Polyarc Games, the Seattle-based studio behind the Moss VR series, is shutting down after 12 years in operation, with the company confirming the wind-down via LinkedIn.

"After nearly 12 years riding the joyous rollercoaster of emotions that is making video games, our time together has come to an end," the studio wrote.

The closure lands two months after Polyarc shipped Moss: The Forgotten Relic, a non-VR compilation that bundled the studio's first two titles for PC and console. Earlier this year, the studio laid off 30 employees after a major project was cancelled and Polyarc could not close a funding round.

"Working together over all of these years has been an honour. 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 studio added.

What is Polyarc's track record?

Founded in 2015 by former Bungie developers Tam Armstrong, Danny Bulla, and Chris Alderson, Polyarc released its debut VR adventure puzzle game Moss in 2018. The studio followed it with Moss: Book II in 2022 and the online competitive VR strategy title Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss in 2024.

The studio raised $3.5 million in 2016 to develop the original Moss and secured an additional $9 million in 2020 to expand into augmented reality. Together, those rounds totalled $12.5 million in disclosed funding.

Why did the funding round fail?

Polyarc has not disclosed the project that was cancelled, the platforms involved, or the size of the funding gap that triggered the April layoff. The 30-person cut represented a significant share of the studio's then-current headcount.

The studio published a recruiting spreadsheet aimed at helping displaced staff find new roles. Some of those workers have already moved to other Seattle studios. Polyarc's full closure will now place its remaining creative, engineering, and production teams on the open market.

Where does this leave Polyarc's games?

Polyarc's single-player catalogue and Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss remain listed on their respective storefronts. The studio has not announced a timeline for taking Glassbreakers offline or ending active support. Server costs and live operations now stand as open questions for any wind-down administrator.

Polyarc shipped its debut VR adventure puzzle game Moss with the early PlayStation VR content wave in 2018, followed by Moss: Book II in 2022. Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss launched last year as Polyarc's first online competitive title.

What did Polyarc say about AR?

In a 2021 interview with GamesIndustry.biz, publishing and communications director Lincoln Davis said AR was something the studio was "heavily looking into" to "evolve as a studio and adapt as a market changes."

"When we came on with PlayStation with Moss, it was so early on in what type of content it was and it was a complete game experience... So if we can be early on with other technical advances and be that pioneer but add that Polyarc flavour or that Polyarc level of polish too, that would be great for us as a studio," Davis said.

GamesIndustry.biz has reached out to Polyarc for further context on the wind-down decision. The next milestone to watch is whether the studio confirms a closure completion date or hands off Glassbreakers operations before its servers cease.