Facebook has today announced that they have acquired Beat Saber developer Beat Games. Facebook, who owns Oculus says that Beat Games will continue to function independently. The statement reads:
“Beat Games is joining us in our quest to bring VR to more people around the world. They will join Oculus Studios as an independently operated studio in Prague, continuing to create new ways for people to experience music and VR gaming.”
Beat Saber videos often trend very well on social media. Essentially it’s a rhythm game, players have a lightsaber in each hand one blue and one red, players have to use those to hit blocks of the same colour. Sometimes mines pop up that the player has to avoid.
Beat Games had several plans for upcoming content, which Facebook says won’t be affected, including 360 levels mode, which will launch in December with more music. Facebook also stated that updates for non-Oculus platforms won’t be slowed down, and will roll out at the same time.
Facebook is also keen to dismantle any concerns about a large corporation taking over:
There’s a long history of indie studios joining larger companies and being ruined. How are you going to avoid that?
I’ve been in the industry for a while and have seen that firsthand. However, I’ve also seen and been a part of some incredible success stories. The story we aim to prove over time is this: An indie studio joins forces with some like-minded allies, and together they find a way to push VR to new heights.
Virtual Reality has enjoyed some crazy hype over the years with many wondering exactly what direction it will head in. But just yesterday we spoke about how Phil Spencer, Executive Vice President of Gaming at Xbox was somewhat pessimistic about VR, stating:
“I have some issues with VR — it’s isolating and I think of games as a communal, kind of together experience. “
It sounds as though Facebook is really just trying to take on some studios for later plans, as well as integrate some social media functions into Beat Saber, but only time will tell what they’ve got planned.
Via NeoGAF
