Pistol Whip’s Next Campaign Could be in the Wild West

Pistol Whip

Cloudhead Games’ rhythm-shooter Pistol Whip was an excellent virtual reality (VR) title that the studio continued to improve by way of cinematic campaign Pistol Whip 2089. This week is the online Game Developers Conference (GDC) with Cloudhead Games CEO, Denny Unger, taking part in one of the sessions. During which he revealed that another campaign was in development and that it would take place in the past.

Pistol Whip 2089

Most of Unger’s session focused on how Cloudhead Games had got to where it is today and what the team had learnt – which was interesting in itself – yet it was his teasing mention of what’s to come for Pistol Whip which should get fans excited.

“We’re working on another one, no surprise there,” he smiles. “Again five scenes, new modifiers, new weapons, new bosses. And it takes us into the past. It revolves around the past and it’s gonna be a wild ride [in a cowboy accent] and you can infer whatever you want from that.” Whilst saying “wild ride” Unger also makes a double hand gesture suggesting holding the reins of a horse. Now, this could be a bluff on his part but it certainly seems like Pistol Whip will be heading to the Wild West at some point. No dates on that just yet.

Given Pistol Whip’s striking visual art style with pulsating colours and a tendency towards very geometric shapes, going with this particular theme will certainly create a Wild West like no other. Yet it makes sense, strolling down a dusty street shooting faceless bad guys in doorways and on rooftops easily fits with Pistol Whip’s gameplay.

Pistol Whip - Full Throttle

Expected far sooner after being initially revealed in 2020 is the “Concierge” update. Originally slated to arrive around the same time as the campaign, the update is now expected this Spring. Solid details on what it’ll include haven’t been released, just that it’ll feature an Arcade mode and that modifiers will play an important role.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of Pistol Whip and Cloudhead Games’ latest VR advancements, reporting back with further updates.

GDC Summer Coming to San Francisco in Early August

After a string of cancellations by larger vendors amid the worldwide coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19), this year’s annual Game Developers Conference (GDC) was postponed. Exactly when it would reemerge, we weren’t sure. Now, GDC organizers say a summer conference will kick off in its place.

Update (March 20th, 2020): GDC Summer is slated to happen between August 4th – 6th, taking place in the original conference site at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

The organizers say it will include expert-led talks along with a “freestyle two-day expo show floor” from August 5th – 6th.

Some of the details are still up in the air, so make sure to keep an eye on GDC’s website for updates.

Original Article (February 29th, 2020): GDC organizers announced the decision late Friday in a news briefing, saying that the mid-March gathering in San Francisco, which typically includes both a vendor expo and developer talks, will instead take place at some point later in the summer. Exactly when, we’re still not sure (see update).

Registered passholders should expect an email regarding full refunds, the organizers say, adding that people who made hotel reservations inside the GDC room block won’t pay penalties or fees associated with their reservations.

GDC organizers say that many of the developer presentations that would have been given at the conference will be available for free online via YouTube and the free section of GDC’s video vault. Event organizers have also planned to stream a number of GDC 2020 developer talks as well as the Independent Games Festival and Game Developers Choice Awards via Twitch during the March 16 – 20 conference time slot.

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“Having spent the past year preparing for the show with our advisory boards, speakers, exhibitors, and event partners, we’re genuinely upset and disappointed not to be able to host you at this time,” event organizers say. “We want to thank all our customers and partners for their support, open discussions and encouragement. As everyone has been reminding us, great things happen when the community comes together and connects at GDC. For this reason, we fully intend to host a GDC event later in the summer. We will be working with our partners to finalize the details and will share more information about our plans in the coming weeks.”

GDC is one of the largest developer conferences for the industry; last year the gathering saw a record-breaking 27,000 attendees across both its developer talks and expo area. Although important to the games industry at large, it plays a significant role in the growth of virtual reality specifically, as GDC has historically been a venue for many ‘VR-firsts’, namely the unveiling of Oculus Rift S in 2019, the unveiling of Project Morpheus (aka PSVR) in 2014, the price and availability of PSVR in 2016, and the debut of countless VR games from indies and big industry players alike.

