{"id":1601266,"date":"2026-06-08T19:35:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T19:35:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/NKqQo9gif8MA9pLh7KdMGU"},"modified":"2026-06-08T19:35:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T19:35:53","slug":"one-of-the-biggest-vr-developers-in-the-business-closes-a-studio-the-vr-market-remains-a-challenging-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/one-of-the-biggest-vr-developers-in-the-business-closes-a-studio-the-vr-market-remains-a-challenging-space\/","title":{"rendered":"One of the biggest VR developers in the business closes a studio: ‘The VR market remains a challenging space’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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VR development studio Vertigo Games, whose games include Arizona Sunshine VR, The 7th Guest VR, Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow, and Metro Awakening is closing its studio in Amsterdam.<\/p>\n

“The VR market remains a challenging space, and after careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to close Vertigo Studios Amsterdam,” CEO Richard Stitselaar said in a message posted on LinkedIn<\/a> (via GamesIndustry<\/a>). <\/strong>“This is not a decision we have taken lightly, and I want to acknowledge the impact it has on everyone at Vertigo Studios Amsterdam.”<\/p>\n

The number of people being put out of work by the shutdown was not disclosed.<\/p>\n

Vertigo Games was acquired by the Embracer Group<\/a> in 2020, but for once this bad outcome can’t be blamed on Embracer. Stitselaar said when the acquisition was announced that “the VR gaming market seems to be on the edge of really taking off,” but in fact it has not. The Steam Hardware and Software Survey<\/a> continues to point to extremely low rates of VR adoption, and the rising cost of hardware<\/a> is not likely to improve that situation. <\/p>\n

There’s also no overlooking the fact that Vertigo is hardly alone in its struggles: Facebook parent company Meta closed three VR studios<\/a> and laid off 10% of its Reality Labs workforce in January, and then two months later announced the end of the VR version of Meta Horizon Worlds<\/a>. <\/p>\n

And while hardware is improving, interest in VR gaming does not seem to be moving with it. When the Vertigo-published Thief VR game was announced in 2025, for instance, PC Gamer’s Fraser Brown\u2014not a man to pull punches\u2014called it “a huge slap in the face<\/a> and kick in the teeth for everyone who has been waiting for more than a decade to return to the City,” because it took a foundational PC game series and locked it behind “a gimmick.”<\/p>\n

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