I-Illusions has been talking about expanding the Space Pirate Trainer universe for a couple of years now, going much bigger and bolder with a full arena-scale shooter. Today, the studio has confirmed that Space Pirate Arena won’t be a separate title, instead, it’s going to come in the form of a major update for the original, Space Pirate Trainer DX.
You can Buy Space Pirate Trainer for $14.99 through September 8th and receive the DX update without any additional cost
Charge your blasters, training has only just begun! pic.twitter.com/gJMq86IsI1
— I-Illusions (@i_illusions) August 25, 2021
As previously revealed the studio has been working on a large-scale arena shooter where players can run around a wide-open space, shooting each other like they’re playing laser tag. This is the first of two new modes coming in the update, with Arena also coming in two flavours; Online Arena and Co-Located Arena Mode. Both require a space that’s at least 10m x 10m (32ft x 32ft) so your living room is out of the question. Hiring a sports hall or other similar venue will be needed here, transforming the area into a cyberpunk platform to run around in.
In Online Arena you’ll be able to challenge a friend to a match whilst Co-Located Arena Mode means two of you can play in the same physical space. There’s also a single-player mode where you can fight against droids. These new features have meant I-Illusions developing new mechanics to stop players from walking through walls or bumping into each other.
The other new mode arriving in Space Pirate Trainer DX is Versus. Adding another multiplayer element, this time you don’t need as much space. Instead, players go head-to-head online in the normal Space Pirate Trainer area, however, there’s a twist. Each time you shoot a droid one will spawn to attack your opponent and vice-a-versa, creating manic shooting battles in the process.
“We think Arena is the ultimate multiplayer game, and as a team it’s the thing that excites us the most. We still need to see if players are excited enough to find a space to play, but hopefully it will just become a thing people like to do – showing off creative places to play in a fun and safe manner,” said I-Illusions’ Dirk Van Welden on the Oculus Blog.
Space Pirate Trainer DX will be an Oculus Quest exclusive, arriving on 9th September for $24.99 USD. Remember, it’s a free update so you can pick up the original Space Pirate Trainer for $14.99 until 8th September. For further updates on Space Pirate Trainer DX, keep reading VRFocus.