Thanks to the success of the Oculus Quest 2, VR gaming is slowly but surely on the rise. The Quest can't pull off a game like Half-Life Alyx on its own, but that may not be the case for too much longer according to the head honchos at Facebook.
Facebook's VP of Play, Jason Rubin, revealed that Oculus Quest VR app sales are only getting better, and he believes AAA VR games coming to the platform is a sure thing.
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AAA VR Games
During a panel discussion at the online GDC showcase lead by VentureBeat journalist Dean Takahashi (via RoadToVR), Rubin talked about Oculus' success over the past few months, revealing that more than 60 Quest VR apps had now exceeded $1 million in revenue and many titles are now going past $10 million.
"It’s just going to keep going. So, the naysayers that said ‘it wouldn’t work’ and then said ‘it would only work for a handful of titles’, and are now saying ‘yes, but that isn’t AAA’… the trajectory of the path is clear: we’re going to get there,” Rubin said in the interview.
There's no doubt the potential for big titles on Facebook's Oculus Quest line of VR headsets is there, seeing as the company is already working on a new Quest to be released down the line. The Oculus Quest 2 is even getting a 120Hz upgrade, which shows how much a $300 VR headset can dish out.
Facebook VP of XR Content, Mike Verdu, also joined the discussion, stating that the recent development of VR has become "a real business," and that thanks to the Quest 2, Facebook nearly has a sustainable developer ecosystem for VR.
As for the type of games that are succeeding the most (and possibly what type of AAA games we can expect), Verdu stated it's the social and multiplayer VR games that are seeing the most engagement. This includes Beat Saber, team-based first-person shooter Onward, battle royale Population: One, Echo VR, Rec Room, and VRChat.
Of course, bringing AAA games is up to VR game developers, however, thanks to the rise in revenue for VR apps, Rubin was right in saying the trajectory of the path is clear.
If you do want a taste of a AAA VR experience, Half-Life Alyx is it, but to play that, you're going to want to invest in one of the best VR-ready gaming laptops. If you're after something a little more spooky, check out this VR horror game experience.
