Only 1 Day Remains to Play ‘Echo VR’ Before Servers Go Dark

Tomorrow, Meta and Ready at Dawn are shutting down Echo VR, the free-to-play game that helped pioneer VR sports. Get in now before they pull the plug.

Meta made no secret it was shutting down the zero-gravity sport Echo VR and its PC-only squad shooter variant, Echo Combat, having announced earlier this year it was sunsetting the games come August 1st at 10 AM PT (local time here). That means fans only have a few hours left to play before the multiplayer-only games are unceremoniously disconnected from Meta’s servers.

Echo VR fans didn’t go down without a fight though. Some spirited protests against the shutdown even included a dedicated fan group flying an airplane-towed message over Meta’s HQ in Menlo Park back in March, stating “ZUCK, DON’T KILL VR ESPORTS FIGHTFORECHO.COM”. Both online and offline protests fell on deaf ears though. The URL mentioned above now leads to a 404, and it’s pretty clear by now that Meta didn’t change their collective minds.

The studio recently released the Echo VR OST on YouTube, which feels like small recompense for killing consistently one of the best-rated and most popular free titles on Quest. Ready at Dawn, which was acquired by Meta in 2020, explained earlier this year the shutdown was made for “many good reasons [,] chief among them is the studio coming together to focus on our next project.”

Both Ready at Dawn and Onward studio Downpour Interactive found themselves caught up in one of the multiple rounds of layoffs to hit Meta earlier this year. To boot, Ready at Dawn has yet to reveal what’s next. Whatever it is though, we’re hoping it has many of the same hard-won learnings baked in, like Echo VR and its narrative games Lone Echo did. In the meantime, check out the OST playlist below.

Meta Layoffs Affect VR Teams at ‘Lone Echo’ & ‘Onward’ Studios

Meta is the midst of a second large round of layoffs, and this time a number of employees in its internal VR studios have been affected.

Business Insider reported earlier this week that Meta was increasing its focus on gaming-related projects within its Reality Labs division. As other teams were expected to be dissolved in layoffs, the report held that gaming-focused teams would be safe.

However that report is now being rebuffed by a number of self-reported layoffs which have affecting Meta’s VR teams, including Ready at Dawn, known for the Lone Echo series, and Onward studio Downpour Interactive.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in March that 10,000 employees would be laid off. At the time, Zuckerberg said that, in addition to a hiring freeze, the April round of layoffs would affect tech roles, while a third in late May will affect business roles—all of it in service of what Zuckerberg dubbed the company’s “year of efficiency.”

As mentioned by MIXED, Ready at Dawn Senior Engine Programmer Thomas Griebel tweeted that around 40 people, or around a third of the studio, were laid off. This also included studio head Mark Almeida, who has been with Ready at Dawn since August 2016.

Acquired by Meta in 2020, Ready at Dawn announced in January it planned to shut down its popular free-to-play multiplayer game Echo VR, with plans to turn off severs come August 1st. At the time, the studio said the decision to shut down the game was “made for many good reasons and chief among them is the studio coming together to focus on our next project.”

Downpour Interactive, the studio behind VR mil-sim shooter Onward, is also seeing wide-ranging layoffs. We haven’t found a precise count of Downpour employees affected by the layoff round, however Producer Kaspar Nahuijsen called losing his colleagues to the purge “the toughest day” of his career.

Founded by Dante Buckley in 2015, and then acquired by Meta in 2021, Downpour Interactive’s latest claim to fame was porting the previously PC VR-only title to Quest and Quest 2. As a part of a wider transition by Meta to sunset the original 2019 Quest, Downpour announced Onward would no longer be playable on Quest 1 in any capacity after the July 31st, 2023.

As noted by UploadVR, founder and CEO Dante Buckely left Downpour/Meta last month.

The Guardian reports the latest round of Meta layoffs are affecting 4,000 employees immediately, which is a part of the 10,000 previously announced in March.

‘Echo VR’ Players Protest Shutdown by Flying Message Over Meta HQ

Echo VR’s days are numbered, as Meta announced earlier this year it would soon be pulling the plug on one of its most successful games on Quest. But hardcore players of zero-G sports game Echo VR and its shooter variant Echo Combat aren’t going down without a fight.

Organizers behind a protest group called ‘The Fight For Echo’ are looking to keep their favorite game alive, and they’re apparently ready to take drastic measures.

