Moss Developer Polyarc Is Shutting Down After Nearly 12 Years

Moss developer Polyarc is shutting down after nearly 12 years, ending the Seattle studio's run almost six months after it significantly downsized following the cancellation of a major project and an unsuccessful effort to secure new funding.

Polyarc says it is winding down active development and its remaining developers are saying their farewells. The studio has also shared an updated reverse-recruiting list to help affected employees find new roles, describing its work as finished.

Polyarc confirmed the closure in a statement reflecting on almost 12 years of game development and thanking the people who worked at the studio and supported its games.

The company did not announce another round of layoffs separately from the shutdown or disclose how many developers remained when the decision was made. Instead, it directed prospective employers toward developers across its remaining disciplines who are now looking for work.

The closure ends a studio best known for building its games around Quill, the small mouse protagonist introduced in Moss. The original VR adventure launched in 2018 before Polyarc continued her story with Moss: Book II in 2022.

The problems leading into the closure became public earlier in 2026 when Polyarc announced that a major project had been canceled. The studio said its team then made a company-wide attempt to secure new funding. When those efforts failed, Polyarc significantly reduced its workforce.

Polyarc never identified the canceled project or publicly named the company that had been supporting it. It also did not confirm speculation connecting the cancellation to funding changes elsewhere in the VR industry.

What the studio did make clear was that losing the project created a serious financial problem. The layoffs that followed were not framed as routine restructuring, but came after the studio was unable to secure new funding following the project's cancellation.

Polyarc continued operating with a smaller team and went on to release Moss: The Forgotten Relic, bringing Quill's adventures to traditional screens.

Moss: The Forgotten Relic launched on July 16 for PC, PS5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and Switch 2. The release combined Moss, Moss: Book II, and the Twilight Garden DLC into a reimagined adventure designed for traditional screens, allowing players to experience Quill's story without a VR headset.

Development continued after launch. On September 3, Polyarc released the free Play Together update, adding two-player local co-op across supported platforms.

That update ultimately became one of the studio's final pieces of released work. Polyarc has now ended active development, with the developers who remained after the earlier layoffs looking for new opportunities as the company closes.