Category: Beat Saber

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Meta to Pull ‘Beat Saber’ Multiplayer on Quest 1 Later This Year

Beat Saber was the defining game on Quest when it came to the company’s first standalone at launch back in 2019, making the infectious block-slashing rhythm game a real system-seller. Now, Meta says it’s cutting Beat Saber’s online services for Quest 1 later this year.

The Meta-owned studio Beat Games revealed the news via a post on X, maintaining that all multiplayer functionality will be pulled come November 2nd, 2024:

In an FAQ detailing the move, the studio clarifies it will also stop releasing Beat Saber updates or customer support for the Quest 1 devices.

“If you want to access the PC version of Beat Saber on your Meta Quest 1, you can do so via the Meta Quest Link,” the studio concludes.

Granted, since Beat Saber and all purchased DLC is tied to your Meta account, it is transferable and playable across the company’s family of devices, including Quest 2/3/Pro and and Rift/Rift S—Meta cross-buy included.

This shouldn’t come as any big surprise though, as Meta announced last year it was sunsetting Quest 1, noting that no new apps will be able to offer support for Quest 1 starting on April 30th, 2024.

This comes as the company seems to be winding down support for seemingly everything but Quest 3, as a few notable developers have decided against supporting the 2020-era Quest 2 or 2022-era Quest Pro, including Alien: Rogue Incursion and Batman: Arkham Shadow, both of which are slated to release later this year.

Meanwhile, Meta will soon be licensing Horizon OS (ex-Quest OS) to third-party OEMs ASUS, Lenovo and Xbox, which could be running the same chipset as Quest 3, and possibly the rumored Quest 3 Lite (alternatively known as ‘Quest 3S’) as well.

The post Meta to Pull ‘Beat Saber’ Multiplayer on Quest 1 Later This Year appeared first on Road to VR.

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After Building One of VR’s Most Successful Games, ‘Beat Saber’ Founder Plans to Take a Break from VR

Jan ‘Split’ Ilavsky, founder of Beat Games and creator behind VR’s favorite block-slashing rhythm game Beat Saber (2018), left the studio late last month, stepping down from his position as the game’s Creative Director. Now, Ilavsky tells Road to VR he’s taking an extended break from VR altogether.

After creating one of VR’s most successful games financially to date, which generated over $100 million in revenue in 2021 alone, it’s safe to say Ilavsky deserves a break.

Jan ‘Split’ Ilavsky

Speaking to Road to VR, Ilavsky says he doesn’t have “any big plans ready now,” saying that he “most probably won’t be doing any VR for some time.”

“The last six years have been an amazing ride,” Ilavsky said on X. “When I created the first prototype of Beat Saber, I thought it might be just another small solo project, similar to some of the games I had made before. However, something felt different this time.”

First demoed publicly at GDC 2018, it was clear the Czechia-based studio had something special in their hands. Back then, the indie studio was still running under the name Hyperbolic Magnetism, although it wasn’t long before it adopted the moniker Beat Games, which was right around the time it was acquired by Meta (ex-Facebook) for an undisclosed sum.

Launching with music created by composer and DJ Jaroslav Beck in 2018, who also recently left the company, Meta’s deep pockets and industry contacts transformed the viral sensation into a revenue-generating powerhouse, striking deals with record labels to bring to the game music from a host of artists, including Lizzo, Skrillex, BTS, Green Day, Timbaland, Linkin Park, Imagine Dragons, and more recently Daft Punk.

While Ilavsky is taking a break from VR, he would eventually like to return to his roots: “working on innovative games,” he says. “The game industry is a challenging place to be, and I couldn’t be more grateful for all the experiences I’ve had and the amazing people I’ve met along the way.”

The post After Building One of VR’s Most Successful Games, ‘Beat Saber’ Founder Plans to Take a Break from VR appeared first on Road to VR.

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Daft Punk Music Pack for ‘Beat Saber’ Arrives Alongside Haptics Improvements on Quest

Meta’s Beat Games teased earlier this month that everyone’s favorite block-slicing rhythm game Beat Saber was finally getting the music pack that always needed to happen: Daft Punk. Now that day has come, which arrives with some improved haptics on Quest that promise to be harder, better, faster (and) stronger.

