Toast Interactive recently faced the unexpected removal of their two VR games, Max Mustard (2024) and Richie’s Plank Experience (2017), from the Horizon Store for Quest. While the precise reasons remain elusive, the long-standing indie studio has expressed feelings of “betrayal and powerlessness” over the decision.
The company stated on X, "Meta has unilaterally decided to pull Toast and its two games, Max Mustard and Richie’s Plank Experience, from their store,” further emphasizing their sense of betrayal across various levels.
Although games sometimes vanish temporarily due to error, this instance doesn’t seem to be accidental. There is indeed a reason behind it, but Toast Interactive is currently unable to disclose it, hinting they “look forward to sharing our story with you all in the near future.”
A puzzling message from a Reddit post suggests the reason would be astonishing, stating, “it’ll blow everyone’s minds. But I’ve been firmly advised not to.”
The Horizon Store pages for both titles cite a violation of Meta’s Platform Abuse Policy as the cause of their removal, yet no specific details have been provided on how these apps fell afoul of the guidelines.
Meta’s policy spans a variety of prohibited acts, from distributing pirated content to exploiting security bugs or engaging in deceitful practices. It also covers broader areas open to interpretation, such as straying from developer documentation or violating any terms and conditions established for Meta’s virtual experiences.
What’s interesting is that despite this setback, both games remain available on other platforms. Max Mustard continues to play on PC VR, PSVR 2, and Pico headsets, while Richie’s Plank Experience is still supported on PC VR, the original PSVR, and Pico headsets.
This situation couldn’t have come at a more challenging moment for Toast Interactive. Just last month, the studio, based in Gold Coast, Australia, announced the closure of their office and significant layoffs. This follows a prior round of layoffs in November 2024 that impacted ten employees. Despite Max Mustard being touted as “one of the highest-rated games on both PSVR 2 and Meta Quest,” it has unfortunately not managed to sustain a large indie team.
As this story develops, we’ve reached out to Meta for further clarification. We’ll update as soon as we receive any new details or responses.
