Some videogames tend to see more delays than others, from a few weeks to several months. One of the more famous virtual reality (VR) titles to see consistent delays is Pixel Ripped 1989, the original brain child of Ana Ribeiro, who began work on the project in 2014. Things started to look up in 2017 when Ribeiro joined Brazilian VR studio ARVORE with the team announcing an official launch date for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR in May. Needless to say that’s now slipped by several months.
In an announcement today, ARVORE has said that Pixel Ripped 1989 will now be released in the summer, without actually giving a precise date. The statement released by the team said:
“This Spring, we were excited to let Pixel Ripped’s 1989’s incredibly patient fans know that we had expected the game to be available in May. While the response to the game during GDC, PAX East, and VRLA has been overwhelmingly positive, our team has decided to take a few more weeks to polish all versions of the game for a smooth release across Steam, Oculus Home, and PlayStation VR simultaneously. While we will no longer be releasing the game in May, we are excited to help ensure that ‘Pixel Ripped 1989’ is ready to be the best retro-inspired gaming adventure that the VR world has ever seen when it arrives this Summer!
“We expect to have an update on a new Summer 2018 release date in the next few weeks, and want fans to rest assured that we’ll have more news soon on exactly when they’ll be able to go all the way back to the year 1989 to take down the Cyblin Lord once and for all!”
In the meantime, for those interested in Pixel Ripped 1989’s development Ribeiro and the VR team at ARVORE created a behind the scenes documentary series in conjunction with Microsoft called ‘This Is Development’ (seen below).
Pixel Ripped 1989 is a homage to all things retro, especially the 80’s and the early days of videogames. You play the role of Nicola, a second-grade student who just wants to play her favourite game without being caught by the teacher. This game-within-a-game follows the adventures of Dot, an in-game character who sees her world torn apart by the Cyblin Lord, a villain able to break through the videogame screen and invade the real world. Nicola must help Dot save both realities from this menace by facing challenges in the retro-gaming 2D world, all while distracting the cranky teacher and escaping from the furious headmaster in her own 3D world.
As further details on Pixel Ripped 1989’s launch become available VRFocus will let you know.