Metro Awakening Studio Vertigo Games Amsterdam Shuts Down

Vertigo Games Amsterdam, the team behind 2024's Metro Awakening, has been shut down according to a statement from Vertigo Games CEO Richard Stitselaar.

Vertigo Games was, until now, comprised of two different studios: Amsterdam and Rotterdam. The Amsterdam team was formerly Force Field Entertainment before becoming Vertigo Games Amsterdam in 2021.

This team had been together since 2015 with a portfolio including the following games and apps:

Metro Awakening (2024)

Easily Vertigo Games Amsterdam's highest profile title, Awakening was one of several planned VR titles in partnership with Deep Silver and Oculus Studios. Meta announced this deal at Meta Connect in 2021. The whole of Vertigo Games was acquired by Koch Media, also the parent company of Deep Silver, in 2020.

We reviewed Metro Awakening, saying "Vertigo Games has once again delivered a mesmerizing VR gaming experience. One that serves as a testament to the studio’s proven record of creating adventures geared to provide atmospheric immersion and deep storytelling."

Metro Awakening Review: A Mesmerizing Tale of Survival in Moscow’s Dark Underworld

Go deep underground into the Metro and experience the dystopian future of a post-nuclear apocalyptic Russia in Metro Awakening.

UploadVRDon Hopper

Time Stall (2019)

Time Stall is a time-manipulated physics based puzzle game published by Oculus Studios.

National Geographic: Explore VR (2019)

Based on the now Disney-owned company, Explore casts the player as a photographer sent to document and photograph Antarctica and Machu Picchu, Peru for National Geographic magazine.

Anne Frank House VR (2018)

Anne Frank House is an educational app exploring the life of Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl who hid in the annex of an old office building in Amsterdam with her family for 2 years during the Second World War. It remains one of the best historical apps in VR and is still available for free.

Coaster Combat (2017)

Originally a Samsung Gear & later Oculus Go VR title, this on rails target shooter was ported to Quest in 2020.

Combat Coaster Review: A Rollercoaster With More Downs Than Ups

Combat Coaster was one of the better games available on the Oculus Go back in 2018. So how does the newly released Oculus Quest version hold up in 2020? Have enough changes been made to give you exciting thrills, or is this a bumpy ride? Check out our Combat Coaster

UploadVRHarry Baker

Landfall (2017)

Landfall was a top-down tactical shooter for Oculus Rift that has since been delisted.

Vertigo Games Rotterdam, the remaining studio, is the team behind the Arizona Sunshine games, The 7th Guest VR, After The Fall, Skyworld & Skyworld: Kingdom Brawl, and recently published Maze Theory's Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow. At the time of this article, there is no word on if the Rotterdam team has been affected.

This continues a rough 2026 of layoffs and studio closures in the VR ecosystem following Meta shuttering most of its first-party studios, the closures of two nDreams studios, layoffs at Polyarc Games, Cloudhead Games, Mighty Coconut, and Kluge Interactive, and Rec Room shutting down. Also, the aforementioned Maze Theory is currently in administration in the UK, a process meant to potentially rescue a failing business.