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- XR Games suffered a round of layoffs, reportedly cutting staff by 86%
XR Games suffered a round of layoffs, reportedly cutting staff by 86%
The Immersive Wire - 7 October 2024 (Briefing)
Tom Ffiske
October 07, 2024
Executive summary
Welcome to your weekly briefing on the metaverse and spatial computing. Here are your snippets to sound smarter in meetings this week:
Top story: XR Games suffered a round of layoffs, reportedly cutting staff by 86% (analysis below).
Event: The Immersive Experience Network is happening on 21 October. Additionally, realiti.express is happening from 18 October.
Opportunity: Dekora is looking for AR/VR engineers. Contact the team here. Additionally, Moin Film Fund is also running a competition for finances.
Conversation starter: Gorilla Tag has been downloaded by one in three Quest owners.
Other stories: Microsoft Hololens 2 was discontinued, and Infinite Reality announced a strategic investment and proposed partnership with Super League Enterprise (more stories below).
The Isle of Wight was a rainy mess. On brand, really.
Top story
XR Games experienced a round of layoffs.
How many? 72 staff were reportedly let go, leaving only 12 behind. The company cites a “challenging gaming market.” Both Zombie Army VR and Starship Troopers: Continuum are expected to launch later in 2024 regardless.
What’s the significance? This has been a difficult time for companies working in the gaming industry, with companies letting go of thousands of employees throughout 2024. The downsizing coincided with a rise in interest rates and a high inflation environment. What I wonder is if it will get better in 2025 or not It was already a cold market by the end of 2023; how long will the winter last, and will it worsen?
Other stories
1Spatial makes two strategic appointments.
ENGAGE XR announced the rollout of the “School of AI” to all of its education clients.
Fantasy Futures: Imagining Immersive Innovation is an upcoming event in Oxford, happening in November.
Infinite Reality announced a strategic investment and proposed partnership with Super League Enterprise.
Microsoft Hololens 2 was discontinued.
The Park Playground’s turnkey solution, The Park VR System, has been adopted by three major leisure and entertainment providers.
Storyblok added global creative consultancy Deloitte Digital as a Certified Partner.
Note: The Immersive Wire is run by Tom Ffiske, who also works within Accenture’s metaverse group. The contents of the newsletter should not be regarded as Accenture’s views.