Before the postponement, a litany of companies stepped back from GDC 2020 such as Epic, Microsoft, Unity, Sony, Electronic Arts, Facebook, and Kojima Productions. The city of San Francisco, where GDC was set to take place, also issued a state of emergency only a few days prior.

This follows two other high-profile convention cancellations, namely Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2020, which was supposed to take place in Barcelona in late February, and Facebook’s own F8 developer conference, which was slated to kick off in early May in San Jose, CA.


Stay up to date with further developments of COVID-19 by visiting the World Health Organization’s website.

The post GDC Summer Coming to San Francisco in Early August appeared first on Road to VR.

The Facebook: Game Developers Showcase Digital Event Begins Today

Today the first-ever all-digital Facebook: Game Developers Showcase kicked off in lieu of the annual in-person Game Developers Conference (GDC) event in San Francisco, CA. GDC was canceled earlier this year due to the spread of COVID-19 and it would have been held this week.

This is the first day of the Showcase but we’re still waiting to see game-specific announcements. So far, we’ve learned about new features coming to the Oculus Quest standalone VR headset, such as multi-tasking and an improved UI, as well as some new sales figures stating that 20 different titles on Oculus Quest have earned over $1 million in revenue.

Facebook also revealed experimental OpenXR support for Quest and a stat regarding the number of new users in the Oculus ecosystem since Christmas because of the Oculus Quest.

Additionally, Facebook released an introduction video, which was included in a post on the Oculus Blog, going over some of the expected topics this week, including plenty of developer talks and info sessions. In the video, embedded above, you can see Global Director of Gaming Partnerships, Facebook, Leo Olebe, alongside the Director of Content Ecosystem at Oculus, Chris Pruett, discuss the week’s events.

Back when the Showcase was announced we were promised news for games such as Pistol Whip, Beat Saber, The Room VR: A Dark Matter, Lies Beneath and Phantom: Covert Ops, so we’ll have to wait and see what the rest of the week holds.

From the sounds of it this post will be updated each day with new announcements throughout the week. More news is expected to drop tomorrow, March 17th, at 10:00 AM PT.

The post The Facebook: Game Developers Showcase Digital Event Begins Today appeared first on UploadVR.

Facebook to Host Online Game Developers Showcase due to GDC Cancellation

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has forced many events to cancel in an effort to slow the spread of the virus. The Game Developers Conference (GDC) was due to take place next week in San Francisco with organisers cancelling the show last month. This has lead companies to look at alternative ways of engaging with their audience, today seeing Facebook announce its online Game Developers Showcase.

Oculus Quest new image

Much like GDC itself, the showcase will take place over several days, beginning on 16th March at 17:00 GMT and running through to 19th March. You’ll be able to tune in see updates and trailers from anticipated titles coming to Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift as well as special announcements from developers themselves.

Plenty is expected with Facebook revealing there will be updates for current videogames like Pistol Whip from Cloudhead Games and Beat Games’ Beat Saber. As for upcoming titles soon to be released, The Room VR: A Dark Matter from  Fireproof Games, Drifter Entertainment’s Lies Beneath and Phantom: Covert Ops from nDreams are all set to feature in some way.

On the very last day, 19th March, Facebook will release three video workshops covering a range of topics; from new and upcoming tools to insider techniques and tips to help developers building Oculus Quest and Rift experiences. These videos are:

  • VR Business Best Practices
  • The Future of Playing Together and Where Multiplayer Is Going in VR
  • Best Practices For Launching Games on Oculus

Oculus Rift S Lifestyle 1

The Game Developers Showcase might also be used to start preparations for the one-year anniversary of both Oculus Quest and Rift S in May. Back in 2017 for the first anniversary of of the original Oculus Rift the company held a big software sale and followed suit in 2018. A software sale is most likely for Oculus Quest and Rift S but could the standalone headset see its first official discount?

This step into digital announcements will continue as the year progresses with HTC’s Vive Ecosystem Conference (HTC 2020 VEC) being held in VR and the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) now also cancelled. As further digital conference announcements are made, VRFocus will keep you updated.