Check out the 10-track list below:

  • Around The World
  • Around The World / Harder Better Faster Stronger (Live 2007)
  • Da Funk / Daftendirekt (Live 2007)
  • Get Lucky (feat. Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers)
  • Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
  • Lose Yourself to Dance (feat. Pharrell Williams)
  • One More Time
  • Technologic
  • The Prime Time of Your Life/The Brainwasher/Rollin’/Alive (Live 2007)
  • Veridis Quo

Sadly, there’s nothing from Daft Punk’s musical score of Tron: Legacy (2010) since the OST is under the Walt Disney music label, while all of the above are under Virgin Records (for earlier albums) and Columbia Records (for later releases). Meta has worked with Virgin parent company Universal Music Group and Columbia parent Sony Music Entertainment in the past on other music packs, so it makes sense from a licensing perspective.

With the release of the Daft Punk music pack, Beat Games says it will also introduce advanced haptics for Quest 3 and Quest Pro, and will include haptic improvements for Quest 2 as well.

Meta released it Haptics Studio and Haptics SDK for Unity early last year to help developers fine-tune haptics across Quest 2/3/Pro, which, at least on Quest 3 and Quest Pro controllers includes wideband, voice coil motors which let designers and developers create more lifelike, textured effects that feel closer to real world experiences.

The post Daft Punk Music Pack for ‘Beat Saber’ Arrives Alongside Haptics Improvements on Quest appeared first on Road to VR.

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The ‘Beat Saber’ Music Pack That Always Needed to Happen… is Finally Happening

Beat Saber’s next music pack will bring one of the most influential names in electronic music to the game’s library of downloadable content: Daft Punk.

Go back to some of Daft Punk’s earliest albums and you might find yourself saying “this doesn’t sound so special, I hear stuff like this all the time.” Well, the reason it might not sound so special is because Daft Punk’s works have been so influential to modern electronic music that you can hardly find any that doesn’t include at least some of the group’s essence.

It’s fitting, then, that one of electronic music’s biggest influences is now about to find its way into one of VR’s most influential games.

While we don’t yet know the full track list or price, the Daft Punk music pack for Beat Saber has been announced with an official release date of March 7th.

“Daft Punk has been hands-down one of the most requested artists from fans to add to the Beat Saber lineup,” Meta said in the announcement.

And it’s not just because the group’s music has that four-on-the-four thump that really feels great for slashing virtual cubes, but there’s undeniable aesthetic influence between Daft Punk’s Tron-like glow and Beat Saber’s neon-drenched vibe. And I mean, come on, the group’s signature helmets are as iconic as their music—they know what it’s like to wear something on your head when you’re having a good time. This crossover could hardly be more fated.

And speaking of Tron, we’d absolutely love to hear some tracks from Daft Punk’s musical score of Tron (2010). Considering the additional licensing complications as a soundtrack for a Disney film, however, we’re not holding our breath. But maybe developer Beat Games will throw us a bone and make the music pack’s background environment particularly Tron-esque?

For the Daft Punk fans out there, what track do you most want to see included in the Daft Punk music pack for Beat Saber?

The post The ‘Beat Saber’ Music Pack That Always Needed to Happen… is Finally Happening appeared first on Road to VR.

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Late to PSVR 2, ‘Beat Saber’ Continues to Dominate Most Downloaded Charts

Beat Saber, VR’s favorite block-slashing rhythm game, came to PlayStation VR 2 well past the headset’s February 2023 launch, coming to Sony’s latest VR headset in late May. And while Beat Saber topped the May charts within only one week of being available on PSVR 2, it seems the long-standing VR favorite is showing no signs of stopping.

In PlayStation’s June top downloads list, Beat Saber has made out as the top PSVR 2 download again. Here’s the full list, showing the charts across the US/Canada, Europe, and Japan.

US & Canada EU Japan
1 Beat Saber Beat Saber Beat Saber
2 Pavlov Pavlov Hubris
3 Job Simulator Hubris
Kayak VR: Mirage
4 Hubris PS VR 2 Job Simulator C-Smash VRS
5 Walkabout Mini Golf Red Matter 2
Onogoro Monogatari ~The Tale of Onogoro~
6 The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution
TRIPP: A New Way to Meditate
7 Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Edition Kayak VR: Mirage Red Matter 2
8 Kayak VR: Mirage Walkabout Mini Golf
Horizon Call of the Mountain
9 Red Matter 2 Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Edition
Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Edition
10 Swordsman VR Swordsman VR Job Simulator

Notably, PlayStation’s charts are based on PS Store purchases only, which means game upgrades or games bundled with hardware are not included. Beat Saber is one of those in a limited pool of games that offers a free PSVR 2 upgrade from the original PSVR version, so it seems new PSVR 2 users are jumping into the block-slashing action organically.

