Phaser Lock Interactive, the studio behind Quest unique Primal Hunt (2023) and a bunch of early PC VR video games, introduced it’s shutting down, citing a “difficult financial local weather and the present state of the gaming business.”
Based in 2015, the Austin, Texas-based VR studio was behind plenty of PC VR video games through the years, together with bow-shooter Twisted Arrow (2016), and real-time technique video games Remaining Method (2016) and Remaining Assault (2019).
In 2023, Phaser Lock launched dino-hunting sport Primal Hunt, which leveraged Twisted Arrow’s bow-shooting mechanics in a Turok-impressed single participant journey, launched completely on Quest.
Though Primal Hunt garnered a strong [4.3/5] person score on the Horizon Retailer, it confronted challenges discovering broad attraction. On the time of this writing, solely 201 customers have reviewed the ‘M’ rated sport, which was priced at $30.
Shortly after releasing Primal Hunt on Quest, Phaser Lock pivoted from full-time VR studio to creating a multi-player model of the sport for Roblox. Whereas the free-to-play sport did effectively on the platform, attracting over 5.4 million visits, the studio’s final replace arrived in April 2024, leaving the Primal Hunt’s future in query.
Then, in June 2024, co-founder and former studio exec Michael Daubert left studio, in accordance with LinkedIn, leaving the studio’s trajectory and its future ambitions unsure.
Right here’s the total assertion, launched on the studio’s web site:
END OF AN ERA
With deep unhappiness, we announce that Phaser Lock Interactive is shutting down. Regardless of our relentless efforts to convey our imaginative and prescient to life, the difficult financial local weather and the present state of the gaming business have made it unattainable for us to proceed. We wish to specific our heartfelt gratitude to our loyal followers and the wonderful neighborhood that has supported us by way of this journey. Your ardour, encouragement, and perception in our work have meant the world to us. Whereas this chapter closes, the recollections we’ve created collectively will stay ceaselessly. Thanks for being a part of our story.