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Polyarc

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Polyarc
Information
Industry Video games, Virtual reality
Founded 2015
Founder Tam Armstrong, Chris Alderson, Danny Bulla
Headquarters Seattle, Washington, United States
Notable Personnel Tam Armstrong (CEO)
Products Moss, Moss: Book II, Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss, Moss: The Forgotten Relic
Website https://www.polyarcgames.com


Polyarc (also known as Polyarc Games) was an independent video game studio in Seattle that made games for virtual reality. It was founded in 2015 by three former Bungie developers, Tam Armstrong, Chris Alderson and Danny Bulla, and is best known for the Moss series, in which the player guides a mouse named Quill through a storybook world.[1][2][3][4]

The studio released Moss on PlayStation VR in 2018 and later brought it to PC VR, Oculus Quest and PlayStation VR2. The first game passed one million units sold by July 2021, and its sequel, Moss: Book II, won Best VR/AR Game at The Game Awards 2022.[5][6] Polyarc also made the competitive VR strategy game Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss and, with Blackbird Interactive, a non-VR compilation of both Moss games called Moss: The Forgotten Relic.[7][1]

After a major project lost its funding in December 2025, the studio cut about two-thirds of its staff in March 2026. It announced its closure on 11 September 2026.[8][9]

Reviewed 29 September 2026. Founding, funding rounds, Moss and Glassbreakers release dates, March 2026 layoffs, Forgotten Relic release and the September 2026 closure checked against the cited UploadVR, Road to VR, Game Informer, Game Developer, Engadget, Auganix, PlayStation Blog, Steam and Polyarc pages. About review dates.

History

Founding and seed funding

The three founders came from Bungie. Armstrong spent six years there, leading animation and engineering teams on Destiny and working on Halo: Reach. Bulla was a senior gameplay designer at Bungie for nearly four years after earlier jobs at Rockstar Games and Midway, and Alderson spent seven years at the studio, ending as a character art lead on Destiny and Halo projects.[2] UploadVR and Road to VR give 2015 as the founding year; Polyarc's closing message in 2026 referred to "nearly 12 years" of making video games.[2][3][9]

In a 2017 PlayStation Blog post, Armstrong wrote that Polyarc was "founded to pursue the opportunity to express our craft in the new and exciting medium of VR."[10] In March 2016 the studio received an Unreal Dev Grant from Epic Games for a project called Moss. In September 2016 it announced a US$3.5 million seed round led by the Chinese firm UCCVR, with Colopl's VR Fund and Vulcan Capital also investing. Polyarc had six employees at the time.[2]

Moss

Polyarc revealed Moss during Sony's E3 2017 press conference.[10] The game launched on PlayStation VR on 27 February 2018 and on PC VR headsets (Oculus Rift and HTC Vive) through Steam and the Oculus Store on 7 June 2018, with improved graphics and motion controller support.[11][12] A version for the standalone Oculus Quest followed on 21 May 2019, together with a free new chapter, Twilight Garden. The chapter reached the other supported headsets on 25 June 2019.[13] By July 2021 the game had passed one million units sold.[5]

Series B and augmented reality plans

On 29 July 2020 Polyarc announced a US$9 million Series B round led by Hiro Capital, with returning investor Vulcan Capital and Galaxy Interactive (through its Galaxy EOS VC Fund) taking part. Hiro Capital founding partner Ian Livingstone joined Polyarc's board.[14][15] The studio said it would add augmented reality to its core competencies alongside VR. CEO Tam Armstrong said at the time: "VR, AR, and the spectrum in between, offer an opportunity to connect our players with our characters through physical interaction and emotional feedback in a way that no other medium can match."[15] Road to VR noted that selling shares was unusual for an independent game studio, since successful indie studios usually put their revenue toward future projects and sometimes work with publishers to fund larger ones.[14]

Moss: Book II

Moss: Book II came out on PlayStation VR on 31 March 2022 and on Meta Quest headsets on 21 July 2022.[12] Both Moss games were PlayStation VR2 launch titles in February 2023.[16] The sequel won Best VR/AR Game at The Game Awards 2022.[6]

