Interestingly, the studio closure comes in light of a recent Bloomberg report that reveals that Meta is also making larger cuts throughout its Reality Labs division. These lay-offs are set to affect more than 1,000 employees at the company. Reality Labs is the main division for Meta’s various VR efforts, including the Quest headsets and the company’s game development studios.

It is worth noting that Meta had initially acquired Armature Studios and Twisted Pixel, along with Camouflaj, all the way back in 2022. The company had acquired Sanzaru Games back in 2020. While Armature Studios hadn’t released a game since 2019’s Quest port of Resident Evil 4, Twisted Pixel had released the Quest 3 and Quest 3S-exclusive Marvel’s Deadpool VR just last year.

It’s currently unknown what these studio closures mean for Meta’s Reality Labs division, be it the fate of future Quest headsets or exclusive titles. In a statement, the company noted that this was part of a move to focus more of its investments on wearable technology.

“We said last month that we were shifting some of our investment from Metaverse toward Wearables. This is part of that effort, and we plan to reinvest the savings to support the growth of wearables this year,” said a spokesperson for Meta.

Armature Studios had done quite a bit of prolific work with various major companies before it started focusing its efforts on VR games. It was known for its partnership with Sony Interactive Entertainment, having worked on ports for Sony’s platforms. These include the PlayStation Vita ports for Metal Gear Solid HD Collection and Injustice: Gods Among Us, and multiplatform ports for Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate. The studio has also previously worked with Microsoft on the 2016 adventure game ReCore for PC and Xbox One.

Sanzaru Games, on the other hand, is known for many projects over the years. Before VR, the studio had worked on titles like the PS3 remastered release The Sly Collection and PS Vita ports for games like God of War Collection and The Sly Collection. It had even worked on spin-off titles like Secret Agent Clank on PS2, and even the fourth game in the Sly Cooper franchise, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, back in 2013.

The studio first began a relationship with Meta when it worked on titles like Ripcoil, VR Sports Challenge and Tron RUN/r back in 2016. The studio would catch Meta’s attention in a major way thanks to its VR-based action RPG Asgard’s Wrath, which was released on the Oculus Rift in 2019. A couple of years after its acquisition, the studio would release Asgard’s Wrath 2, which is considered by many to be one of the most ambitious VR titles released on Meta’s Quest headsets.

Twisted Pixel wasn’t as prolific with releases before its extensive VR work. However, the studio was well-known for its action platforming game ‘Splosion Man, as well as unique titles like LocoCycle and The Gunstringer. Its final release before being shut down was Marvel’s Deadpool VR.

The first of these is Armature Studio, which, of course, has seen great success on Meta platforms of late, thanks to the launch of Resident Evil 4 VR. Meta has also acquired Twisted Pixel, which was a Microsoft studio from 2011 to 2015 before become independent again. Over the last few years, Twisted Pixel has worked almost exclusively on VR games for Meta platforms, including the likes of Wilson’s Heart, Path of the Warrior, and more.

Finally, Camouflaj has also been acquired, which, of course, is a studio that has plenty of experience with virtual reality. Most notably, Camouflaj developed the PlayStation VR exclusive Marvel’s Iron Man VR. 

So what are these three studios working on next? “It’ll be a while before we can reveal what they’re working on, but we’re excited to continue working with and supporting these developers as they bring ambitious and forward-thinking games to VR,” Meta says.

In related news, it’s also been announced that Marvel’s Iron Man VR is coming to the Meta Quest. Read more on that through here.

Resident Evil 4 is back but not quite in the way you’d imagine. During its second Resident Evil Showcase, Capcom was announced to be working with Oculus Studios and Armature to bring Resident Evil 4 to VR. The title will be playable on Oculus Quest 2, taking place from the first person perspective. Check out the trailer below courtesy of GameSpot.

More details and gameplay footage will be provided on April 21st at the Oculus Gaming Showcase. Resident Evil 4 originally launched for the Nintendo GameCube in 2005 before heading to PS2 in the same year. It would subsequently arrive on nearly every major platform throughout the years with the Nintendo Switch version being the latest.

Rumors have stated that a remake for Resident Evil 4 is currently in the works but it may be a while before it launches. It’s reportedly been overhauled and is now expected to release in 2023 with Capcom’s Division 1 spear-heading development. In the meantime, Resident Evil Village is out on May 7th for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, PC and Stadia with a new demo coming May 1st. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

The Xbox One cult hit ReCore seems like it will remain a one off experience for a time, with Armature Studio working on two new projects aside from their continued support on Fortnite, but unfortunately confirming to a fan that a follow up to the action adventure title is not one of them.