It’s no surprise Beat Saber has fared well on PSVR 2 for new players though, as by now the game is fairly synonymous as a great beginner’s title thanks to its ‘easy to play, hard to master’ gameplay in addition to not being nearly as involved as some VR games, many of which require some form of artificial locomotion.

Not only that, Meta-owned studio Beat Games has also wrangled a ton of music deals since the game’s 2018 launch to bring an extensive library of paid DLC to the game. This includes everything from legacy classics such as Queen, Kiss, and Lynyrd Skynyrd to current pop hits like The Weekend, Lizzo, Lady Gaga, Billie Eilish, and BTS to name a few.

With such a sustained performance, it’s likely Beat Saber will continue its reign on PSVR 2 for months to come.

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‘Beat Saber’ Finally Comes to PSVR 2 as Free Upgrade, Queen Music Pack Released

We expected Beat Saber as a day-one title on PSVR 2 when the headset launched in February, but it seems Meta had different ideas. Better late than never though, as everyone’s favorite block-slashing rhythm game is now available on PSVR 2 as a free upgrade from the PSVR version, coming alongside a paid music pack featuring the ever-iconic band Queen.

The Queen music pack is available across all supported platforms, including Quest, PSVR/2, and PC VR headsets, priced at $14.

It includes the 11 tracks listed below:

  • “Another One Bites the Dust”
  • “Bohemian Rhapsody”
  • “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”
  • “Don’t Stop Me Now”
  • “I Want It All”
  • “Killer Queen”
  • “One Vision”
  • “Somebody to Love”
  • “Stone Cold Crazy”
  • “We Are The Champions”
  • “We Will Rock You”

If you already own Beat Saber on PSVR, you can upgrade to the PSVR 2 version for free. This will also allow you to transfer any music packs previously purchased on PSVR at no extra cost.

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‘Beat Saber’ Reportedly Generated Over a Quarter Billion Dollars in Lifetime Sales

Beat Saber (2018), the popular block-slashing rhythm game, has undoubtedly been a standout success for VR. Now a Wall Street Journal report alleges the game has generated over a quarter billion dollars.

Citing documents viewed by the Wall Street Journal, Meta has allegedly generated over $255 million as of October 2022.

While not stated explicitly in the report, this ostensibly includes base game unit sales and DLC sales across all supported platforms, which includes Quest, Quest 2, the original PSVR, and SteamVR headsets.

Acquired by Meta in 2019, developers Beat Games have released a wide swath of paid and free DLC, something it can owe to Meta’s deep pockets which has allowed it to cut deals with a number of record labels and high-profile artists.

Some of Beat Saber’s DLC include music packs by Skrillex, Billy Eilish, BTS, Green Day, Timbaland, Linkin Park, and Imagine Dragons, and labels such as Interscope, which feature tracks from Kendrick Lamar, OneRepublic, Limp Bizkit, and Maroon 5.

The Journal maintains the documents included another staggering figure: Beat Saber was played by 1.47 million active devices per month, making it one of the 14 Quest games to gross over $20 million out of the 500 available on the store.

Notably, Beat Saber has yet to make the leap to Sony’s recently released PSVR 2 headset, making it a fairly important holdout to do so.

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Beat Saber Adds Six New Songs To Panic! At The Disco Music Pack

Beat Saber announced another music pack revamp today, which will add six new songs to the Panic! At The Disco pack and update the beatmaps, environments and lighting for its existing tracks.

Hot on the heels of the revamped Imagine Dragons pack from last month, today Beat Games is updating the Panic! At The Disco music pack. The update will adds songs from Panic!’s 2018 album Pray for the Weekend and 2022 album Viva Las Vengeance, while overhauling the pack’s existing four  tracks.