Glassbreakers

Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss is a one-versus-one real-time battler set in the Moss universe, in which each player picks three Champions from a roster. Polyarc released it as a free early-access game on App Lab for Meta Quest on 29 August 2023 with seven Champions and plans for seasonal additions.[17][18] The open beta ended in January 2024 and the servers went offline. When it announced the game's return in August 2025, Polyarc said the free-to-play model, with its need for constant content drops, had been hard for a small studio to sustain, and it moved to a paid release.[19]

The full game launched on 13 November 2025 on Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 3S and Steam at US$19.99, and on Apple Vision Pro through an Apple Arcade subscription, with cross-platform multiplayer between the three. Polyarc described it as the first VR game developed in Unreal Engine to launch on Apple Vision Pro. It uses hand tracking with native pinch controls, and Polyarc planned to release an Unreal Engine fork with VisionOS integration improvements for other studios.[7]

Layoffs, The Forgotten Relic and closure

On 31 March 2026 Polyarc said it had to "significantly reduce the size of the company" after "an unsuccessful team-wide effort to secure funding following the cancellation of a major project."[20][8] UploadVR reported that the unannounced project had lost its funding in December 2025 while in mid-development, that an attempt to find other financing through a third-party publisher had failed, and that about two-thirds of the staff were let go.[8]

On 14 May 2026 Polyarc announced Moss: The Forgotten Relic, a non-VR version that combines Moss, Moss: Book II and the Twilight Garden chapter, with new cutscenes, a follow camera and an option to skip combat.[21][22] Co-developed with Blackbird Interactive, it was released on 16 July 2026 for PC through Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox and Nintendo Switch and Switch 2.[1][12] UploadVR reported that it had more than 200,000 wishlists before launch.[9]

Polyarc announced its closure on 11 September 2026 in a LinkedIn message that opened with "Today is the end of an era for Polyarc" and continued: "After nearly 12 years riding the joyous rollercoaster of emotions that is making video games, our time together has come to an end."[9][12] Engadget reported that at least 29 staff members were looking for work, and Road to VR put the number at about 29 based on a spreadsheet the studio shared to help former employees find jobs.[23][3] Engadget linked the closure to a harder funding climate for VR games after Meta shifted its focus from the metaverse toward AI and closed some of its own VR studios.[23] Game Developer reported about 30 affected people and noted that the figure may include those laid off earlier in the year.[24]

Games

Title Release Platforms Notes
Moss February 2018 (PlayStation VR) PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Oculus Quest, PlayStation VR2, Pico PC VR on 7 June 2018; Quest on 21 May 2019; free Twilight Garden chapter in 2019; over one million units sold by July 2021[25][11][13][5]
Moss: Book II 31 March 2022 (PlayStation VR) PlayStation VR, Meta Quest, Steam, PlayStation VR2, Pico Quest on 21 July 2022; won Best VR/AR Game at The Game Awards 2022[12][6][25]
Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss 29 August 2023 (early access); 13 November 2025 (full release) Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 3S, Steam, Apple Vision Pro Free-to-play beta on App Lab until January 2024; relaunched as a paid game with cross-platform play[17][19][7]
Moss: The Forgotten Relic 16 July 2026 PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Switch 2 Non-VR compilation of both Moss games and Twilight Garden; co-developed with Blackbird Interactive[1][21]

