Ready at Dawn, VR Studio Behind Lone Echo and God of War PSP, Shut Down by Meta

Ready at Dawn, a venerable game studio that once worked on games including God War and Daxter, is closing its doors. Android Central reports that Meta is shuttering the studio effective immediately, with employees encouraged to apply for other positions within Oculus Studios.

The closure follows Meta’s decision to shut down Echo VR in 2023, which coincided with major layoffs affecting a third of the studio. Oculus Studios had previously acquired Ready at Dawn, which had found success with the Lone Echo series, to develop VR games for its platforms.

Sad to hear about Ready at Dawn closing. Here’s a documentary I made about the studio when I worked at Game Informer. Woof, double sadness this week. https://t.co/Nd9NU5vqkH

— Ben Hanson (@yozetty) August 7, 2024

“As many of you have heard, Ready At Dawn Studios is closing its doors this morning. I have been with RAD for over 10 years and am incredibly sad to see this amazing team that I have come to love fall apart in this way,” wrote design director Robert Duncan. “That said, for now at least, I am trying to focus on (and, let’s be honest, distract myself with) finding solid places for all of my dear friends to go. If anyone has leads/positions they would like to share, feel free to reach out to me directly and I will do my best to connect you with good people who might be interested.”

The games industry lamented the closure on social media and elsewhere, with many describing it as underrated. MinnMax founder Ben Hanson posted a documentary he produced with Game Informer that offers a snapshot of the studio circa 2014, as it prepared to release The Order: 1886.

Ready at Dawn’s history dates all the way back to 2003, when it was founded by former employees of Naughty Dog and Blizzard Entertainment. It was best known for its prowess on the PlayStation Portable, producing multiple God of War games for the platform.

After the mixed reception of The Order: 1886, Ready at Dawn began focusing on VR, releasing Lone Echo for the Oculus Rift in 2017. We wrote at the time: “Lone Echo and Echo Arena are the rare games that truly demonstrate the value of VR and hand tracking. The sense of movement feels amazing and it couldn’t exist any other way.”

After being acquired by Oculus Studios in 2021, Ready at Dawn released Lone Echo II but has not released a game since. A report from mid-July stated that Meta would reportedly slash the budget of its Reality Labs division by 20 percent in 2026 to make a “better long-term impact” in VR development. Meta subsequently told Android Central that this does not signal “broader cuts” to the number of first-party games on Quest.

Ready at Dawn is one of many game studios closing their doors in 2024, joining Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin, Roll7, and more in what has been a tough year for games. For more, check out our deep dive into the layoffs impacting the games industry.

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director and co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? DM her at @the_katbot.