Veteran VR Studio Schell Games Confirms Layoffs Affecting 10 Percent of Staff

Right, here's some proper disappointing news to kick off the week. Schell Games, one of the most experienced and well-respected VR studios out there, has confirmed layoffs affecting roughly 10 percent of its staff. The news first surfaced late last week when multiple employees posted on LinkedIn about being let go, and it's now been officially confirmed by the studio itself.

For those who don't know, Schell Games isn't some flash-in-the-pan indie developer—they've been around since 2002 and have become one of VR's most reliable studios. They're best known for the I Expect You to Die series, those brilliant spy-themed puzzle games that actually make you feel like a proper secret agent, and more recently Among Us VR, which brought the social deduction phenomenon into virtual reality. These aren't shovelware titles; they're polished, critically acclaimed experiences that have genuinely moved VR forward.

Why This Matters for VR

Look, layoffs in the games industry have become depressingly common over the past year or so, but when they hit a studio like Schell Games, it stings differently. This is a team that's consistently delivered quality VR content and has been a cornerstone of the medium since the early days. If they're having to trim staff despite their success, it's yet another sign that the VR market is still struggling to sustain even its best developers.

The timing is particularly rubbish given where VR is right now. We've got the Apple Vision Pro trying to crack mainstream appeal, Meta continuing to push the Quest platform, and Sony supporting the PlayStation VR2—albeit with less enthusiasm than many of us would like. You'd think with all this hardware investment, studios making genuinely good games would be thriving, but clearly the economics aren't working out that way.

The Bigger Picture

This isn't happening in isolation. The entire VR development scene has been contracting lately, with even Meta-owned studios facing cuts. What's particularly frustrating is that Schell Games represents exactly the kind of developer VR needs more of: experienced teams making accessible, polished games that appeal beyond the hardcore enthusiast crowd. I Expect You to Die is the sort of game you can show to VR skeptics and actually change their minds about the medium.

The studio hasn't disclosed specific details about which departments were affected or what this means for their upcoming projects, but any time you lose 10 percent of your workforce, it's going to have an impact. These are real people with families and bills to pay, not just statistics, and it's a reminder that behind every VR game we enjoy, there are developers whose livelihoods depend on this industry figuring out how to be sustainable.

What Happens Next

The question now is whether this is a course correction or a sign of deeper trouble. Schell Games has survived and adapted for over two decades, so I'd back them to weather this storm, but it's still concerning. The VR industry needs its veterans, the studios who've learned what works and what doesn't through years of trial and error. Losing institutional knowledge because the market can't support experienced developers is a massive problem.

For anyone affected by these layoffs, you've got the community's support. And for the rest of us, maybe this is a reminder to actually support quality VR content when it comes out, rather than waiting for sales or moaning about prices. Studios like Schell Games need to make money to keep the lights on and pay their people—that's just basic economics.

Here's hoping Schell Games can stabilize and continue making the kind of brilliant VR experiences they're known for. The medium would be considerably poorer without them. If you haven't tried their games yet and you've got a Quest headset, I Expect You to Die is genuinely worth your time and money. Sometimes the best way to support the VR industry is simply to buy good games when they're made by talented people who deserve to keep their jobs.