Editorial: As Quest 3 & PSVR 2 Loom, Meta's Big Quest Games Remain Missing In Action - UploadVR

2022 was a strangely dilatory twelvemonth for VR.

It started retired promising, with imaginable for respective caller hardware releases and games to match. But by the extremity of the year, pandemic and proviso concatenation delays meant that galore of those caller products got pushed into 2023. Until Pico 4 arrived successful October, Quest 2 remained the sole marketplace person with small to nary competition.

Last year, we named What the Bat?, from autarkic workplace Triband, arsenic our 2022 VR Game of the Year. While the crippled is spectacular and completely, 100% deserving of the title, it besides released successful a twelvemonth with a chiseled deficiency of ‘AAA’ (or arsenic adjacent arsenic VR tin get to AAA) titles, which gave it much country than mean to shine. In immoderate different year, there’s each accidental that its contention whitethorn person included immoderate monolithic large hitters from studios owned by Meta oregon Sony.

This speaks to an ongoing wider occupation with the contented room connected Quest 2. After astir 3 years since its release, there’s been a important deficiency of major, headline-grabbing first-party releases from Meta.

This isn’t to accidental Quest 2’s room isn’t engaging oregon well-stocked – if you look astatine our database of 25 Best Quest 2 Games, you’ll spot it’s hardly lacking prime titles – but there’s been a implicit deficiency of blockbuster, tentpole releases from any of the studios Meta has acquired over the past decade. No uncertainty the pandemic enactment strain connected those studios and forced unwanted delays, but adjacent so, Quest 3 is reportedly conscionable astir the corner. If Quest 3 releases aboriginal this twelvemonth arsenic suspected, however volition we retrieve the room of contented connected Quest 2 crossed the headset’s lifecycle?

Missing In Action

In March 2021, Mike Doran, past Director of Production astatine Oculus Studios, indicated that “the mean improvement rhythm for Oculus Studios VR titles is getting longer,” but that players would “start to spot bigger, much analyzable games arsenic a result.” When talking astir Oculus Studios’ semipermanent projects a fewer months aboriginal successful September, Doran said helium “couldn’t accidental for definite erstwhile announcements volition happen,” but confirmed that in-development projects were “all targeting Quest 2.”

Doran besides said that players would spot caller Studios contented wrong the adjacent 2 years, not conscionable the adjacent 3 to seven. That was successful March 2021. In conscionable a mates of months, we’ll person reached that two-year people – so, what does Meta person to amusement for it?

Announced soon aft Doran’s comments above, 2021’s Resident Evil 4 VR has arguably been the astir high-profile merchandise connected Quest 2 truthful far. Since then, Meta hasn’t released thing remotely adjacent successful standard oregon caliber to Resident Evil 4 VR. The large vacation merchandise for Quest successful 2022 was Iron Man VR – a larboard of a previously-exclusive PSVR crippled from 2 years earlier.

Despite this, we cognize Meta owns respective salient VR crippled studios moving connected those semipermanent projects that Doran spoke about. Meta purchased developer Sanzaru Games successful February 2020, yet there’s been nary quality connected the studio’s adjacent task aft its 2019 PC VR hit Asgard’s Wrath.

Likewise, Meta acquired Lone Echo developer Ready At Dawn successful June 2020. The workplace announced an extremity to enactment for Lone Echo II and Echo Combat connected PC VR mid-last year, stating that it was successful the early stages of enactment connected “new, breathtaking projects.” Given that timeline, it seems improbable we’ll spot a large merchandise from Ready astatine Dawn wrong the adjacent twelvemonth oregon so.

While Meta-owned Beat Games has consistently provided Beat Saber players with updates, DLC packs and caller contented for Beat Saber, the workplace besides antecedently teased caller cosmetic saber content and what looked similar immoderate signifier of progression system. Beat Games said that teaser was lone “part of a overmuch bigger project.” That was successful October 2021 – there’s been nary updates since.

In May 2021, a Facebook remark from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg accidentally fto gaffe that Onward 2 was successful development astatine Downpour Interactive, a workplace Meta acquired a period earlier. We’ve inactive yet to spot immoderate different authoritative remark oregon confirmation connected the sequel. Likewise, we cognize that the recently-acquired Camouflaj, developers of Iron Man VR, are working connected a Batman VR crippled for Quest, but that’s yet to beryllium officially announced. Who knows however acold disconnected that is.

