Fallout in the virtual reality community continues to spread following the report that broke last night allegedly tying Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey to a pro-Donald Trump political smear group. A division quickly formed in the community in which enthusiasts have taken to social media to voice their opinions and, in some cases, cancel their support for the pioneering company.
In our original report, a couple developers indicated they were canceling support for Oculus in their titles. Now we’ve learned of one of the first major cancellations to result from the situation by way of Polytron’s upcoming VR game, SUPERHYPERCUBE. Previously a PS VR exclusive, the game as apparently slated for the Oculus ecosystem as well, but is no longer. Whether or not it will come to Steam still — and presumably support SteamVR and, as a result, the Rift outside of Home — remains to be seen.
Polytron is a prominent independent game development studio known for the creation of cerebral puzzle game Fez, one of the most celebrated indie games of this decade. The game and its creator were featured in the documentary film Indie Game: The Movie, along the likes of Braid and Super Meat Boy, and the game has gone on to achieve highly respected status in the game industry.
SUPERHYPERCUBE is a decidedly different type of game, but it still evokes their signature style and flair and is still scheduled for release on Sony’s forthcoming PlayStation VR headset with an anticipated release this year.
Taking to Twitter, the game developer announced today that Oculus support for the game is officially cancelled:
SUPERHYPERCUBE will not be supporting Oculus. https://t.co/sqtAzZ8hJZ
— Polytron (@Polytron) September 23, 2016
In the linked Pastebin text, the company states, “In a political climate as fragile and horrifying as this one, we cannot tacitly endorse these actions by supporting Luckey or his platform. In light of this, we will not be pursuing Oculus support for our upcoming VR release, SUPERHYPERCUBE.”
This is the latest, and one of the most prominent, in a seemingly long line of reactions the community should expect to see over the next several days and weeks. With Oculus Connect 3 and the launch of Oculus Touch on the horizon, Upload will continue to monitor the situation and the climate surrounding it to find out more about what’s happening in our community.
We have reached out to Polytron for comment and will update this story with any relevant information received.
