Ready at Dawn reportedly heavily impacted by latest Meta layoffs

Lone Echo developer Ready at Dawn has reportedly been heavily affected by the latest round of job cuts at Meta Quest.

[-Mika-]

I thought Sony owned them. 1/3 of their studio was laid off including the studio head. Jesus, they were literally acquired by Meta in 2020 and now their whole studio has been gutted. They should have focused on making console games instead of pursuing VR. I kinda wished MS would have bought them in 2018 when they were acquiring smaller studios. They would have been a good acquisition.

[IamTylerDurden1]

Sony never owned them, they were a third or second party at best. They did great work on GoW and 1886 was an IP with potential. Sony imo gave up on a talented studio, intriguing IP, and impressive engine bc they care more about critical reception than they have conviction in talent and Days Gone/Ross and Garvin was another.

Feel bad for RaD. After Sony were visionless cowards and stopped working with RaD they made limited game called Deformers for Gamestop, probably had little funding, then the transition into VR. Luckily their talent shined through and their VR games were well received. Obviously Meta acquired them. Now, the reward for being a good dev with Meta is layoffs. Sucks.

[-Mika-]

Yeah, I was looking through their wiki. Ever since the creation of their studio, they worked with Sony and I enjoyed each and every single game they collaborated on. It sucks to see Sony threw away their relationship over just one game. Especially, since the only complaints about The Order was that it was linear and short. Sony really dropped the ball with this studio. They would have been a great asset. Just sad all around, so much potential.

[RpgSama]

I mean, it is on them for going over to Meta, did they think that was going to actually work out?

That's like the studios that went with Stadia.

[MIDGETonSTILTS17]

It’s easy to offer support when it isn’t your checkbook…

Sony have not been gutless at all. They let a US studio spend 7 years making a game reflective of Japan’s own history! That was a big deal for Sony to be willing to acknowledge that Sucker Punch, regardless of their origin, was THE best team for that Japanese-centric game.

The risks they let ND make with Part 2 were insane, and 100% not concerned with critical reception; just the game the studio wanted to make.

Pursuing PSVR2 is hardly a venture into critical reception, or an easy market to pioneer.

The best example of Sony’s judgement at work is Returnal and Housemarque. That game is great, but not the most renowned game worldwide(although a top 10 of all time for me). I don’t even think it shipped a million units. Bought, Sony saw their talent and innovation, and acquired them despite their sales numbers.

Ready at Dawn and Bend studios were passed over because of their output, and future visions. Ready at Dawn made a very short game, which raises questions about their future. And Bend released a buggy game after a very long time in development. And, it sounds like their only other idea was “Days Gone 2”, and every studio should have multiple creative routes, especially if you want to be owned by a publisher that offers support for those visions.

Not every studio gets selected, and that’s OK. As much as I love Sony’s output, it only seems to work for some. Many will flourish fine without Sony’s structure.

[IamTylerDurden1]

Midget

I agree on virtually everything. Sony has taken great risk in many scenarios and certainly aren't gutless overall. However, as a fan, i will voice my opinion when i disagree with their actions. RaD made Daxter, Chains of Olympus, and Ghost of Sparta prior to 1886. All were hugely successful. But to cut and run bc their first AAA didn't receive the reception they had hope was weak. Especially bc The Order was so obviously filled with potential. The engine was worth inheriting. They had a strong relationship and 3 prior successes with them.

Evolution bothered me as well bc imo Sony mismanaged Driveclub and ruined an eventually great IP by pushing it out uncooked, fumbling a ps+ version, and numerous other mistakes a premier publisher should be on top of. Plus, Motorstorm could've been rebooted.

Guerrilla Cambridge as well. KZ Merc and Rigs were actually good. Zipper i understood. Firing some of JP Studios talent i get, but some of them didn't make sense. Gavin Moore for example. Sony is great at cultivating and nurturing talent but they aren't perfect and as a fan, i'll voice my complaints. But obviouslyi love what they are doing with almost every studio currently. Love the new acquisitios as well. Imo the best publisher running. I hold grudges though. Loved me some Evolution and RaD.

[sinspirit]

RAD was definitely a missed opportunity. It felt odd they weren't acquired by Sony after all the partnership. The Order seemed just harshly reviewed.

[MIDGETonSTILTS17]

@Edward’s ulcered stomach:

Evolve was the victim of family tragedy, not Sony mismanagement. I’m still dreaming of a Pacific Rift (favorite racing game EVER) remaster, maybe even in VR 🤙

RaD did not demonstrate their chops yet at AAA. What makes them entitled to absorption?

I’m not familiar with the Cambridge studio, but that does suck.

And I think Japan Studios wanted to still cater to the Japanese market, but Sony wanted to fund worldwide marketable games…. AAA games are expensive to make; so you either find your own vision, or remain open to creative input from your financial backers. It sounds like Gavin Moore wasn’t the latter.

[fan_of_gaming]

@MIDGETonSTILTS17 I'm not sure why you're saying Bend Studio was passed over, as Sony owns them.

[blackblades]

Reception, if your restaurant got a F rating i definitely wouldn't be going there. Your place would definitely get closed and lost of money.

[MIDGETonSTILTS17]

@fan

Bends wasn’t passed over, their first pick of projects (Days Gone 2) did

[IamTylerDurden1]

I'm not here to protect Sony. They mismanaged Driveclub. How do you as a great pub allow your first major new IP that gen to launch unfinished with broken servers? It didn't have weather and servers were busted for at least the first month. Where is the oversight?

