Meta has aggressively expanded its VR gaming portfolio by acquiring nine VR studios since 2019. We take a look at what these agreements have delivered over the last five years.
Buying by meta generally means several things. Sometimes that means studios have tons of new resources and the stability that comes with beaming into any platform holder's mothership. This can also mean less flexibility in what developers can do; because developers are forced to maintain popular game features that caught Meta's attention in the first place, or they are forced to develop for a single platform.
In total, Meta acquired nine studios that performed differently post-acquisition; Only a few of them seem to have truly broken the mold by offering increasingly engaging follow-up content.
Beat Games – Known Defeat SaberAcquired 2019
Meta acquired Beat Games in 2019 to ensure this Defeat Saber He emphasized that the studio will maintain some independence and continue to develop with new features and content.
While the block-breaking rhythm game has received regular updates and DLC music packs from notable artists, perhaps the biggest addition to the game since the acquisition has been the inclusion of multiplayer. Meanwhile, other promises like special swords and a mixed reality mode have remained unfulfilled; both of these were ridiculed a year or more ago.
No fundamental changes to the kernel Defeat Saber formula. One might think this is because the once-innovative Beat Games has started working on its next big project. Unfortunately, five years later, Beat Games still has Defeat Saber outgoing.
Considering this Defeat Saber It's one of VR's most profitable games, so that totally makes sense. But Beat Games doesn't seem to be pushing the boundaries or signaling the release of anything new beyond what we've seen before. Founders Jan Ilavsky, Jaroslav Beck and Vladimir Hrincar have also since left the company, and the company has become increasingly dependent on Meta's direction.
Post-Purchase Note: B.
Sanzaru Games – Known Wrath of AsgardAcquired 2020
At the time of its acquisition in 2020, Meta stated that Sanzaru would continue to develop large-scale VR games and build on its success. Wrath of Asgard (2019)is a Rift-exclusive RPG that was released a year before the acquisition.
The studio opened in 2023 Wrath of Asgard 2. The studio not only delivered a sequel, but managed to squeeze it within the confines of Quest 2 and Quest 3; this was a challenging feat compared to the much more powerful PC platform its predecessor shipped with.
But this created something like this: slit. Even though the sequel is set in a completely new location and has a new story, you can't play the original game on the Quest unless you have a VR-ready PC, which was definitely a sore point.
Still, the sequel is considered a benchmark for Quest's visual fidelity, earning the game a solid score. [4.2/5] user review score. But it took a serious amount of time. Nearly four years passed from date of purchase to launch. Wrath of Asgard 2. While we appreciate the challenge of changing the studio's entire workflow to develop games for the Quest, we certainly hope it doesn't take another four years to see what the studio does next.
Post-Purchase Grade: B+
Ready at Dawn – Known Lonely Echo & Echo VRAcquired 2020
The studio behind Ready at Dawn Lonely EchoReleased in 2017 as one of VR's biggest and best-looking games in the days before Quest. Its signature zero-gravity move was so flexible that the studio even produced a separate multiplayer game called . Echo VR.
After all, development Eco Only II It started with the announcement of launch plans in 2019. However, there were a number of delays. Meta emerged and acquired Ready at Dawn in 2020; he was apparently willing to help the studio complete the game and increase its social success. Echo VR.
Studio finally releases single-player adventure Eco Only II Given the Meta's focus on Quest from PC, it was widely expected that the studio would still bring the beloved game. Echo VR Switch to new headset.
But things didn't work out that way. It's only been three years since Ready at Dawn announced the closing of the acquisition. Echo VR.
The decision rightfully disappointed fans, but the studio said it was “focused on our next project,” which looked promising. Then in August 2024, Meta closed the studio completely.
Post-Acquisition Grade: F+ (see me after class)
Shower Interactive – Known ForwardRetrieved 2021
Forward It has been a mainstay for VR mil-sim gamers since its launch on Steam and Rift in 2016. With the acquisition of Downpour Interactive in 2021, Meta saw this as an opportunity to support a popular game, stating at the time that it wanted to help “grow Forward “one of the leading multiplayer VR games.”
One year before purchase, Forward It had a pretty bumpy launch on Quest, but despite seeing improvements in stability and visuals, the game still has a strong following to date and has built a solid following on Quest with over 17,000 user reviews. [4.2/5] in user ratings.
Still, Forward post-acquisition developments have been incremental rather than transformative.
Although the Meta made good on its promise to keep the game cross-platform, the Quest's port received widespread criticism from players who noted a significant graphical downgrade in the PC version to port the game to the Quest while still supporting both platforms. .
One would think that the pace of updates, like Beat Games, is busy preparing its next big game, but no such thing has been announced. And it's unclear whether it will happen; studio founder and CEO Dante Buckley left the company in March 2023, just a month before Meta announced sweeping layoffs at Downpour and Ready at Dawn.