On Wednesday, March 1st, the group commissioned an airplane-towed message to fly over Meta’s HQ in Menlo Park, California, which then circled the heart of Silicon Valley for over three hours for all to see. The message was directed at Meta founder & CEO Mark ‘Zuck’ Zuckerberg, stating: “ZUCK, DON’T KILL VR ESPORTS FIGHTFORECHO.COM”

You can see the plane in action, courtesy of a YouTube livestream by ‘rev2600’, one such dedicated Echo VR player:

The protest group explained the move on the Fight For Echo website:

While we are extremely passionate about these games and are very supportive of the team at Ready at Dawn and the Echo Games franchise on the whole, we think we can still help Meta and Ready at Dawn by continuing to be the testing ground and supportive community we always have been and provide a place where larger ideas for other VR games can be tested.

We cannot do that however without some kind of game server being provided to the community to host ourselves, or minimal infrastructure to play on and the permission to work with the people required to do it.

We understand that there is a future direction being taken; and that it is tied to regulations and compliance, and our intention is not to hold anything back. We only wish to continue to do what we’ve always done and be the ambassadors of VR that you want us to be.

The Meta-owned developers Ready at Dawn announced in late January that it was shutting down the popular free-to-play multiplayer game Echo VR, which is slated to go dark on August 1st.

At the time, the studio said the decision to shut down the game “was made for many good reasons and chief among them is the studio coming together to focus on our next project.”

Undeterred by the airplane-towed plea, Meta sent out the following message to Echo VR players last night:

We are reaching out to let you know that Echo VR servers will shut down on August 1st, 2023 – 10:30 AM Pacific. On this date, both Echo VR and Echo Combat will no longer be playable.

Add-ons are no longer available for purchase in the Quest store. Echo Points are no longer available for purchase in the Echo Shop. Any Echo Points currently in your account can be used until August 1st, 2023 – 10:30 AM Pacific, with items heavily discounted in the Echo Shop.

It has been our pleasure to see this community grow and compete over the years. Thank you for your time and passion. For more information, please read Ready At Dawn’s blog post at https://medium.com/@EchoGames/an-update-on-the-future-of-echo-vr-7f074dca1ed1.

While a reversal of the shutdown seems less likely now that Ready at Dawn has completely neutered the free-to-play game’s in-game currency, the founders behind ‘The Fight For Echo’ initiative have setup a change.org petition so others can show their support. At the time of this writing over 25,000 people have signed.

‘Gorilla Tag’ Creator Hints at ‘Echo VR’ Spiritual Successor as Next Project

Another Axiom, the indie studio behind wildly successful VR game Gorilla Tag, hinted that it’s now pursuing a project inspired by Echo VR.

Kerestell ‘LemmingVR’ Smith, the lead creator of Gorilla Tag, originally started working on the game thanks to his love of Echo VR, the zero-g sports game created by the Meta-owned studio Ready at Dawn.

Late last month though, Meta announced it will be shutting down Echo VR this summer as the team pursues other projects. As you’d imagine, this didn’t sit right with the small but dedicated playerbase, Smith included.

And Smith isn’t just any fan; he’s competed in and won several Echo VR competitions with his team ‘ec.lip.se’, making the loss of the game decidedly more personal.

In a recent tweet, Smith hinted that a new project is on the horizon which will be a zero-g sports game of sorts—undoubtedly a response to Meta pulling the plug on Echo VR.

Another Axion hasn’t tipped their hats beyond Smith’s tweet, so we’ll just have to wait and see what’s in store from the creator of Quest’s most-rated game, which has surpassed even the Meta-owned rhythm game Beat Saber in the number of user reviews it’s garnered.

In fact, the game has been so successful it generated $26 million in revenue from in-app purchases. The gorilla-themed game of tag has also reported a staggering (for VR) peak monthly active user count of 2.3 million in December 2022, further stating that over 760,000 users played on Christmas Day.


Thanks to Sven Viking for pointing us to the news.

The VR Job Hub: VueReal, Ready at Dawn & Secret Location

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.

