Oculus Studios: Every Reality Labs developer and what they're working on - Android Central

During Meta Connect, astir VR fans focused connected the announcement of the $1,500 Meta Quest Pro. So you whitethorn person missed oregon forgotten the quality that it acquired 2 caller VR studios, Camouflaj and Armature Studio. The developers down the upcoming Iron Man VR crippled and the fantabulous Resident Evil 4 VR larboard past year, respectively, Camouflaj and Armature, are conscionable the latest successful a agelong enactment of developers absorbed by Meta Reality Labs for its gaming ambitions. 

Meta Reality Labs doesn't rather person the developer superior to vie with Playstation Studios and its galore first-party affiliates, but acquisitions similar these volition assistance guarantee the Quest 2 and aboriginal Quest 3 person plentifulness of large exclusives successful the aboriginal to vie with the PS VR2.

Below, we'll database each Oculus Studios developer, what they've worked connected up until now, and our champion guesses connected what they mightiness enactment connected next. And we'll besides sermon non-Meta developers that person committed to enactment connected Quest games successful the future. 

Oculus Studios has served arsenic the steadfast for a ton of games connected the Quest Store, including Lies Beneath, Dance Central, and Jurassic World: Aftermath. Many of the best Quest 2 games received nonstop enactment from Meta (or Facebook). But bring the steadfast simply means they supported developers successful optimizing games for Quest; it doesn't mean these developers are owned by oregon beholden to Meta for its aboriginal releases. 

Instead, we're focusing connected the developers that Meta specifically acquired and folded into its ain operations, truthful we cognize for a information that they're specifically moving connected games for the Meta Quest 2 oregon Meta Quest 3.

Armature Studio

Founded by erstwhile Retro Studio devs who worked connected the Metroid Prime series, Armature Studio made a sanction for itself by creating ports of fashionable games, including Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, Bayonetta, and Metal Gear Solid HD. Its archetypal first games, similar ReCore, didn't person large reviews. It yet turned to VR titles similar Fail Factory! and the fashionable Sports Scramble earlier creating the fantastic larboard of Resident Evil 4 VR for Quest, which made $2 cardinal successful its archetypal 24 hours. 

Meta says that "it'll beryllium a portion earlier we tin uncover what...ambitious and forward-thinking games" Armature Studio is moving on. But it's not a agelong to conjecture that it'll enactment connected porting console games to enactment for virtual reality, fixed its specialization successful this area. We made a database of classic console games we privation to play connected the Quest 2, and Armature could easy marque astir of these remakes hap if Meta tin get the license.

Beat Games

Meta acquired Beat Games, the Czech squad down mega-hit Beat Saber, successful 2020. Since then, the developer has seemingly leveraged Meta's power to get much influential bands for DLC packs, including BTS, Skrillex, Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, and Lizzo. The crippled and DLC packs stay disposable connected PSVR and PC VR.

Originally a two-member squad — Vladimír Hrinčár and Ján Ilavský — Beat Games has hired caller members but remains a small, autarkic studio. Given Beat Saber's popularity, we person nary expectations they volition bash thing different than merchandise caller DLC 3-4 times a year. We don't cognize which creator they'll enactment with next, but we person a wishlist of Beat Saber collaborations we'd similar to see. 

BigBox VR

Acquired successful May 2021, BigBox VR has conscionable 2 games nether its belt: Smashbox Arena and Population: One. The second is 1 of the astir fashionable multiplayer shooters connected the Quest platform, already having hosted respective seasons of contented and astir precocious adding a Sandbox mode truthful players tin make customized maps in-game. We fishy BigBox volition instrumentality to supporting this crippled for immoderate clip but could precise good motorboat a 3rd VR shooter successful the future. 

Camouflaj

Camouflaj is the latest developer acquired by Reality Labs. So far, it has developed conscionable 2 titles: Republique (and its VR port) and Iron Man VR, which initially launched connected PSVR successful 2020 and volition come to Quest 2 connected November 3, 2022. 

As with Armature, Camouflaj is astir apt successful the aboriginal stages of a caller task and won't motorboat immoderate caller exclusives anytime soon. But fixed however large its archetypal 2 games were, we expect the workplace to bring a fantastic 3rd crippled to the Quest 3.

Downpour Interactive

As acold arsenic we know, determination isn't overmuch to accidental astir Downpour Interactive, which Oculus Studios acquired successful April 2021. A tiny San Francisco-based workplace with astir 30 employees, according to Linkedin, Downpour's archetypal and lone game, Onward, came retired successful 2015, moving from the Rift to the Quest. 

On the studio's developer blog (opens successful caller tab) successful mid-2022, CEO Dante Buckley explained that "a ample information of our squad has been focused connected rebuilding our game's halfway infrastructure to future-proof our improvement and marque Onward much unchangeable for each players" earlier they tin determination connected to different Onward contented successful 2023. So expect the shooter to improve, but not overmuch other to travel from the workplace until aft the Quest 3 arrives.

Ready astatine Dawn

Founded successful 2003 by erstwhile Blizzard and Naughty Dog developers, Ready astatine Dawn started with crippled ports of Okami and God of War earlier creating the beautiful, poorly reviewed PS4 crippled The Order: 1886. It past pivoted to VR, creating beloved Rift crippled Lone Echo and the multiplayer spin-off Echo VR, which utilized the aforesaid abstraction physics and Ender's Game-like gameplay. Acquired by Oculus Studios successful mid-2020, Ready astatine Dawn released Lone Echo II (opens successful caller tab) much than 4 years aft the original. 

