Against Gravity’s Rec Room exceeded our expectations for social VR interactions on Oculus Quest, but the Seattle-based startup isn’t stopping there with its roll-out in 2019.
Late last year fans of the free-to-play cross-platform social games service requested iOS (iPhone/iPad), Android and Switch as the top platforms they want to see supported in further expansion to Rec Room. While not specifically stating which platform(s) they are targeting next, a statement from Against Gravity suggests that after Oculus Quest they still plan to support more platforms in 2019.
“Players kept telling us they wanted to hang out with their friends who didn’t have a headset. Last year we took that feedback and launched screen mode, allowing anyone on a PS4 or PC to play Rec Room along with our VR players,” a statement from the company reads. “We’ve seen really great growth and creativity in the community on screens and we’re looking forward to bringing Rec Room to even more platforms in 2019.”
Cross-Platform Concerns
Any of the top three platforms requested by fans would be an incredibly large expansion to Rec Room’s reach. Support for those platforms could have lasting implications for both the startup and the community it is building. Interaction models are different from TVs to phones to VR and ensuring players have an enjoyable experience playing games like paintball or dodgeball across every type of device will be a daunting task. Such expansion could also make it harder for Rec Room to roll out new features for its entire community. Other startups, like Altspace, ran out of money on a path to building cross-platform support. Bigscreen and Against Gravity, though, focused their platforms around finding fun things for people to do together and they seem to be gaining traction with that approach.
We’ll bring you updates as soon as Against Gravity reveals which platforms it is targeting next and when we can expect them to launch.