LocationCompanyRoleLink
Waterloo, Ontario, CanadaVueRealTalent Acquisition ManagerClick Here to Apply
Waterloo, Ontario, CanadaVueRealSemiconductor Integration EngineerClick Here to Apply
Waterloo, Ontario, CanadaVueRealSemiconductor Process EngineerClick Here to Apply
Waterloo, Ontario, CanadaVueRealMechanical and Mechatronics EngineerClick Here to Apply
Waterloo, Ontario, CanadaVueRealPatent/Intellectual Property AssistantClick Here to Apply
Irvine, CAReady at DawnAudio LeadClick Here to Apply
Remote, USReady at DawnSenior Backend Services EngineerClick Here to Apply
Irvine, CAReady at DawnSenior ProducerClick Here to Apply
Remote, USReady at DawnLead Environment Model & Layout ArtistClick Here to Apply
Remote, USReady at DawnGameplay ProgrammerClick Here to Apply
Remote, USReady at DawnSenior Systems Designer (MP)Click Here to Apply
Remote, USReady at DawnSenior Lighting Technical ArtistClick Here to Apply
Remote, USReady at DawnCharacter ArtistClick Here to Apply
Remote, USReady at DawnLighting ArtistClick Here to Apply
Irvine, CAReady at DawnCommunity Moderation AssociateClick Here to Apply
London, UKSecret LocationProduct ManagerClick Here to Apply
Toronto, CanadaSecret Location3D Animator (2-3 month contract)Click Here to Apply
Toronto, CanadaSecret Location3D Environment Artist, Mid/Senior (2-3 month contract)Click Here to Apply
Toronto, CanadaSecret LocationAssociate Creative DirectorClick Here to Apply
Toronto, CanadaSecret LocationCustomer Service ManagerClick Here to Apply
Toronto, CanadaSecret LocationDirector, Business and Legal AffairsClick Here to Apply
Toronto, CanadaSecret LocationIllustratorClick Here to Apply
Toronto, CanadaSecret LocationJunior AccountantClick Here to Apply
Toronto, CanadaSecret LocationQA EngineerClick Here to Apply
Toronto, CanadaSecret LocationQA LeadClick Here to Apply
Toronto, CanadaSecret LocationSenior Back End DeveloperClick Here to Apply
Toronto, CanadaSecret LocationUnity DeveloperClick Here to Apply
Toronto, CanadaSecret LocationUnity DeveloperClick Here to Apply

Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there are always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hub to 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 Peter Graham (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.

Virtex’ First Immersive eSports Stadium is for Echo VR

In 2021 the Virtex Stadium platform was unveiled, as a place where you and your friends could hang out and watch live esports matches. Staying quiet since that initial announcement, Virtex has now revealed some exciting news, it’ll launch a closed beta soon to test its first collaboration with none other than Echo VR.

Virtex Stadium

A spin-off from Ready At Dawn’s sci-fi adventure Lone Echo, Echo VR has been going for several years now as a premium multiplay sports experience, so it makes sense that Virtex Stadium would want to collaborate. Also, co-founder and CEO of Virtex, Tim McGuinness, is an Echo VR veteran. Part of Team Gravity, he competed in two world finals before joining ESL as a caster for VR League Season 3.

Creating this new virtual stadium in partnership with Ready At Dawn and Meta, when available you’ll be able to watch the best Echo VR players compete there inside the stadium itself. Or you can socialise in the lobby where the match will be displayed as a hologram, never missing the action.

“With Virtex Stadium we recreate that feeling of going to a real event. Esports communities can come together for their favourite events wherever they are in the world,” said McGuinness in a statement. “Even better, they can experience their favourite games in 3D, even as a spectator, for a completely new viewing experience.”

Echo VR

Applications for the Virtex Stadium closed beta are now open via the Virtex Discord server, only for PA VR users, however. Virtex has yet to earmark an official launch window for the new platform at the moment.

In other Echo VR news this week, Ready At Dawn has launched Season 5 of the Echo Pass until the end of May. During that time players can earn and equip new chassis, boosters, and bracers, some of which are available via the free pass whilst the rest fall under the Premium Echo Pass.

As the Virtex Stadium platform ebbs ever closer to launch, gmw3 will keep you updated.

Review: Lone Echo II

Lone Echo 2

2017’s Lone Echo was a good videogame. Actually, it was an excellent videogame because it came at a time when virtual reality (VR) needed big, impressive experiences that really showcased the potential of this technology. 2021 is a very different era. Titles like Half-Life: Alyx, Song in the Smoke, Stormland, and more provide players with epic adventures with engrossing storylines and inventive gameplay. After several delays to ensure Lone Echo II can be as good as it can, has Ready At Dawn achieved the sequel fans have been hoping for? Let’s just say, it’s nice to be back Jack.

