With E3 right around the corner, it’s time to put our speculation hats on as we try to predict and prepare for the impending onslaught of new game announcements. We of course know about several VR games in development for Google Daydream, we know there are dozens being made for PSVR, and there are truly countless projects ongoing for the Rift and Vive. We even know some of the games we’ll get to see at E3 include the upcoming slate of Oculus Touch titles like Dead and Buried and the long list of PSVR launch titles since that headset releases in just a few months, and many more.
But instead of rehashing what we already know about, we thought it might be a bit more entertaining to dive into some of the things people don’t know much about yet instead. In the past few months, we’ve seen announcements about this and that company working on VR projects that are unannounced, so how about we rip off some of those layers of intrigue and dive into what we think they could be working on.
Here are 8 game developers that we know are for sure working on something VR-related that hasn’t been announced yet. After E3, you can check back at this list for reference, we already made some other predictions about what we think is happening next week for VR.
Electronic Arts
For EA, one major clue is that during GDC, Sony announced that a PSVR-exclusive Star Wars Battlefront game was in development. That’s pretty huge news. However, EA’s VR involvement doesn’t stop there.
We also know they are working on Google Daydream projects, since they were listed as a partner during the Google IO conference last month. On screen we saw the logo for a Need for Speed No Limits VR game when they demoed the Daydream Home interface, but never saw an actual game announcement.
And finally, we heard about Frostbite Labs not too long ago as well, which is EA’s dedicated division to work on VR and other types of future technology. We may not get a proper game announcement from them any time soon, but they’re definitely working on some cutting-edge stuff on that team for sure. In addition to Star Wars on PSVR, there must be several other projects swirling behind the scenes at this gaming juggernaut.
Ubisoft
Eagle Flight and Werewolves Within are both made-for-VR games that Ubisoft is championing, which shows that this studio is quite serious about the budding technology. But we know about those two games and have played each of them already.
What we don’t know about, however, is what else they’re working on. We recently heard that they are planning on announcing new VR titles at E3 next week, but what those games are, which platforms they appear on, and when they release is still completely unknown. We are anticipating news about either a PSVR, HTC Vive, or Google Daydream game at E3, since both of their previous games were shown on the Oculus Rift.
nDreams
During Google IO, it was also revealed that nDreams, the UK studio behind the upcoming multiplatform narrative adventure game, The Assembly, is working on not one, but two unannounced Google Daydream experiences. Unfortunately, that’s about it.
As one of the few developers with experience on basically every major VR platform both on and coming to the market, it’s worth noting their reach and influence in our young industry. They fully expect to either break even or make a profit this year, which is quite remarkable considering the relatively low (but growing) adoption rate of consumer VR headsets.
4A Games
All we know about 4A Games is that they are working with Oculus. What we can speculate is that, hopefully, it has something to do with the Metro universe. Their flagship atmospheric shooter franchise is the perfect universe to bring over to VR.
Alternatively, if they’re working on a brand new IP exclusively for VR, that would be a welcomed announcement as well.
Ready at Dawn
Despite Ready at Dawn’s long-standing relationship with Sony and the relatively recent release of The Order: 1886, the studio isn’t joining forces with the PSVR for their debut VR title. Instead, they’re teaming up with Oculus on a mystery project.
No one knows what they’re working on, but it is expected to be an exclusive to the Oculus Rift, much like the excellent Edge of Nowhere and Lucky’s Tale, each released already on the Oculus Home Store.
Signal Studios
While it’s a bit early to jump to conclusions here, my gut tells me that Signal Studios is likely working on a new, VR-focused iteration in their Toy Soldiers franchise. That being said, they have not made any announcements yet. It could also be VR-integration for Savage Lands, an Early Access open world survival game.
However, a top-down, “playing with toys” approach has worked wonders for the likes of Airmech Command, so it’s certainly a valid approach that could be in development.
Square Enix
Earlier this year Square Enix released a VR port of their smash-hit mobile game, Hitman GO. The VR port is, for all intents and purposes, the best version of the game to-date and would be an excellent addition to any Gear VR or Oculus Rift owner’s game library.
However, we highly doubt that’s all they were working on. Their list of properties is both long and admirable, so I suspect a large, AAA-quality, Oculus Rift game is in the works. Since Oculus and Square Enix are both participating in the PC Gaming Show at E3 in just a few days, maybe we will hear an announcement then? The Deus Ex franchise would be a good fit, stylistically.
Uber Entertainment
Earlier this week we found out more details about the PSVR launch title, Wayward Sky, which got a new mixed reality game trailer along with new information, screenshots, and more. It’s shaping up to be quite nice and we can’t wait to see it in action.
However, worth noting, Uber Entertainment also recently tweeted that they were working on a Google Daydream project as well. We’ve got no idea what it could be, as they’ve declined to comment, but we certainly hope to find out more soon.
What Else?
These are just a handful of the companies that we know for sure are working on VR projects. There are surely several games actively being developed by Oculus Studios, likely for the Oculus Touch, that we know nothing about right now. Companies like Apple, Nintendo, and Microsoft are likely getting involved in the VR space sooner rather than later. And we fully expect more games to come from HTC and Valve in due time.
Out of these mystery VR projects, which ones are you the most excited to learn more about?