In an email response to one fan, Reddit user Sargento_Osiris revealed to the world via a posted screenshot that confirms the current studio plans. Nothing further was announced as far as what those two original titles are, just that the potential of a ReCore 2 won’t be realized just yet.

Armature has yet to contact any media outlets to elaborate on this story, but Gamingbolt will be reporting when they do. So take this report with a grain of salt. ReCore was a Microsoft exclusive released in 2016 on Windows 10 and Xbox One, built by former Metroid Prime staff with the help of Keiji Inafune of Megaman Fame. Do you hope for a sequel? Let us know in the comments. 

Comcept’s ReCore had some neat concepts and a pretty cool world but nearly everyone agreed that the loading times were atrocious. Thankfully, the developers have been listening and will release an update later this week to “improve load times” on the Xbox One and Xbox One S.

A post on the official website says, “[W]e want you to know that we’ve been listening closely, and the number one thing you’ve mentioned you’d like to see improvements on is load times. We heard you, we appreciate your patience, and we have good news!

“Keep in mind, some areas may continue to take more time than expected to load because they are larger zones, but we hope this update improves your overall experience traveling through Far Eden.”

What are your thoughts on ReCore and the loading times? Let us know below in the comments and we’ll let you know when the update goes live later this week.

"How does this all tie back to ReCore? Well, it’s again another case of a new IP that doesn’t quite have that huge marketing push."

Not that it matters either way. If a developer makes a good game, then it deserves its recognition. I’ll have fun playing it and I’ll recommend that other people play it. Unfortunately, in the games industry, when judging a game’s success, it’s about more than just “Well, I enjoyed playing it” (pretentious as that may sound). Take Until Dawn, for instance. That’s one PS4 exclusive that succeeded despite having a long development cycle, being a relatively new IP and having very little marketing might behind it. That too in a year when Sony wasn’t exactly blossoming with exclusives.

How does this all tie back to ReCore? Well, it’s again another case of a new IP that doesn’t quite have that huge marketing push. When it was first showcased at E3 2015, this seemed like an amazing new IP with a strong female protagonist. Flash forward to E3 2016 and we have a snazzy trailer and…that’s it. Compare this to Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3 or even Sea of Thieves and you’ll begin to wonder why there wasn’t more time devoted to it. Yes, there have been gameplay demos that emerged courtesy of other media outlets but it feels like Microsoft isn’t really pushing ReCore as much as it should. Where are the “Making of” trailers, especially given the talent that’s on this game?

Think about it for a minute. Armature Studio has designers and employees who worked on Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Keiji Inafune is the man behind some of Capcom’s most treasured franchises including Mega Man and Resident Evil. Joseph Staten was in charge of directing cinematics for the Halo series at Bungie. He also wrote the story for Destiny before it was scrapped, causing him to depart the studio. That’s a pretty strong roster to tout and then you tell people that this team is creating a new IP? How is this not getting more attention?

"All indications from Microsoft point to ReCore being great value for your money and worth investing in. Then why in the world isn’t it being pushed more?"

There could be any number of factors, including Inafune’s recent lackluster release in Mighty No. 9 and the controversy that followed. But surely the other talented developers would be enough to offset that. One could argue that it’s a $40 title because it’s relatively small. Heck, that’s why I thought it was $40 and not getting nearly enough attention. The genre itself isn’t exactly the stuff of marketing dreams either. Imagine a third person, Mega Man-esque shooter/platformer in a new universe and boom, you have ReCore, at least from a casual bystander’s perspective. A few minutes watching the game is enough to indicate that this isn’t the set-piece heavy drama that adorns titles like Tomb Raider and Uncharted. And hey, more power to developers for creating experiences that are divergent from the norm but set pieces are the norm because they impress people.

Regardless, the game isn’t $40 because it’s viewed as a small title (which by extension means less marketing). It’s because Microsoft wants to offer a strong experience at great value to build a fan base. This would indicate it has plans for the franchise. I could understand not pushing ReCore because it’s a new IP and you have no idea how it could perform. The game could be short and not warrant a $40 price tag. However, all indications from Microsoft point to ReCore being great value for your money and worth investing in. Then why in the world isn’t it being pushed more?

Look, I’m not telling you to skip the game if you think it looks interesting. It’s just a shame to see new IPs like this that have to flourish simply on word of mouth. When good games are recognized, pushed and receive support, that often means the developers behind said games can thrive and make even more good games.

"Hopefully, ReCore and other future titles that may not have “Halo” or “Forza” emblazoned on it receive as much investment and publicity especially when that could lead to more such great game in the future."