Lone Echo II

Normally when it comes to a sequel if you’ve not played the previous title in the series then no bother, there’s a handy catch up at the beginning and you’re away. It’s the same here with Lone Echo II’s loading sequence providing snippets of the original to fill in those blanks. However, on this occasion, it’s advisable not to, purely due to the narrative at play here. The story directly continues over and because of the interactions at play between the two main characters and the grandiose setting, it’s worth experiencing the saga in its entirety.   

Awakening as Jack, the android assigned to protect Captain Olivia “Liv” Rhodes, you’re once again making sure she survives the perils of deep space and a deadly organism simply known as the “Bio Mass”. The entire adventure takes place (mostly) on a deserted space station made out of various asteroids joined together. This entire installation orbits Saturn which makes for a particularly impressive backdrop once you get outside. Lone Echo was known for its gorgeous visuals with Lone Echo II somehow managing to outdo its sibling. Whether you’re casually floating through the void of space or on a pressing mission, there are visually striking moments everywhere so try not to let all that eye candy distract you too much.

So Lone Echo II still looks pretty but how does it handle? Not much has changed here actually. The entire experience is still in zero-g – no artificial gravity in this sci-fi universe – so getting about is a mixture of grabbing the environment or using little wrist-mounted jets to propel yourself. Whilst there is a larger boost to navigate some of the larger expanses, most of the time you’ll be using a mixture of the first two. In conjunction with the storyline, this tends to make Lone Echo II a slow and methodical type of videogame. Certain sequences do add a sprinkling of action but for the most part, Lone Echo II isn’t about rushing, a general playthrough should last around ten hours without doing all the extra side missions.

Lone Echo 2

With no change in the core movement options, fans will instantly be at home here, flinging themselves from pillar to post in no time. If you are jumping right in it’s worth noting zero gravity can be a bit much for some, even with the accessibility options available. One nice mechanic Lone Echo II does employ is keeping you on the same visual plane, you can’t suddenly spin yourself upside down for example – one of the best ways to induce nausea. The only braking of that rule comes with a little device called the “Extreme Drifter”. Find it and you’ll blast across the space station. A word of warning, you can twist and if you don’t let go, it’s the only way to reorient yourself.

So you might now be wondering what is exactly new. Well, most of this involves dealing with the Bio Mass threat and its various evolutions like the really annoying, power-hungry ticks that’ll latch onto any sort of power source – not great when you’re an android. Lone Echo II’s puzzles begin by trying to avoid or manoeuvre these creatures, with plenty of physical interaction cutting access panels, pulling power levers, and more, nothing too taxing. As you get deeper you’ll unlock offensive capabilities (not just tools) offering light combat segments.

All of these are located on Jack’s wrist, activated with a blue button. You get five gadgets in total, some that’ll get far more use than others. Unlike actual shooters where weapons or tools are usually quickly accessible, that’s not really the case here. You have to grab a blue orb representing each tool, not the greatest mechanic if you’re being attacked. This again highlights the composed approach you have to take in Lone Echo II, carefully planning how you handle every danger. Death is no worry for an android as you’ll be rebuilt at the nearest Fabricator but that doesn’t mean you should rely on it. Some aren’t always close by.

Lone Echo 2

Lone Echo II’s gameplay might be finely tuned, however, it would be nothing without the relationship it fosters between Jack and Liv. The epic storyline is enthralling – as good as any binged TV show – nonetheless the bond you build with Liv is what gives both Jack and Lone Echo II their humanity. Dialogue options allow you to play a more logical android character or add a little bit of jokey banter into the mix, eliciting different responses from Liv. Without spoiling too much there’s a particular scene where you have to hold her hand, it’s a very touching moment between two friends.

Ready At Dawn may have originally planned to release Lone Echo II in 2020 before having to push it back several times and that’s completely understandable considering the quality of videogame that’s been produced. There’s a lot to love and get engrossed in as it’s so immersive, the real criticism comes from the fact that Lone Echo II plays everything a little too safe. The experience doesn’t break any new ground and it really could’ve done with some greater challenges thrown in. On the other hand, it was engrossing until the very end, easily the standout AAA VR experience of 2021.      

‘Lone Echo II’ Launch Trailer Debuts Ahead of Next Week’s Release

It’s been more than four years since the release of the lauded Lone Echo, but its sequel is finally just around the corner. Ahead of Lone Echo II’s release date on October 12th, Facebook’s VR studio Ready at Dawn has revealed a launch trailer teasing some of the action players can expect from the game.