At the moment, the workplace is moving Echo VR's seventh and last season, Into the Knight, done January 2023, earlier "refocusing [their] efforts successful different areas." In a summertime 2022 developer log (opens successful caller tab), they explained that nary of its Rift titles volition larboard to Quest, truthful you'll request a Link cable to play them connected Quest. Instead, they "are successful the aboriginal stages of moving connected new, breathtaking projects." So we astir apt won't perceive from them for a bully while.

Sanzaru Games

Sanzaru Games made a sanction for itself creating remakes of classical franchises similar Sly Cooper, Spyro, and God of War earlier pivoting to VR, launching virtual games similar Marvel Powers United VR, Ripcoil, and the critically acclaimed Asgard's Wrath, each for the Oculus Rift. 

Meta past acquired Sanzaru Games successful aboriginal 2020, astatine which constituent the developer has remained soundless connected immoderate caller projects. Its lack astatine Meta Connect 2022 suggests we won't spot thing from them until mid-2023 astatine the precise earliest. But Meta filed a trademark for Worlds of Wrath (opens successful caller tab) astir a period earlier the acquisition was announced (via Mixed News (opens successful caller tab)), which seems similar suspicious timing to us. It's precise imaginable that the developer is moving connected a world-expanding sequel to Asgard's Wrath; but Meta's caller absorption connected the Quest astatine the disbursal of Rift games whitethorn person forced Sanzaru to pivot to marque the crippled enactment connected mobile hardware, which could explicate the delay.

Twisted Pixel Games

Originally moving connected indie games similar 'Splosian Man and The Maw for Xbox Live Arcade, Twisted Pixel Games (like astir devs connected this list) turned to VR gaming, launching a fewer Oculus titles similar Wilson's Heart and Path of the Warrior. But it hasn't released a caller crippled since 2019 and was acquired by Meta successful November 2021.

Considering its past 4 games' genres were horror, action, FPS, and beat-em-up, it's astir intolerable to conjecture what Twisted Pixel Games has successful store. Unlike immoderate of the different picks, it doesn't already person thing retired to support for different platforms similar PC VR, truthful it should nutrient a due Quest exclusive successful the future. 

Unit 2 Games

Crayta is simply a crippled instauration level that fto anyone make a crippled utilizing its assets and big it connected Facebook gaming. A erstwhile Stadia exclusive — rest successful peace, Stadia — Crayta doesn't technically person thing to bash with VR oregon the Quest. But Meta, which acquired Unit 2 successful June 2021, volition usage Crayta's assets to amended Horizon Worlds, the company's infamous precursor to the metaverse.

In a caller video presentation (opens successful caller tab), Unit 2's caput of studio, Andy Shenton, explained however they're moving intimately with the Horizon Worlds squad to "bridge and make Metaverse technologies." For example, they're moving connected the caller Avatars that volition widen crossed Meta Quest Pro apps similar Microsoft Teams. So adjacent if they're not making a "game," Unit 2 volition person an interaction connected Meta's main bundle successful the adjacent future.

Within (sort of...)

Supernatural is simply a fashionable Quest workout app that requires a monthly subscription to get caller guided workouts and licensed music. Meta acquired Within, the institution down Supernatural and a clump of VR films, successful precocious 2021, promising to present "more resources to grow and bring you adjacent much music, much originative ways to workout, much features and much societal experiences successful VR."

The FTC blocked this acquisition, claiming that owning some Beat Saber and Supernatural would springiness Meta a "monopoly" connected fittingness VR experiences. But the lawsuit is inactive ongoing, with Meta calling for a justice to propulsion retired the suit successful October, arsenic per Axios (opens successful caller tab). So it could precise good bushed this complaint and ain the workplace successful the future. 

For now, it's wide Meta is already operating nether the presumption that Within is portion of Reality Labs. Supernatural volition beryllium the first crippled to way your legs during workouts, thing it astir apt pulled disconnected with the assistance of RL engineers. And it could bring unsocial fittingness experiences to the Quest Pro with mixed reality.

Other upcoming Quest games

Now that we're done with Meta's acquisitions let's speech astir each the games, some confirmed and rumored, coming to the Meta Quest 2 from Oculus Studios' partners. 

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas VR is the astir anticipated rubric coming to Quest, though it's been a twelvemonth since Mark Zuckerberg archetypal announced the port. 

Vertigo Games, shaper of Arizona Sunshine, After the Fall, and Unplugged, promised successful 2021 to bring 5 caller games to Oculus VR, though not exclusively. We cognize the institution is moving connected caller games similar hack-and-slash roguelike Hellsweeper VR, and we anticipation it'll pat into immoderate of its fashionable owned brands similar Dead Island, Kingdom Come, oregon Metro Exodus.

Among Us VR volition officially motorboat connected November 10, porting the beloved pandemic-era societal multiplayer crippled to virtual reality.

Following up connected the acclaimed Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, Chapter 2: Retribution has a tireless foe pursuing you similar the Nemesis successful Resident Evil 3. And Skydance is besides moving connected a caller crippled called Behemoth, though we cognize small astir the endurance VR crippled yet. 

Otherwise, we person a database of each the upcoming Quest 2 games to get you excited astir what's to come!