The new tracks available today are:

  • Hey Look Ma, I Made It

  • Say Amen (Saturday Night)

  • Viva Las Vengeance

  • Dancing’s Not A Crime

  • Sugar Soaker

  • Crazy = Genius

While it’s nice to have some new tracks, it’s crazy that even after these new additions, the music pack still doesn’t include the band’s biggest hit, I Write Sins Not Tragedies.

These new tracks will feature a new Panic!-themed environment, using Beat Saber’s updated lighting and effect system. The pack’s original four tracks – Emperor’s New Clothes, High Hopes, The Greatest Show and Victorious – will also be updated with the new environment. Those existing tracks will also receive revamped beat maps featuring arc and chain notes, similar to the overhauled applied to the Imagine Dragons pack last month.

If you already own the existing four Panic! tracks, you can pick up the six new tracks for $7.79. The revamped pack is available in full for $12.99, with individual tracks available for $1.99 each.

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Beat Saber Releases Upgraded Imagine Dragons Pack, Including New Songs & Maps

Beat Saber just released an upgraded version of its Imagine Dragons DLC Music Pack, featuring two new songs and redesigned maps for the existing tracks.

The Imagine Dragons DLC tracks for Beat Saber first released in 2019, featuring 10 songs available for purchase individually or as a bundle. Since then, the team at Beat Games released a bunch of other DLC tracks and made some significant updates to the game, including new note types and an upgraded lighting system.

Given those changes since the initial release, Beat Games released a ‘new and improved’ Imagine Dragons DLC pack earlier today. The maps for the existing 10 tracks have been redesigned, now featuring arc and chain note types, alongside upgraded environments that use the game’s new lighting system and color scheme. Meta says that players “will immediately notice that the 10 legacy tracks have improved mapping and flow.”

The upgraded pack also includes two new songs – Bones and Enemy, the latter of which is the theme song to Netflix’s show Arcane, set in the League of Legends universe.

The upgraded pack now features 12 tracks total and is available for the same $14.99 price as the original, with individual tracks available for $1.99.

Meta says that existing owners of the former 10-track DLC bundle will be able to purchase an ‘upgrade’ that includes the two new tracks for $2.50. It’s unclear whether existing individually-owned tracks or those who do not purchase the $2.50 ‘upgrade’ will automatically receive the updated versions of the tracks for free. UploadVR has reached out to Meta for clarification and will provide an update if we receive a response.

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‘Beat Saber’ Earned Nearly $100M in Revenue Last Year Alone

Beat Games, the Czechia-based studio known for VR’s most popular game Beat Saber (2018), revealed it’s managed to generate nearly $100 million in revenue over the course of last year thanks to the block-slashing rhythm game.

Czech language publication CzechCrunch confirmed that Beat Games earned 2.3 billion Czech koruna in revenue last year alone, or around $97 million USD.

This places it as the top-earning game studio in Czechia, as it now sits above Bohemia Interactive (Arma, DayZ), SCS Software (Euro Truck Simulator 2), and Warhorse Studios (Kingdom Come: Deliverance).

CzechCrunch indicates this represents a year-over-year growth of around 65 percent, as last year Beat Games reported sales of 1.4 billion koruna (~$59 million USD).

Profit is another thing entirely however. For comparison, Bohemia Interactive reported an after-tax profit of 616 million koruna (~$26 million USD) last year. Beat Games reported an after-tax profit of only 70 million koruna (~$3 million USD).

Bohemia Interactive acts as both developer and publisher of its own titles, which is likely why after-tax profit is so high in comparison to Beat Games, which was acquired by Meta (formerly Facebook) back in 2019. Founded by Ján Ilavský, Vladimír Hrinčár and Jaroslav Beck in 2018, the team now includes more than thirty members working under the Meta name.

With Meta’s deep pockets, Beat Saber has continued to pump out a steady stream of tracks to slice and grove to, which includes content from high-profile artists such as Skrillex, BTS, Green Day, Timbaland, Linkin Park, and Imagine Dragons, not to mention the Interscope Music Pack featuring tracks from the likes of Kendrick Lamar, OneRepublic, Limp Bizkit, and Maroon 5.

Beat Saber regularly sits at the top of the charts across all supported headsets now four years later, which includes PSVR, PC VR headsets, and the Meta Quest platform, the latter of which has no doubt been the key driver for sales in 2021 thanks to the release of Quest 2.