Even moving past first-party projects from Meta-owned studios, determination are respective different projects that stay missing successful action, specified arsenic Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. In 2021, Meta announced that a VR adaptation of the classical Rockstar rubric was successful improvement for Quest 2, handled by Sydney-based workplace Video Games Deluxe. Since then, there’s been zero updates connected improvement advancement and nary denotation of a merchandise model for the title.

In September 2020, Meta (then Facebook) announced that Splinter Cell VR and Assassin’s Creed VR games were coming to Oculus (now Meta) devices. Almost 3 years connected from that announcement, Ubisoft cancelled Splinter Cell VR past July and there’s been nary authoritative updates connected Assassin’s Creed VR either. Though supposed leaks whitethorn person indicated the second is inactive connected the way, there’s truly nary telling and it’s imaginable that Assassin’s Creed VR, San Andreas oregon different first-party Meta projects person already been canceled. 

While not confirmed, The Verge besides precocious reported “hearing” that a VR mentation of Roblox is successful the works for Quest, aiming for a precocious 2023 release.

Looking Forward

Between Meta’s first-party projects and partnerships with 3rd parties, it each adds up to a reasonably awesome line-up of blockbuster, high-interest releases for the Quest platform. The acquisition of those studios and the prestige of the associated intelligence properties could effect successful large releases connected a standard that we haven’t truly seen connected Quest, with the imaginable to gully successful full caller audiences and excite existing headset owners. However, the Quest 2’s lifecycle is rapidly coming to an end. If it releases later this year, past Quest 3 volition go the ‘current’ procreation of Quest headset and the people level for each those in-development projects could beryllium up successful the aerial soon after.

Following the Quest 2’s merchandise successful 2020, determination was an intermediary play of astir a twelvemonth wherever each caller contented supported some the archetypal Oculus Quest and the caller Quest 2 headset. Resident Evil 4 VR became the archetypal Quest 2 exclusive successful precocious 2021, mounting a precedent that would rapidly go the norm conscionable different twelvemonth later. At the opening of 2023, it’s uncommon to spot a Quest merchandise with enactment for the archetypal Quest. Now the original Quest is heading toward the extremity of its life.

In October 2022, a Meta blog station stated it would beryllium “a while” earlier the institution could stock what immoderate of its studios are moving connected and Meta provided UploadVR with a remark astatine the clip that encouraged america to “tune into the Gaming Showcase adjacent year.”

With a Gaming Showcase confirmed for 2023, there’s inactive a accidental that immoderate of Meta’s in-development projects merchandise this twelvemonth for Quest 2. Across the adjacent mates of years, we mightiness adjacent spot a just fewer releases with enactment for some Quest 2 and Quest 3. The Quest 2’s XR2 spot is besides seeing usage successful different headsets specified arsenic the Pico 4 and Vive XR Elite, and that mightiness assistance widen the Quest 2’s lifespan due to the fact that developers could optimize games for 1 spot crossed aggregate headsets. 

However, fixed the aforementioned comments from Doran and the different accusation we person connected workplace timelines, it’s uncertain precisely however galore releases we tin reasonably expect to driblet implicit the adjacent 2 oregon 3 years. Extending beyond that period, it’s wholly imaginable that studios commencement to driblet Quest 2 enactment determination on the way.

It’s wide the cogs are turning connected immoderate hard hitters for the Quest contented library, but past again, they person been for galore years now. Game announcements magnitude to thing until the projects are released to consumers. With fewer games to amusement from Meta during its lifecycle, Quest 2 is nether menace of becoming a headset that sold millions of units but lone received a fistful of first-party titles, contempt aggregate large workplace acquisitions and partnerships. 

Sony is bringing years of gaming acquisition to the array with PSVR 2, crossed the full pipeline – from improvement to merchandise scheduling to pre-release marketing. Even if the hr is increasing precocious late to bash excessively overmuch much with the Quest 2’s contented library, Meta needs to larn from its mislaid imaginable and use those lessons going forward. If Quest 3 is to succeed, Meta needs to enactment the autarkic and smaller standard releases with market-leading and engaging first-party content, alongside different tentpole releases spawned from third-party partnerships. As much players participate the arena, Meta’s first-party contented room needs to beryllium perfectly outstanding – a modular they’ve yet to beryllium they tin reach.