nDreams, one of the most veteran VR studios, today announced it’s tightening the belt with a layoff round due to affect 17.5% of the company.

The Farnborough, UK-based studio maintains in the LinkenIn announcement that layoffs are in response to “a challenging VR games market, situated within a tough gaming landscape more broadly.”

The studio further notes the restructure “will enable us to better serve current and future audiences in creating medium-defining titles for years to come.”

Founded in 2013, nDreams has expanded its role beyond game developer, becoming a publisher and opening a number of first-party VR studios, including nDreams Studio Orbital, nDreams Studio Elevation, and Nearlight, the latter of which was acquired by nDreams in late 2022.

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In 2023, Stockholm, Sweden-based gaming group Aonic acquired nDreams for $110 million. At the time, the studio said it employed 250 people, meaning the layoff could affect up to 40 people.

Notably, nDreams is known for a host of VR games over the years, including The Assembly (2016), Phantom: Covert Ops (2020), Fracked (2021), and Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord (2023), and more.

The studio notes upcoming titles Frenzies and Vendetta Forever will be unaffected by the restructuring.

While disheartening, the news of layoffs comes as no real surprise given turmoil in the wider gaming market. Layoffs spanning 2023 and 2024 included a number of top publishers and studios, such as Embracer Group, Unity, Microsoft, EA, Sony, Epic Games, Take-Two Interactive and Riot Games.

Specifically, VR studio closures affected Meta’s Ready at Dawn (Lone Echo, Echo VR), Sony’s London Studio (PlayStation Worlds, Blood & Truth (2019), and indie developer Archiact (Doom 3 VR Edition).

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.

  • Their stuff is dogshit.
    Dogshit doesn't sell.
    So they go out of business.
    What"s so hard to figure out …??
    []^ 0

    • spirr9986

      You my friend are totally, and 100 percent correct

      • Much obliged, goode Sir!
        []^ )

    • VR5

      They aren't going out of business, they're downsizing. And Phantom: Covert Ops is an old title, its performance wouldn't be responsible for the layoffs happening now. In fact, that game doing well allowed them to release many more games that were generally well received critically.

      Lately nDreams have focussed on PSVR2, with multiplatform titles only releasing now. That might be more the reason. And as they stated, gaming market is difficult in general and Quest doesn't guarantee success either.

  • gothicvillas

    Just not good output from them. Maybe they shouldn't work in games industry

  • Shad Daffucup

    That's 40 more people like ViRGiN

    • ViRGiN

      No, that's your life. You awaken in a haze of depression that carries over you like charlie brown's raincloud and drag yourself into your tiny council house's kitchen, where five slices of pizza are lost into the gaping void that screams from within. Next you slump down into the ten-year-old buttock dent of your couch cushion and flip on that TV you're so proud of. Whacking your tiny meat to Good Morning Lorraine kills an hour, two tops; but the day is still all ahead of you, and you quake in dread at the prospect of it.
      It's like the hideous arm of the clock is stuck. Just like you are stuck, aren't you Shad? Stuck in a bad situation you can never escape. You've tried to run away inside your goggles, but they aren't high enough resolution to dispel your disbelief, and the painful reality of your existence comes leaking up into your eyes. So you pull the strap harder, gasping and weeping… hoping the recognition goes away for another few priceless minutes.
      But it's not enough. It's never enough. At last, that bitch truth will yank you back out into the real world, your real body, your real pitiful life. And there you'll weep for another useless day, wishing you were someone else.

  • ViRGiN

    Tabor = janky Tarkov clone in VR

    Meanwhile this studio does not have a single solid game that would truly keep someone in the headset, and especially there is a total zero value for anyone who would want to get in VR after decades of playing flat.

  • Because they're shortsighted, lazy dummies, that's why.
    To them, VR is the "Platform o' the Month" to publish for.
    Last week, for them, it's "mobile freemium" junk.
    They don't give a goddamn about the Craft of virtual reality ….
    []^ (

  • Octogod

    Shame. I hope those losing their jobs land on their feet.

    Fall is going to be a blood bath for VR studios. Store changes have made revenue fall by massive 50+% for many.

  • NL_VR

    Game development driven by passion seem to be more successful in the VR market.
    feels like VR gamers in general are gamers that are tired of the shortsighted pump out games, much like the flatscreen market in general.
    gaming market will crash but the passions projects will remain

  • sfmike

    You see the same thing happening in Hollywood and in the streaming industry where there doesn't seem to be upper management that understands the businesses and the like and wants of the consumers that they are trying to sell their products too. This is what happens when you put investment bankers at the head of every industry and then wonder why companies are no longer profitable.

  • jbob4mall

    Thanks Sony. Maybe next time develop a headset that’s affordable to buy so these games will sell better.

  • LP

    Veterans in an industry that hasn't even started?

  • M2 Studio

    Absolutely, one of the best!

  • Mattphoto

    "One of the greatest games ever made is "GoldenEye" for Nintendo64.
    The guys who made it NEVER MADE A VIDEOGAME BEFORE IN THEIR LIVES."

    Is utter bullshit.
    A few never worked on a game. A few. They were lead by people that worked on games, successful games.

    Also comparing games from decades ago, that were pioneering to consoles, to the complexities and expectations of games today is silly. The expectations of games today require far more than N64. Waverace would not be a hit if it were released today. Goldeneye would not be a hit if a FPS with those mechanics and AI were released today. Players demand far far more complexity and that requires larger teams, budgets, and expertise.