source: Gematsu
