Google Spotlight Stories — Google’s immersive content arm that for the past six years produced virtual reality and 360-degree shorts to help launch these new capabilities — is shutting down, according to an email sent out on Wednesday evening by the studio’s exec producer Karen Dufilho.
The email read: “As many of you know, Google Spotlight Stories is shutting its doors after over six years of making stories and putting them on phones, on screens, in VR and anywhere else we could get away with it. The opportunity to contribute to story, animation and tech has been like winning the lottery. You’ve all played a part and I’m so so proud of the work we’ve done together. Congratulations! My deepest gratitude to all of you.”
Projects from Google Spotlight Stories have included several directed by Oscar winners. Among them, the Oscar-nominated short Pearl, from director Patrick Osborne (Feast); veteran animator and Disney Legend Glen Keane’s Duet; Age of Sail from John Kahrs (Paperman); and Windy Day from Google Spotlight Stories creative director Jan Pinkava (Geri’s Game).
Details of the decision were not immediately available.