Then the ps+ edition? It was treated like a service almost but it waffled around. The game was eventually great and they cut Evolution. I enjoy DC VR but even that was fumbled.

Sony wildly mismanaged DC and idc if it hurts fanboy's feelings. You lose credibility when u fail to be honest. I love Sony but i'm not here to protect them. That's the prob with gaming culture, ppl adhere to narrativs and agendas, i say what i feel. If i rip Redfall or say Hi Fi was overrated it's bc i believe it. If i praise Gamepass it's bc it deserves it. If i say PS5 has been dry this it's bc imo they have in terms of games. I don't spit fanboy rhetoric just because, i say what i feel.

[neutralgamer1992]

Game development is really expensive. Sony funded the order 1886 and RAD blew their chance. You have to have enough self awareness to know that a fully priced AAA game can't be 4-5 hours long

Only if RAD had gone to 15+ hours of gameplay with RPG elements it could have been special. Also co-op would have been great addition too

We can't blame Sony of any publishers for that matter because now a days AAA games cost 80-1000 million to develop

[Inverno]

What a waste of talent and potential this studio turned out. Oh what could've been, just another victim of fabricated outrage.

[IamTylerDurden1]

To no fault of their own.

CoO and GoS were two of the best PSP games and The Order was limited but underrated/full of potential. The setting and engine alone were imo enough to green light a more robust sequel. And their VR output has been well received. Not their fault that publishers screw them. They've done enough to prove their ability.

They also made Daxter which i didn't realize. 8/11 career games 80 Meta or above and the other three were the last Echo game (78), The Order which i enjoyed, and dogwater Deformers which was a half funded Gamestop published experiment. RaD is certified imo. Deformers imo is their only bad game. Should've been acquired by Sony a decade ago. Even if Sony refused to pursue The Order further they have VR chops. They have talent.

[RaidenBlack]

What's even more depressing ...
Ready at Dawn had a working PC version of Order 1886 ready and showed it off at SIGGRAPH 2015.
* sigh* we'll never get that, nor Order 1887
pity, their proprietary graphics engine was ahead of its time ...

[IamTylerDurden1]

This.

The engine alone was worth inheriting via acquisition. The Order was benchmark visually and an IP with potential. I actually loved the game and felt it was one of the most critically misrepresented titles that gen. It has around 63 Meta if i remember correctly? Deserved 15 points higher imo.

The setting, weapons, and story were enjoyable. Tesla making gadgets, arc rifle, Arthurian lore with vamps/wolves in 1800s London? Awesome. It was ridiculous how critical ppl were of QTEs at the time. The game short but awesome imo.

[-Foxtrot]

It is a shame because I'd have taken an Order sequel

The concept and setting was great

They just needed to make it more open and create a longer game

Also maybe try to loosen up the gameplay, like I think this game would have done better in the style of Uncharted rather than the over the shoulder similar to Gears of War. With the Black Water giving them abilities they should have been able to be more nimble, climbing walls and the like.

[Shane Kim]

I thought the order was one of the best games on PS4. Intersesting characters, nice gameplay, cool weapons. Shame Sony let IGN fanboys dictate what to incest in.

[Chocoburger]

Your autocorrect is quite curious. May want to edit that second-to-last-word. 🤣

[Shane Kim]

Lol stupid phone. Now it's too late to do anything about it haha.

[BlackTar187]

Lol auto correct on my phone doesn’t list incest in the correction words. You sir just exposed your pornhub searches lmao

[masterfox]

Im actually more surprised that Ready at Dawn devs still exists, I havent hear of them until this article appeared , what have they being doing all this effing time?, at least throw 60 fps patch for the Order.

[senorfartcushion]

The Order 1886 as a 30+ hour Last of Us Part 2-style game would have been great

[coolbeans]

With such limited mechanics & stagnant design? I doubt it.

[IamTylerDurden1]

Hence why a more robust sequel could've worked. The Order was indeed limited but quality regardless. Amazing grfx, setting, lore, and production. The sequel could've expanded greatly. And even in the first game nothing was broken or outright bad mechanically, narrative wise, etc. It was just short and linear. Combat wasn't great but not terrible. Like Hellblade tbh. Both beautiful, linear, limited games. The fact that one scored 63 and the other near 90 on XB is absurd.

[coolbeans]

@TylerDurden1

Eh, I'd still think that'd only paper over its more inherent flaws.

-"And even in the first game nothing was broken or outright bad mechanically, narrative wise, etc."

You and I are simply on different wavelengths here. An incomplete story, some of the most restrictive level design placed in a TPS, peppered with obnoxious QTEs, and dreadful design decisions like the Matrix slow-mo insta-kill move. So many things about it are the antithesis of a good shooter imo.

-"Like Hellblade tbh. Both beautiful, linear, limited games. The fact that one scored 63 and the other near 90 on XB is absurd."

I mean... kinda absurd to pluck from different genres and whatnot, but okay. The fact that The Order even has a low 60 seems quite generous by comparison. Hellblade actually introduced a unique gameplay gimmick that also meshes with its themes. I wouldn't give it a 90, but it's probably the best recent example of an action/action-lite game with a zoomed-in camera.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Ready at Dawn this It sucks.

[Stanjara]

Meta Quest is a joke.

[P_Bomb]

Damn! Not the ending I would’ve wished for them.

[gleepot]

Who

[GamingSinceForever]

And who is surprised by this?

[HeliosHex]

Dam there goes hoped for an 1886 sequel.