Lone Echo II is set to pick up essentially right where the original game left off, with the player (the android ‘Jack’) and compatriot Liv still unraveling exactly where they’ve ended up and what to do next.

In the trailer we see the familiar zero-G locomotion that was so core to the first game, as well as the return of the ‘biomass’ which posed an environmental threat. Not too much else about what’s happening is spoiled (thank you), but there’s also the more advanced and seemingly sentient form of biomass which we saw in our preview of Lone Echo II way back in 2019.

At the time, developer Ready at Dawn told us that Lone Echo II would be roughly 50% larger than the original and that the sequel would feature new gameplay in the form of new tools and and interactions that have yet to be revealed.

Since our preview, however, Lone Echo II has been delayed multiple times, from an initial release date expected in 2019 all the way to October 2021, with its developer having also been acquired by Facebook in 2020. It remains to be seen how much, or how little, the game has changed due to the delays and restructuring of its developer; after all this time we sure hope it’s worth the wait.

Lone Echo II is set for a release date on October 12th on Oculus PC, priced at $40. The original Lone Echo remains discounted to $10 on the lead up to the sequel’s launch.

The post ‘Lone Echo II’ Launch Trailer Debuts Ahead of Next Week’s Release appeared first on Road to VR.

Lone Echo II Oculus Rift Launch Date Confirmed for October

Lone Echo 2

After so many delays it might be one of those launch date announcements you take with hesitation but Ready At Dawn has now come back with a date for Lone Echo II. The sci-fi adventure built for Oculus Rift is slated to release in exactly two weeks.

Lone Echo 2

In a statement today, Ready At Dawn said: “Over the last couple months now, our team has been hard at work polishing the game to meet our desired quality level. As always, our goal has been to bring you an entertaining and immersive experience when adventuring with Liv and Jack. Today, we’re excited to announce Lone Echo II will be released on October 12, 2021.”

There’s quite a bit of anticipation for the videogame – well there is at VRFocus anyway – so it’s understandable when the team adds: “We love the Lone Echo universe and felt we needed a little more time to give the game the polish and love it deserved. So, thank you all for your patience and understanding throughout development.”

And it has been a long old road. The original Lone Echo arrived in 2017 with this sequel confirmed during the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2019. Initially expected in 2020, like many studios Ready At Dawn had to readjust to working remotely, impacting development and pushing the release further back. It was back in July when excitement was built with an August launch date followed by a reversal only three weeks later.

Lone Echo 2

Hopefully, that date is now set in stone and fans can see what happens next to Captain Olivia Rhodes and her trusty sidekick Jack. Lone Echo’s story takes place on an advanced mining facility within the rings of Saturn when things begin to go wry due to an anomaly. As Jack, an AI housed within a synthetic body, you have to ensure Rhodes’ survival in this zero-g environment by solving puzzles and both inside and outside the facility. Those weightless mechanics will return in the sequel alongside a new threat.

For continued updates from Ready At Dawn, keep reading VRFocus.

Echo VR Season 3 Available Now With 50 New Rewards

The third season of Echo VR kicked off this week, with over 50 new reward items to unlock in the Echo Pass.

The new season is available now and runs until November 21, following on from Season 2 which began in June. According to the Oculus blog post, several reward tiers are available to unlock for free. However, if you want all 50 rewards, you’ll have to purchase Echo Pass Premium – a similar business model to previous seasons.

Echo Pass Premium is available for 1,000 in-game credits, or ‘Echo Points’, which amounts to roughly $10 USD. Oculus says that the 50 rewards include “fresh customization items, heraldry, personal Tier Experience Point (TXP) boosts, group TXP boost, and Echo Points.” You can take a closer look at the reward progression in the image below.

echo vr season 3

The Echo Pass Premium model is similar to those made famous by battle royale games like Fortnite and Call of Duty: Warzone. Echo VR, the standalone competitive VR sport that was spun-off from the Lone Echo franchise, added its first season of Echo Pass rewards in March this year.

Echo VR remains one of the most popular VR sports available, developed by the recently-acquired, Facebook-owned studio Ready at Dawn. The studio is also working on the next instalment in the main Echo franchise, Lone Echo II, for the Oculus Rift platform. That title is set for release later this year, after being delayed from an August release. Facebook confirmed to UploadVR that Lone Echo II will be the last Oculus Rift platform exclusive.

Echo VR Season 3 is available now for the Oculus Quest and Rift platforms.