CM Games, the developer behind the single-player survival shooter Into the Radius (2020), confirmed in a new gameplay trailer that its long-awaited sequel is coming to Steam Early Access this summer.
Update (April 15th, 2024): The game, which has both a single-player and four-player co-op campaign, just got its first trailer, linked below.
There’s still no word on whether the studio is considering a Quest version of the game, however we’ll be following along with the studio via the game’s Discord channel (invite link).
In the meantime, you can wishlist Into the Radius 2 on its Steam page
Original Article (December 14th, 2023): Like the first in the series, Into the Radius 2 is set to initially launch on Steam Early Access for PC VR headsets sometime in 2024. The team says EA will allow them to get valuable feedback and suggestions from players, something that “played a crucial role in shaping and enhancing the game,” CM Games says on the game’s Steam page.
While the original eventually made its way to Quest back in 2022, the studio says in a post on X (formerly Twitter), that Into the Radius 2 will “first follow an early access development cycle on Steam. We’ll mention other platforms when the time is right.”
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Image courtesy CM Games
Image courtesy CM Games
Image courtesy CM Games
Image courtesy CM Games
Image courtesy CM Games
Like the original, the game’s immersive survival shooter sequel is set in a realm of surreal landscapes and deadly anomalies known as Pechorsk Security Zone, something we described in our review of the Quest 2 version of the game as “a bit like Chernobyl meets Salvidor Dali.” Whatever the case, fans of the Soviet book Roadside Picnic (1972) and/or later film adaptation Stalker (1979) will definitely see where inspiration for the blighted zone come from.
The studio says EA users will be able to play both single-player and co-op modes, with the option to team up with up to 4 players, which from the get-go is said to offer a substantial location to explore, various types of anomalies to encounter, a range of weapons to wield, and a collection of artifacts—ability-boosting perks that change how you play the game.
There’s no clear date for when Early Access will launch on Steam; the release date is tentatively set for “2024”. The studio says however it hopes to spend a while in EA, with the full launch targeting release sometime “in late 2025.”
Into the Radius is a cult favorite for a reason, as it offers up some of the most hardcore gameplay in a very Stalker-inspired post-apocalyptic world, making for an absolutely unforgiving experience in the anomaly-ridden wasteland. Now developers CM Games say a sequel is in the works.
In a community update, CM Games says a second chapter to Into the Radius is currently being developed.
“We are in the pre-production phase, and will follow an Early Access development model like before when the time is right,” the studio says. “The original [Into the Radius] is a testament to how much our community has helped us in developing the game, and we want to continue this trend in the sequel.”
The studio says many user suggestions and ideas are currently being considered for the newest installment, although they’re not revealing anything beyond that right now. Into the Radius is currently available on SteamVR and Quest 2. The developers have said in the past that it’s also in development for other headsets, although there’s still no word on whether it’s coming to PSVR 2.
We’ll be following Into the Radius and its upcoming seqeuel via the game’s Discord (invite link), as CM Games is due to publish an FAQ soon that may answer more questions about the next chapter.
Welcome to another VR Job Hub where every weekend gmw3 gathers together vacancies from across the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) industries, in locations around the globe to help make finding that ideal job easier. Below is a selection of roles that are currently accepting applications across a number of disciplines, all within departments and companies that focus on immersive entertainment.
Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hubto check as well.
If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to community@gmw3.com.
We’ll see you next week on gmw3 at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.
With the likes of Resident Evil 4, Song in the Smoke and most recently Green Hell VR, Meta Quest 2 owners are being treated to some truly excellent survival adventure videogames. Later this year that list could be growing with CM Games announcing that its title Into the Radius will arrive for the standalone headset.
Originally released as an early access PC VR title before seeing an official launch in the summer of 2020, Into the Radiusdrops you into a dark, mysterious world that’s been designed for virtual reality (VR) veterans. Set within an area called the Pechorsk Radius zone, this post-apocalyptic landscape is a hellish nightmare filled with dangerous anomalies and abandoned settlements.
Offering an open world to explore with miles of forests, swamps, and crumbling industrial areas to scavenge for valuable resources, you’ll need to defend against (or avoid) the shadowy anomalies, toxic gas and other dangers. Into the Radius is built around realistic physics, so classic firearms like the SKS Carbine, M9 Beretta, and PPsh all require manual reloading whilst bullets drop and ricochet accordingly.
The Meta Quest 2 version of Into the Radius will be a completely separate version from the PC VR edition notes CM Games to gmw3. However, the team does say: “we plan to make it content and feature identical with the PC version.” Into the Radius is a good looking title on PC so naturally, the Quest 2 version will be taking a graphical hit to work; as you can see in the trailer below.
The developer will be using the optimisation lessons learnt to make the PC VR version even better, remarking: “Many of the internal optimizations done for the Meta version will be used later in PC version in some form. PC version graphics or features are not going to be affected, do not worry.”
Into the Radius for Meta Quest 2 is currently slated to arrive in September 2022 but some of you will be able to grab an early sneak peek. CM Games will be running a closed beta test soon, if you want to take part then sign up here. As further details arise regarding this new Into the Radius edition, keep reading gmw3.
After eight months in Early Access, survival horror Into the Radius has now officially launched, providing new content, gameplay improvements and a limited time discount on Steam.
Created by CM Games, Into the Radius is set in the post-apocalyptic Pechorsk Radius Zone inside Russia. Inspired by sci-fi novel ‘Roadside Picnic’ a strange event occurred back in the 1980s creating the zone. Now in modern times, the area is managed by The United Nations Pechorsk Special Committee (UNPSC), and being a UNPSC specialist you’re one of the few allowed in.
Inside is a nightmarish expanse of desolation, where you have to watch out for ‘anomalies’ as well as shadowy entities intent on killing you. As Inside the Radius is a survival game you need to scour the landscape for useful items including food and weapons. The studio has design the mechanics to be realistic so players will have to learn how to reload weapons whilst ensuring their health and stamina don’t drop too low.
When it comes to new improvements for this version CM Games has added:
High Level
New missions with story voice-overs and endgame
The difficulty is decoupled from the ability to save. Now you can still switch difficulty at any time.
For more of a challenge “Iron man” mode can be enabled at the start to allow autosaves only.
New locations
Music and sound fx
Improved performance
New hand and body models with new art for holsters and pouches
Improved Tutorial
Vive Cosmos support
Comfort options ( Vignetting for turn and move)
Replaced map transition with loading screen with helpful tips
Controls
Improved distance grip – needs less accuracy in pointing to grab
Snap turn is not instant to reduce disorientation
Virtual Stock can be disabled
The game can be loaded straight from death info
Weapons
Increased Stabilization for all weapons
5 new weapons – AK74, AK74M, AK74-U, VSS Vintorez, AS VAL
Pistols can be double gripped for additional stability
Most two-handed weapons will fall out of hand if shot single-handedly
Double-barreled shotguns are now physics-based to operate, one can just flick up to close the barrel
Missions
Economics rebalanced (Ammo is now cheaper!)
A new type of low priority mission
Upon accepting a mission you have a 2-hour in-game cool down before being able to abandon to prevent mission cycling
About the Gameplay:
Into the Radius is a single-player survival shooter developed exclusively for premium Virtual Reality headsets.
Players are sent stalking through the surreal post-apocalyptic Pechorsk Radius Zone where physics-based interaction, realistic weapon handling, and moody atmosphere will get your adrenaline pumping as you struggle to survive in an unforgiving dystopian environment.
Into the Radius supports most PC VR headsets including Valve Index, Windows Mixed Reality, HTC Vive, HTC Vive Cosmos and Oculus Rift as well as Oculus Quest (via-link). Available via the regular digital stores, on Steam there’s a 30% discount running until 27th July 2020. For further updates on the title, keep reading VRFocus.
Developer CM Games announced that its VR debut survival horror FPS game Into The Radius is leaving Early Access on June 20. The game initially launched on Steam and other platforms in 2019 in Early Access with less content, but now the game will enjoy a full release with all the content added during the development cycle over the last several months.
Set in an open-world Soviet wasteland, Into The Radius is a survival shooter with a sprinkle of horror as well. When we interviewed Brandon Marsh from CM Games earlier in the year, he described the game as “much more of a survival / stealth game, not a straight forward guns blazing FPS.” You need to use your navigation skills and prepare the right equipment for each mission, using modifiable weapons that will also need to be maintained to avoid jams.
The Early Access build started with just the open map and a handful of missions, leading some players to note that it had a slow pace and felt a bit unfinished. However, Marsh also noted to us back in February that a lot of content was being added during Early Access, such as more maps, voice acting, the full storyline and special missions, as outlined in the Early Access milestones. Once the game reached Milestone 6, it was ready for a full launch, which is now set for June 20. There’s even a new gameplay trailer to celebrate the launch, which you can view embedded above.
It’s clear that Into The Radius has come a long way since the beginning of Early Access. It launches for PC VR on June 20 on the Steam and Oculus stores, plus it will also be available through Viveport Infinity.
Survival horror Into the Radius arrived onto Steam Early Access in November 2019 and since then indie team CM Games has been continually updating the experience. Today, the studio held a live stream to reveal further details which included when the title will fully launch, next month in fact.
The studio only released its last big ‘Milestone 6’ update a couple of weeks ago, so they’re rapidly pushing forward with development. The next big step is the official launch which will take place on 20th July. Before that happens though, Into the Radius is coming to Humble Bundle later this month.
Coinciding with the Humble Store release CM Games has confirmed that both the Steam and Humble versions will get a 30% discount. Plans are also underway to bring Into the Radius to Viveport Infinity, which should be next month as well.
Supporting Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index and Windows Mixed Reality headsets, Into the Radius takes place in the surreal post-apocalyptic Pechorsk Radius Zone, an area of Russia which suffered a strange event back in the ’80s. Moving forward into the 21st Century, the zone is managed by the United Nations Pechorsk Special Committee (UNPSC) with the only people allowed to enter being UNPSC specialists. Of course, you play one of these specialists sent in to investigate the area.
While Into the Radius has a rather fantastical storyline the gameplay is designed to be realistic rather than some arcade-style adventure. Players have miles of swamps, forests and crumbling ruins to explore, looking for useful items to find like guns and ammo.
When it comes to the weapons classic weapons like the Pistolet Makarova, Double Barrel Shotgun and the AKM Kalashnikov are available, all of which need to be manually reloaded for that sense of realism. This is also aided by day and night cycles and various weather conditions, all of which need to be employed to stay alive.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Into the Radius reporting back with further updates as development continues.
Early Access (EA) on platforms such as Steam has proven itself to be a useful avenue for small indie developers wanting to get their videogame into the hands of the gaming community for feedback, while at the same time clearly stating there’s work still to be done. Some studios have kept their title in EA limbo for years while others work to a shorter time frame, occasionally having to add a little delay here and there. It’s the latter which CM Games has confirmed today, with the full release of Into the Radius pushed back.
The studio had originally planned to leave Early Access by the end of Q1 2020. That changed because: “The feedback and reviews that we’ve gotten so far have encouraged us to put more focus on creating a better tutorial and improving the core mechanics of the game,” notes the team in a statement. So currently there’s no date for the official launch with CM Games expecting to be able to reveal one in Q2 2020.
For those already ingrained in the Into the Radius universe another update is due in March to keep improving those mechanics with the following features:
New tutorial
Updated map with new areas to explore
New Journal (Quest log)
General UI improvements
Improved object inspection / interaction UI
Updated Attachment lock
Improved climbing mechanic
Mission Computer will allow multiple missions at once
Improved projectile physics (Ricochet, Material penetration, Bullet drop distance)
New Anomaly & Artifact distribution, now Anomalies will often appear in cluster mazes with artifacts in the middle
Misc. bug fixes
Into the Radiusis a post-apocalyptic survival horror for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index and Windows Mixed Reality headsets. Some sort of strange event created the mysterious and deadly Pechorsk Radius which few are allowed to enter. Players take on the role of a UN Pechorsk Special Committee specialist trapped inside, looking to uncover the mysteries within.
While the events going on are weird and unnatural the player mechanics are very much set in the real world, with manual reloading of weapons and clips, real bullet physics and more. As further details for Into the Radius are released, VRFocus will let you know.
Into The Radius is an open-world hardcore post-apocalyptic story-driven VR shooter with heavy influences from a wide gamut of entertainment media properties. It released on Steam Early Access last November and is dropping on the Oculus Home Store in Early Access today.
Game developers that work in VR often cite very different influences than the ones that work on non-VR games. If you ask a developer what got them into traditional game development you’ll likely get a list of old-school retro games, maybe some movies and TV shows, or books that they wanted to emulate. But in the case of VR, since the medium is so new, a lot of developers cite modern, contemporary games as key influences. In the case of Into the Radius, it’s a bit of both.
Taken from the game’s store page description:
Into the Radius is a single-player survival shooter developed exclusively for premium Virtual Reality headsets. The game is a dark mix of eldritch horror, open-world exploration, realistic weapon handling and intriguing storyline that will make you feel like you’re in the middle of the post-apocalyptic Pechorsk Radius zone.
Life and death intertwine inside the Radius, lurking somewhere in the middle of everything is the answer to a question you can’t quite remember. Through the flickering memories of your tarnished life as a former resident of Pechorsk and now UNSPC specialist, your only means of survival is to stalk the strange and threatening zone and complete the missions assigned to you.
We spoke to Brandon Marsh from CM Games about the game’s release, early reception, and future plans. These questions and answers were conducted over email in late November, but due to a busy release season, holidays, and packed schedules we’re just now publishing it to coincide with the Oculus Home release.
UploadVR: Tell me more about some of the main inspirations for Into the Radius, both VR and non-VR inspirations.
Brandon Marsh: The source material the game is based on is ‘Roadside Picnic’ by the Stugatsky Brothers. The S.T.A.L.K.E.R series and their mods share the same source material, it has a diehard community and we see Into the Radius as following in that tradition.
Other Non-VR inspirations include Myst (solo exploration with a narrative) and Darksouls (Hardcore gameplay, subtle / cryptic story, Death is included as a mechanic).
VR inspiration would be Onward, which was one of the first games that showed that free locomotion shooters have commercial appeal.
UVR: Many of the main complaints about the game early on seemed to be about the slow pace and “unfinished” feeling — are these things you plan on addressing.
BM: Early Access was a major milestone for us, the primary focus was to implement the systems with placeholder assets, make the game more immersive and focus on playability and functionality over style and cosmetics. We’ve been able to quickly test everything and got a lot of feedback from the community on what is working and what needs improvements.
Right now the game has its core mechanics fully playable. There is a big open terrain map to explore, a hub to pick missions, along with buying and selling of a basic arsenal of firearms and helpful items.
Regarding the game’s pacing, Into the Radius is much more of a survival / stealth game, not a straight forward guns blazing FPS. We strive to provide tension via player decisions, skill and exploration of the unknown rather than an overwhelming sensory stimulation.
UVR: What are some of the major ways you plan to update/improve the game while in Early Access?
BM: We’re still finalizing the development roadmap from now until launch. When it’s ready we’ll be sharing it out with the community. Next week we are releasing to Oculus Store Early Access as well as setting up a HTC Viveport ‘Coming Soon’ page.
Since the release, the team has been doing a lot of bug fixing and patching getting the game in a stable, playable state for everyone. We are working on the balance especially for starter players to make the difficulty more manageable, same with improving the tutorial (which is iterated every release.)
We’ve made a quite complex systemic game with an indie sized team, there are a lot of placeholder assets to be replaced, textured and finalized over the next few months. Things like additional content (maps, weapons, anomalies and artifacts), replacing the cassette tape subtitle and text-to-speech placeholders with voice actors, the storyline and special missions will start to be inserted into the game.
UVR: How has the reception been so far in terms of sales? You probably can’t give specifics, but if you could describe the reception versus expectations that would be great.
BM: We knew getting into this that the VR games market is very niche and our game is even more niche (catering to single player hardcore). Very few premium VR games even manage to surpass 5000+ copies sold, so our expectations were pretty tempered.
That being said, initial sales have been slow, we’re launching on more platforms and continuing to do a strong marketing push to build up momentum for the full release.
UVR: What other games have you worked on before?
BM: As a group we’ve all been in the industry with an average 6-12+ years experience. Starting from PC-console game outsource to development of top mobile games.
Some of those titles include: Nitro Nation, Mushroom Wars, The X-Files: Deep State, UFO: Resistance (Android), ZooCraft, Digger HD and Hot Wheels Infinite Loop.
Into The Radius is available on both Oculus Home for Rift and Steam for all major PC VR platforms for $29.99. The Steam page states an expected Early Access duration of 6-10 months, meaning a planned full release sometime later this year. The price will increase when it comes time for full launch.
Back in November 2019 Estonian developer CM Games launched its first virtual reality (VR) on Steam Early Access, Into the Radius. After several updates, the studio has confirmed that Oculus Rift owners will be able to purchase the title directly from the Oculus Store this week.
The title is an open-world horror where you have to survive the post-apocalyptic Pechorsk Radius zone. Inspired by sci-fi novel Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, you play a UN Pechorsk Special Committee specialist trapped inside, looking to uncover the mysteries within.
While the storyline is fantastical CM Games has designed the gameplay mechanics to be realistic, from the weapon handling to the inventory. You have access to classic weapons like the Pistolet Makarova, Double Barrel Shotgun and the AKM Kalashnikov which need to be manually reloaded – you even have to refill the clips – and improve them with new attachments.
Recently CM Games released a major, content-rich update adding new gameplay features as well as rebalancing the shop and loot system.
Mission map improvements, and a more accurate paper map that marks significant landscape features.
Improved tactical vest where inventory slots can now accept multiple item types. Mag holsters will now magnet the mag if dropped close enough and the side pouch looks and works more in line with the backpack.
Improved tutorial.
Shop prices, gameplay balance, and loot have been tweaked to be more fun. The game will start off with easier versions of fragment monsters, rusted weapons, and equipment to find and loot, along with bigger payouts for artifacts in the shop.
Added 20+ different cassette tapes hidden all over the game map.
Player base and shop look and feel improvements.
New backpack model and animations.
New art for the knife, new art and improved lighting for the flashlight.
Improved the player’s body, stopping it from getting in the way when the player is crouching or playing seated.
Fixed bugs in item repair, and with item loss in some cases of death in anomalies.
Performance improvements with more options to tune performance and visual quality.
Into the Radius arrives via Oculus Store’s Early Access category on 13th February 2020 supporting Oculus Rift as well as Oculus Quest via Oculus Link. CM Games has also confirmed a Viveport version is on the way. VRFocus will continue its coverage of Into the Radius, reporting back with the latest updates and announcements.
