Sony Drastically Cuts VR Investment: PSVR2 Future in Doubt
According to Android Central, recent reports suggest that Sony is significantly reducing its investment in VR gaming. The company currently has only two PSVR 2 games in development, and considering the frequent layoffs and studio closures within the gaming industry, the fate of these two games remains uncertain. The opportunity for Sony to develop VR games in the future might become exceedingly rare.
Android Central noted that last year, Sony released only three PSVR 2 games, and this year, no first-party PSVR 2 games have been announced. Among the three games released last year, the development studio behind “Firewall Ultra,” First Contact Entertainment, has already closed down, and Sony London Studio, responsible for the highly-rated PSVR game “Blood & Truth,” also shut its doors in February of this year. Additionally, Firesprite, the studio behind “Horizon: Call of the Mountain,” has experienced significant budget and staff cuts, even canceling some game projects, leaving Sony’s first-party development studios with scant resources.
During Sony’s State of Play event in May this year, the announcement of a new sequel to the highest-rated PSVR game, “Astro Bot Rescue Mission,” excited many players. However, it was surprising that the sequel does not support VR. The head of the “Astro Bot” studio provided a reason, stating, “We are 100% focused on the PS5 platform. VR and traditional platforms have significant differences, and not all games are suitable for VR mode.” This statement seemingly corroborates rumors that Sony is abandoning PSVR 2.
Changes in Sony’s internal strategy have further exacerbated the difficulties for the PSVR 2 project. Following the separation of the software and hardware departments, the software department head expressed a lack of optimism about the future of PSVR. Additionally, the rumored strategy of Sony focusing on hybrid AAA games (both traditional and VR versions) has not made any progress since early 2022. Due to these cumulative reasons, the prospects of Sony PSVR 2 appear bleak. Therefore, Android Central suggests that players might consider other more promising VR platforms, such as Meta Quest 3, which offers a broader selection of games compared to PSVR 2.