And while I railed on Sony earlier for not pushing Until Dawn all that much, it did give a strong amount of publicity to The Witness despite its long development cycle. Lo and behold, The Witness broke $5 million in sales for its first week, which can be attributed to both console and PC sales but it’s more about getting the word out there. No Man’s Sky, as controversial as it may be, received strong support from Sony including time on stage at E3 and has been pretty successful even if too much hype may been its undoing.

What happens if ReCore is a good game and doesn’t sell well simply because not many people knew about it? Where will that leave Armature or Inafune, especially when this might be the latter’s attempt at redemption for Mighty No. 9?

There’s a fine line between advertising one’s game and really pushing it to the moon. Microsoft has done a great job letting consumers know about its biggest exclusives but should push its smaller, newer IPs like ReCore all the more. Once again, whether the game is good or bad, there’s a way to let your fans on Windows 10 and Xbox One know more about it even for the purpose of whether they should be playing it. Hopefully, ReCore and other future titles that may not have “Halo” or “Forza” emblazoned on it receive as much investment and publicity especially when that could lead to more such great game in the future.

Microsoft has updated the Windows Store page for Comcept’s ReCore to reflect the minimum and recommended system requirements for PC users. And as it turns out, they’re not too hefty. That is, if you’re not planning on maxing everything out.

Minimum requirements for ReCore on PC include either Intel Core i5-4460 2.70GHz or AMD FX-6300; an Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 or AMD Radeon R7 with 2 GB VRAM; and 8 GB of memory. The recommended requirements include an Intel Core i5 4590 3.9 GHz or AMD equivalent; an Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon R9 with 4 GB VRAM; and 16 GB of memory. Naturally, you need Windows 10 and DirectX 11 to run the game along with roughly 6.5 GB of internal storage.

ReCore is set to release on September 13th for North America and September 16th for Europe on the Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs. Buying the digital version on one platform makes it immediately free on the other thanks to the Xbox Play Anywhere initiative.

Of the many Xbox One/Windows 10 titles that Microsoft is releasing this year, one particular name sticks out – ReCore from Comcept and Armature Studio, produced by Keiji Inafune and written by Joseph Staten. The pricing for the game is actually $40 but it’s still considered a triple A release. So what gives?

Speaking to the TXR Podcast, Xbox marketing head Aaron Greenberg said there were a multitude of reasons for this. “We wanted there to be no barriers. We wanted to be able to give you a great triple-A title that gives you $60 of value but if you aren’t sure, not let that be the barrier of a trade-off. That’s why we priced it at $40. We hope that will increase its chances of having success as a new IP.

“With new IP like that, launch timing matters a lot. So that’s why you’re seeing us launch it as our first title of the season, getting it out early. The second thing is it doesn’t have an existing base of fans. So we have to build that fan base, earn their trust [and] earn their dollar.”

Given that Inafune’s name isn’t exactly held the highest of regards after Mighty No. 9, it’s not too far-fetched for Microsoft to appeal to gamers in any way possible. Regardless, we’ll see if ReCore‘s quality can speak for itself when it releases on September 13th for Xbox One and Windows 10.

Haven’t had enough leaks? There’s more where that came from as Comcept’s ReCore has had its first gameplay screenshots leaked.

According to NeoGAF, ReCore will apparently be out on September 13th in North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific. The last part doesn’t include Japan where it will release on September 15th. Europe and other regions worldwide receive it on September 16th.

The screenshots themselves look pretty good though it’s the official gameplay reveal we’re most interested in. If ReCore is indeed out this year, then Microsoft’s Fall line-up is looking pretty strong with Halo Wars 2 and Forza Horizon 3 rumoured to be joining as well.

There’s plenty of reason to be excited for ReCore alone though – it comes from Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune and former Bungie writer Joseph Staten. What are your thoughts on the screenshots? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more information when Microsoft’s E3 presser rolls around on June 13th, 9:30 AM PDT.

Comcept’s ReCore hasn’t had a ton of information floating around recently. The action adventure title was announced last year at Microsoft’s E3 presser and poised to release in Spring 2016 but was subsequently delayed. This E3 promises new information and perhaps a more concrete release date.

Until then, we’ll have to make do with some new concept art courtesy of the E3 2016 “Into The Pixel” Collection. The artwork showcases the main character and her pet machine venturing into a desert cave in a scene not unlike that showcased in the initial reveal trailer. At the very least, it’s nice looking concept art…even if it tells us next to nothing new about the game.

ReCore is currently in development for Xbox One and Windows 10 (announced earlier this year). It comes from the mind of Keiji Inafune, currently prepping Mighty No.9 for release this month, and former Bungie writer Joseph Staten, currently in charge of ReCore’s story. What are you hoping to see from the game at E3? Let us know in the concepts below.