Some Viacom Next staffers will lose their job as part of the closure while others may get a chance to work within other parts of the company, according to a spokesperson, who sent Variety the following statement:
“We remain deeply committed to developing immersive experiences for consumers through groundbreaking augmented and virtual reality. As part of our efforts to coordinate Viacom’s approach to next-generation platforms and solutions across our brands, we are absorbing Viacom NEXT into our Global Emerging Opportunities Group. A number of Viacom NEXT’s creators and engineers will join this group, however a small number of employee positions have been affected. We appreciate these colleagues’ contributions and are making every effort to assist them through benefits and support, including severance and outplacement assistance.”
News comes by way of Creative Director, David Shiyang Liu, who yesterday (Tuesday, February 6) emailed various members of the industry with the following message:
"As of a few hours ago, Viacom NEXT is no more.
But look at what we did in two years. Holy crap – we were everywhere, from The White House with an MTV Tilt Brush Art Show, through to Sundance and SXSW with Tyler Hurd; to helping Isaac Cohen make his dreams; and through to helping Paramount and the VMAs with getting Bumblebee and the Moonman into homes everywhere. There’s more than I can type right now, and we were only just getting started too.
To all my friends in VR, thanks for everything. The medium is shining brighter than ever and I urge you to keep fighting the good fight and kicking ass. I’m thankful that we were able to dance with you at all.
In the coming days I’ll probably be taking some time off with family as I figure out next steps for myself and my team. If you’re looking to hire some kickass VR devs, designers, and artists, please let me know. They’ll definitely be keen to speak with you!"
Viacom Next’s closure was then confirmed by David Liu on Twitter on Wednesday, February 7.
Screenshot from Tyler Hurd’s interactive music video “Chocolate”
Viacom Next launched in 2016 as a way to explore new technologies within Viacom. The group, which is thought to have employed 15 people at its peak, initially didn’t rely on Viacom’s Intellectual Properties (IP) at all. Instead, it struck partnerships with musicians and other creatives to produce original VR music videos, VR games and augmented reality (AR) experiences.
In mid-2017, Viacom Next started a fellowship in cooperation with the NYC Media Lab to explore the intersection of VR and music. Late last year, Viacom next also released a first title more closely connected to Viacom’s core properties: “Transformers: Cade’s Junkyard”, which makes use of Apple’s ARKit software to let a Transformer go wild in people’s living rooms. Viacom Next’s work also included the frantic VR smashing game, "Smash Party".
Viacom is set to report its third-quarter earnings Thursday, February 8.
This is the latest in a string of high-profile VR studio closures over the past few months. Back in January it was reported that VR production studio Future Lighthouse was shutting down and last October "EVE: Valkyrie" developer CCP Games ended its work in VR.
The closure of Viacom Next is not thought to affect the Nickelodeon Entertainment Lab, Nickelodeon's technology R&D lab which spearheads long-range research and development efforts around new technologies for the network and its audience.
More Nick: Inside the Nickelodeon Entertainment Lab, the Network’s R&D Unit.
Additional source: UploadVR.
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