It’s going to be hard to keep up with VR games in 2024, and that’s a good thing. The Batman Arkham series gets a great new entry, Batman: Arkham Shadow, exclusively in Meta Quest 3. Metro Awakening was introduced as a VR version that served as a prequel to the Metro series, while Skydance’s Behemoth was built on dark fantasy. Ideas from the underrated The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners game. The psychedelic Thumper became a spiritual successor to Thrasher, and after its 2023 sequel, there was also a high-quality remake of the older VR game Arizona Sunshine.
On the surface, VR appears to be going through a critical period. Looking at 2023, we’re already set for this momentum with Wrath of Asgard 2, Assassin’s Creed Nexus, and the VR version of Resident Evil 4 Remake releasing in the second half of the year. But considering this space is still very niche, these are all big investments. Motion sickness continues to be one of many problems. Some games are better at providing more accessibility options, but their platforms are not suited to disabled players.
While the game launch was a highlight, the same can’t be said for the company behind it and the headset itself. Sony halted production of PSVR 2 in March to clear its backlog of excess units, while PlayStation London Studios (the studio behind the likes of Blood & Truth and PlayStation VR Worlds) reportedly closed in May. Meanwhile, Meta has laid off employees within its Reality Labs division. It has shut down several games since last year, as well as the studio for Echo VR, which the company acquired four years ago. Canceled plans for Apple Vision Pro competitor; Augmented reality studio Spark has closed. The VR version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is on hold indefinitely.
Given that Meta has been responsible for games like Among Us VR, Rock Band VR, and Batman: Arkham Shadow, it’s unclear how long Meta will continue to fund the development of VR games that could become meaningful hits for the industry. With Sony reportedly reducing its investment in VR development and only having two first-party titles in the pipeline, it’s unclear whether a release schedule like 2024 will happen again, or if we’re witnessing a swan in disguise.
Aces of Thunder, Hitman: World of Assassination, and Zombie Army VR are just a few games that have been delayed until 2025. Throughout 2024, there have been many instances of delays as well as rough launches overall. Bulletstorm VR was deemed unplayable until a series of patches improved everything from physics to visuals to enemy AI. Two highly anticipated horror games, Madison VR and Phasmophobia, have been delayed multiple times. As for the latter, reviewers advised avoiding it until the quality of the port improves in a similar way to Hitman 3 VR Reloaded.
In an interview with Inverse, the developer pointed out some of the challenges faced by VR developers. Engine compatibility issues with games originally built on certain versions of Unity, the use of reprojection to artificially increase frame rates at the expense of image quality (leading to blurry visuals), and the demanding VRC process (which each game must pass during certification). Virtual Reality Checklist of Technology Requirements). QA testing is also more burdensome than usual. In interviews with Game Informer, testers noted that the process is physically demanding and that VR testing can take some time to get used to. One former developer, especially for a long time, said he was often “out of touch with reality.” During your first two weeks on the job.
Some studios are continuing to actively invest in the space. In an interview with Game Informer about the VR version of Resident Evil 4 Remake, creator Masato Kumazawa said that one of the reasons for releasing the VR versions of Village and RE4R for free is to help expand the VR market.
Director Keisuke Yamakawa said, “VR goes well with the Resident Evil franchise.” “I hope VR becomes much more popular with the public. Headsets can still be quite expensive and heavy, so I hope the kit continues to get lighter and more affordable to make it more accessible to the general audience.”
In fact, headsets are getting lighter, but the cost of entry remains high. The Meta Quest 3 256GB model costs $499, the PSVR 2 costs $549, and the Pico 4 Ultra costs 600 euros (about $630). Of the three, PSVR 2 is not wireless and originally required the PlayStation 5. Sony released a PC adapter in August priced at $59. Having a decent PC capable of running VR games will greatly expand your catalog and, consequently, extend the lifespan of your headset. That being said, there are plenty of PC-specific headsets out there, like the Valve Index ($999) and the Vive series (starting in the $600-$700 price range). However, the aforementioned headsets are the ones currently gaining mainstream attention. (The Apple Vision Pro, which starts at $3,499, is undoubtedly not aimed at mass consumers, so we’re not counting it here.)
There are also market fluctuations to consider. Sales of MetaQuest 2 and Quest Pro will be discontinued by the end of 2024. The same goes for the MetaQuest 3 128GB model, which is already sold out online. The company hopes to fill that gap with the Meta Quest 3S, which launched in October for a price of $299. However, this model does have some hardware compromises, including using a single display setup per eye on the Quest 2 as opposed to the dual display setup on the Quest 3, resulting in a lower resolution and larger lens.
When it comes to games, the occasional oddities like Triangle Strategy, which presents the campaign as a floating diorama in mixed reality, continue to surprise. Smaller studios are also noteworthy. The Exit 8, Sushi Ben, and Umurangi Generation VR all stand out in 2024. This year, genres like rhythm games continue to thrive, with more studios investing in adaptations like Metal: Hellsinger VR and Spin Rhythm. , an existing game that receives ongoing updates.
Beat Saber continues to receive both free and paid songs, and Synth Riders has a mixed reality mode in Quest 3. But it’s hard to see that many games that tinker with the novelty of the genre haven’t been able to withstand the trend. Of time. Rock Band VR, Audica, and Dance Central, All Harmonix joints have not had official support for several years. Sure, Just Dance VR launched in October, but the new game feels more like a temporary replacement than a new entry in a new subgenre.
Now that 2025 is just around the corner, the future is uncertain. Meta seems to be investing more in the so-called Metaverse aspect of its headsets, pushing for an ecosystem better suited to meetings and networking, and providing avatars for “Do you have a minute?” Maybe you use a calling or built-in calendar app that can sync with Google and Outlook, or maybe you use a headset during a flight or train instead of a video game experience.
Community efforts like Flat2VR continue to innovate by adding VR support to numerous games. The modding team started out with highlights like Half-Life 2: VR mods, and later formed a studio that worked on licensed adaptations in an official capacity, like Trombone Champ: UnFlatened. The modding scene, especially on PC, continues to stand out. You can now play Halo: Combat Evolved in VR with full motion controls, and others are constantly trying to achieve the opposite, like a flat version of Half-Life: Alyx.
VR may still be a niche market, but interest in its future isn’t fading. Games like Gorilla Tag have amassed over 12 million lifetime players and reach one million daily active users, with Gen Alpha kids driving interest in the game. We can only hope that future developments will focus more on video games for both adults and young people rather than on digitizing aspects of daily life, especially around work. As the lifecycle of PSVR 2 and Meta Quest 3 approaches two years, hopefully more studios will look back on 2024 as a bar to surpass instead of a limit that will forever be unreachable.
Best results for 2024:
