ForeVR Bowl Coming To Oculus Quest Soon

There’s a new VR bowling game on the way to Quest – ForeVR Bowl.

This new title from ForeVR Games popped up in the coming soon section of the Quest store this week. We don’t have a solid release date just yet but Quest games usually pop up in the store when they’re a few weeks out from release. Judging by the trailer seen on the store page, the game features multiplayer support for four players, who can hit the lanes together.

This seems to be a playful take on the sport – there are six environments that can range from traditional bowling alleys to outer space, but we’re particularly fond of the designs of the balls. Some hold galaxies inside of them whilst others resemble bombs. The game’s description confirms there are over 75 to unlock.

There’s also a single-player mode that pits you against NPCs and the developer has coined the term ‘Real Feel Throw’ for its throwing mechanic. We’ll be interested to see how that works out, seeing as current VR technology can’t capture the real weight of a ball. That creates a disconnect in just how real the experience can feel.

ForeVR itself hasn’t said much about the game yet but, late last year, announced that it had raised $1.5 million for its first VR title. The studio was founded by Marcus Segal and Mike Pagano Doom, both of whom previously worked at Zynga.

This won’t be the first VR bowling game for Quest, though. About a year ago we also saw the launch of Premium Bowling on the platform.

Will you be checking out ForeVR Bowl? Let us know in the comments below!

ForeVR Emerges From Stealth, Working on VR Bowling for Oculus Quest

ForeVR bowling

Virtual reality (VR) offers exciting possibilities when it comes to immersive gaming, with developers both large and small experimenting with the possibilities. The latest is ForeVR, an indie studio which has recently emerged from stealth having raised $1.5 million USD, currently working on a VR bowling title.

ForeVR - Team

First reported by VentureBeat, the team at ForeVR is helmed by Zynga veterans Marcus Segal (CEO & Co-Founder) and Mike Pagano Doom (CCO and Co-Founder). With VR becoming more accessible and affordable thanks to headsets like Oculus Quest 2, they want to take popular, classic real-life group games and bring them into VR for friends and family to enjoy together.

“I love VR. And I’ve been waiting for the right time, which for me was when there is a device that everyone could access,” Segal told GamesBeat. “And I think that the Oculus Quest 2 at just $300 blows this opportunity wide open. Bowling was really instrumental for the Wii, and we think that kind of game, where you could play with one hand, is exactly what VR needs. You pick up the ball and bowl. It’s a great place to start this accessibility revolution for VR. I was able to get my 81-year-old dad into it.”

Under the working title of ForeVR Bowl, the looks set to offer both local and online multiplayer matchups. With Oculus Quest’s casting capabilities this would easily allow for bowling nights at home. As for other features, nothing has been detailed just yet.

ForeVR bowling

“I want to make games where you can make a case that there will be a VR headset in every household. And the only way you do that is if you can make a game where the family could play it, like bowling,” Segal added.

With a 10-person team from across Glu, Disney, Electronic Arts, and Zynga, ForeVR’s $1.5 million funding round saw participation from Twitch CEO Emmett Shear, Galaxy Interactive Fund as well as Mark Pincus and Justin Waldron from Zynga.

ForeVR Bowl is slated to arrive for Oculus platforms in Q2 2021. As further updates from ForeVR are released, keep reading VRFocus.

Zynga Veterans Unveil New VR Studio ‘ForeVR’, Announces $1.5M Seed Funding

A new VR studio founded by a pair of Zynga veterans has emerged from stealth with some not-so-inconsequential funding. Called ForeVR, the studio recently revealed it’s also raised $1.5 million to build VR games for all ages. The news was first reported by Venture Beat.

ForeVR has successfully completed its first seed round, which includes Galaxy Interactive Fund, Twitch CEO Emmett Shear, Twitch co-founder Justin Kan, and Zynga founders Mark Pincus and Justin Waldron.

Founded by Marcus Segal and Mike Pagano Doom, previously of Zynga, the San Francisco and Los Angeles-based studio already has 10 people aboard its team. It’s mission: to translate “the most popular and classic IRL games into immersive virtual reality experiences where friends and families of all ages can connect and have fun,” the studio says on its website.

The studio is currently developing its first title, a VR bowling game called ForeVR Bowl, which is slated to land on the Oculus Store sometime in 2021. There’s still no word on which device it’s targeting specifically, but given its leadership’s enthusiasm for Quest 2, it’s likely to land on the Quest platform first.

Image courtesy ForeVR

“I love VR. And I’ve been waiting for the right time, which for me was when there is a device that everyone could access,” company co-founder and CEO Marcus Sega told Venture Beat. “And I think that the Oculus Quest 2 at just $300 blows this opportunity wide open. Bowling was really instrumental for the Wii, and we think that kind of game, where you could play with one hand, is exactly what VR needs. You pick up the ball and bowl. It’s a great place to start this accessibility revolution for VR. I was able to get my 81-year-old dad into it.”

Segal hopes to make VR games more accessible to multiple generations of users, something developers in the mobile gaming sphere has been particularly cognizant of since wider adoption of the smartphone.

“If you look at what Zynga did for web games, we were able to make games that the grandparents could play with their grandchildren,” Segal said. “And I really want to do that for VR, I want to make games where you can make a case that there will be a VR headset in every household. And the only way you do that is if you can make a game where the family could play it, like bowling.”

The Quest platform launched in 2019 with the original Oculus Quest, bringing with it a smattering of both long and short-format games. Many of the best rated and most rated Quest titles today fit into the casual ‘pick up and play’ gaming segment, so it’s possible a smart, well-built VR game like ForeVR Bowling could see some success if it nails the feel and fun of real bowling, albeit with the benefit of being able to socially distance in your own home.

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