Polyarc said the Moss games had received more than 160 awards and nominations.[21]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Moss: The Forgotten Relic on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/3914860/Moss_The_Forgotten_Relic/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Joe Durbin (2016-09-02). "Ex-Bungie Developers Raise $3.5 Million For VR Startup Polyarc". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/ex-bungie-developers-raise-3-5-million-vr-startup-polyarc/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Scott Hayden (2026-09-14). "'Moss' Developer Polyarc Announces Closure Following "major project" Cancellation". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/moss-polyarc-closure-project-cancellation/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  4. ↑ "About". Polyarc. https://www.polyarcgames.com/about. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Ben Lang (2021-07-16). "'Moss' and 'GORN' Join the Platinum Club With 1 Million Units Sold". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/moss-and-gorn-join-the-platinum-club-with-1-million-units-sold/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Moss: Book II". Polyarc. https://www.polyarcgames.com/games/moss-book-ii. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Henry Stockdale (2025-10-15). "Glassbreakers: Champions Of Moss Gets Release Date And Apple Vision Pro Edition". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/glassbreakers-champions-of-moss-release-date/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Mike Johnson (2026-03-31). "Moss Developer Polyarc Games Announces Layoffs (Updated)". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/moss-developer-polyarc-games-announces-layoffs/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Mike Johnson (2026-09-11). "Moss VR Developer Polyarc Games Has Shut Down". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/moss-vr-developer-polyarc-games-has-shut-down/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Tam Armstrong (2017-06-13). "Moss Debuts for PlayStation VR at E3 2017". PlayStation.Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment. https://blog.playstation.com/2017/06/13/moss-debuts-for-playstation-vr-at-e3-2017/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Scott Hayden (2018-06-07). "Former PSVR Exclusive 'Moss' Now Available on Oculus Rift and HTC Vive". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/former-psvr-exclusive-moss-now-available-oculus-rift-htc-vive/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Marcus Stewart (2026-09-11). "Moss Developer Polyarc Is Shutting Down". Game Informer. https://gameinformer.com/2026/09/11/moss-developer-polyarc-is-shutting-down. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Scott Hayden (2019-06-25). "'Moss' DLC 'Twilight Garden' Arrives for Free on All Supported Headsets". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/moss-getting-brand-new-chapter-soon-coming-first-oculus-quest/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Ben Lang (2020-07-29). "'Moss' Developer Polyarc Raises $9 Million to Expand into AR Development". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/moss-polyarc-series-b-investment/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Sam Sprigg (2020-07-29). "Polyarc closes USD $9 million in Series B funding to add Augmented Reality to its business offering". Auganix. https://www.auganix.org/polyarc-closes-usd-9-million-in-series-b-funding-to-add-augmented-reality-to-its-business-offering/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  16. ↑ "The Game Awards "Best VR/AR Game" Nominees Moss and Moss: Book II are Launch Titles for PlayStation VR2". Polyarc. 2022-12-07. https://www.polyarcgames.com/news/the-game-awards-best-vr-ar-game-nominees-moss-and-moss-book-ii-psvr2. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Polyarc Premieres Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss, Launches Early Access Playable Now on Meta App Lab". Polyarc. 2023-08-29. https://www.polyarcgames.com/news/polyarc-premieres-glassbreakers-champions-of-moss-launches-early-access-playable-now-on-meta-app-lab. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  18. ↑ Harry Baker (2023-08-29). "Glassbreakers: Polyarc's Impressive New Multiplayer Battler, Available Today On Quest". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/glassbreakers-release-date-impressions/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Henry Stockdale (2025-08-12). "Glassbreakers: Champions Of Moss Returns This Year On Quest & Steam". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/glassbreakers-champions-of-moss-release-window/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  20. ↑ Diego Argüello (2026-03-31). "Moss developer Polyarc is laying off staff". Game Developer. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/moss-developer-polyarc-is-laying-off-staff. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 William D'Angelo (2026-05-14). "Moss: The Forgotten Relic Announced for Switch 2, PS5, Xbox Series, Switch, and PC". VGChartz. https://www.vgchartz.com/article/467832/moss-the-forgotten-relic-announced-for-switch-2-ps5-xbox-series-switch-and-pc/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  22. ↑ Scott Hayden (2026-05-14). "VR Platformer 'Moss' is Getting a Flatscreen Port Following Cancellation of "major project"". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/moss-vr-flatscreen-port-project-cancellation/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Ian Carlos Campbell (2026-09-11). "Moss developer Polyarc has closed". Engadget. https://www.engadget.com/2256562/moss-developer-polyarc-has-closed/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  24. ↑ Chris Kerr (2026-09-14). "Moss developer Polyarc has shut down". Game Developer. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/moss-developer-polyarc-has-shut-down. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 "Polyarc". Polyarc. https://www.polyarcgames.com/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
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