Developer Ready at Dawn (The Order: 1886, Lone Echo) has been acquired by Facebook. The studio will now operate under Facebook’s Oculus Studios banner, where it will continue to develop “VR content for gamers.”
“Nearly 17 years ago, we embarked on a journey to build a game studio,” wrote Ready at Dawn co-founder Ru Weerasuriya on Twitter. “Along the way, we innovated on genres, experiences, games and platforms. Today, we’re excited to join the Facebook family as we open a new chapter in our story and continue to pursue our passions.”
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According to an Oculus blog post, Ready at Dawn caught the attention of Facebook with its 2017 VR hit Lone Echo and its “signature zero-g continuous locomotion system and full-body IK (inverse kinematics),” which Oculus says “re-wrote the playbook for VR movement mechanics.”
The acquisition is not expected to cause layoffs, according to Facebook, as “the entire Ready At Dawn team will be joining the Oculus Studios team.” Facebook also stressed Ready at Dawn will continue to operate independently, “with the full support of Facebook and the Oculus Studios team behind them.”
Ready at Dawn is currently developing Lone Echo II, which is expected to be released sometime in 2020.
This is Facebook’s third studio acquisition since November: Beat Saber developer Beat Games and Asgard’s Wrath developer Sanzaru Games previously joined Oculus Studios.
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Jordan is a freelance writer for IGN.
Source: IGN.com Facebook Acquires The Order: 1886 Developer Ready at Dawn