Direct Action “Not Technically Dead” As Studio Confirms Funding Struggles Amid Departures

Tier One: Direct Action, a VR tactical shooter that aimed to be an Onward spiritual successor, has hit financial struggles and departures.

Developed by Niorun Studios, Tier One: Direct Action was first revealed back in August with a focus on teamwork, strategy, and “authentic” military mechanics. After being successfully funded on Kickstarter and securing just under $50K, an early access release followed on Quest back in February. However, it’s not been a particularly smooth journey.

Yesterday, the studio advised that Tier One: Direct Action is currently unavailable on the Horizon Store, with a community manager stating “this is an issue with Meta and should hopefully be resolved soon.” A Niorun Studios representative apologized in a follow-up message, stating this is “due to a policy change we unfortunately missed to provide the admin work for – amidst everything else” and that the team’s “working to restore beta access as soon as possible.”

Seeking to address the growing concerns, Niorun’s representative described the current early access build as a “prototype” with the goal of demonstrating to investors and partners excitement and support from the community. However, the poorly received early access launch in February did not meet the team’s expectations.

Unfortunately, the feedback and engagement from the community did not meet expectations. While many expressed a desire for continued development, the actual support didn’t reflect that—and in a competitive space, that’s always a risk and fair play. As a result, the studio has been unable to secure the funding needed to move forward as planned. We understand this may be disappointing for some—but for the team, it has been even more so.”

Niorun Studios states it’s not giving up yet. Thanking its Kickstarter backers and advising restructuring efforts are now underway, the team’s “actively exploring ways to keep the project alive and move forward.” Niorun also claims the game is “not technically dead,” though this means the game’s development is no longer on track as per its original roadmap.

Signs of trouble had emerged before this. Last month when the game’s X account got deleted and the YouTube channel was removed. On April 24, UploadVR reached out to studio co-founder Angelika Reich, only to learn via an automated email that Reich had left Niorun Studios. A further follow-up via the developer’s website was unsuccessful, and that same website is currently down. We’ve reached out again to Niorun Studios’ co-founder and CEO, Murat Özçelik, to clarify why the social media accounts and the official website have been removed.

The departures don’t stop with Reich, either. Gamertag VR notes Niorun Studios’ headcount has significantly decreased, and the estimated headcount dropped by 69% in six months. Across LinkedIn, numerous former employees have left in that timeframe, while two other staff members on the company page are “open to work.” This doesn’t necessarily mean everyone who’s left was made redundant, though; some former employees started jobs elsewhere immediately after leaving.

We’ll continue monitoring this situation as we learn more, and we’ll update this article if we receive a response.