Overwatch 2 is collaborating with Transformers, and it looks radical
Blizzard is going further with the nostalgia in Season 11, with the upcoming Transformers collaboration on the way tomorrow.
‘Transformers: Beyond Reality’ VR Game Delayed Indefinitely
The Transformers were set to take their first big step into VR last week on PlayStation VR and PC VR headsets, however developers Meta4 have indefinitely pushed back release of the first-person shooter Transformers: Beyond Reality, saying the game has been “derailed by reasons beyond our control.”
The on-rails arcade shooter was set to launch on PSVR and SteamVR headsets on March 31st, however a day before its intended release developers Meta4 announced the game would be delayed. Until when, we aren’t sure.
You know how Starscream could always find a way to derail Megatron’s best-laid plans? While it wasn’t him, the release of Transformers: Beyond Reality has been derailed by reasons beyond our control. pic.twitter.com/irm7TE0tRG
— TransformersVR (@TransformersVr) March 30, 2022
Announced in October 2021, Transformers: Beyond Reality lets you fight as a human alongside some Autobot pals, tasking you gun to down Insecticons, Decepticons, and travel to Cybertron as you “fight to save both planets from annihilation.”
It’s not certain when the game will launch. Meta4 says once they have an update, they’ll let everyone know.
Oddly enough, its launch date announcement came in late February, promising a March 3st release whilst still showing a “WORK IN PROGRESS” watermark on top of game footage.
Based in Montreal, Canada, Meta4 is known for its location-based entertainment projects such as the multiplayer arcade games Transformers VR Battle Arena and Chaos Jump. It’s also known for creating early VR experiences, such as Time Machine VR (2016) and escape room game The Other Room (20017).
The post ‘Transformers: Beyond Reality’ VR Game Delayed Indefinitely appeared first on Road to VR.
Transformers Beyond Reality Coming To PSVR, SteamVR This Winter
Hasbro announced a new Transformers VR game this week, coming to PSVR and SteamVR headsets this winter.
The game, titled Transformers Beyond Reality, was announced at Hasbro Pulse Con, a virtual event featuring new announcements from the toy company. During the day one stream, Hasbro announced the title and gave an exclusive first look with an announcement trailer, which you can view embedded below. If the timestamp doesn’t work, the trailer begins at roughly at the 1:42:20 mark.
Hasbro says the game is being developed by Metaphor Interactive and will release for PSVR and SteamVR later this year. The plot sounds shockingly familiar — you will join the Autobots in a fight against the Deceptions to save Earth and Cybertron. What else is new? Beyond that, there’s surprisingly little info, except for some sparse Twitter and Facebook accounts associated with the game, which describe it as a “thrilling arcade-style first-person shooter VR game”.
This isn’t the first piece of Transformers VR media announced recently, but it is the first one available for home release — Transformers: VR Invasion is a location-based VR experience that will be available in the US, UK and Australia. The last we heard about that experience was last December, with a release date still not finalized.
Likewise, Hasbro also recently announced a new mobile AR game, Transformers: Heavy Metal, produced in partnership with Niantic. Heavy Metal is currently in soft launch, with a beta running in New Zealand and the Philippines. Beta roll-out to further regions has yet to be announced but you can register you interest by signing up on the game’s site.
Niantic, Hasbro Announce Transformers: Heavy Metal AR Game Coming This Year
Transformers roll out (onto mobile devices)! Transformers: Heavy Metal is a new mobile AR game using the Niantic Lightship platform, set to launch later this year.
Niantic, Hasbro, TOMY and Very Very Spaceship are partnering up for the title. While the game will use the Niantic Lightship platform, development will be lead by Very Very Spaceship. Lightship is Niantic’s “planet-scale” AR platform that provides developers with an SDK to build AR experiences on a global map, similar to Pokemon Go and other Niantic AR titles.
As you might expect, Transformers: Heavy Metal will center around key franchise characters such as Optimus Prime and Bumblebee fighting against the Decepticons. Here’s a synopsis from Niantic with a bit more on what to expect:
In TRANSFORMERS: Heavy Metal, players will join the Guardian Network, a group of humans who have banded together with the Autobots in a war against the Decepticons. As a Guardian, players will uncover hidden regions across Earth to find resources and battle Decepticons in turn-based battles, either solo or with friends.
According to Niantic, Transformers: Heavy Metal is set to launch globally later this year. However, it will enter “soft launch” in select markets soon. This is pretty standard for most AR mobile games nowadays — recent releases like Minecraft Earth or The Witcher – Monster Slayer have rolled out in smaller countries as a test before expanding to the global market.
To sign up for more info on the game and to find out when your region will be eligible to participate in the game’s beta, head over to the Transformers: Heavy Metal website.
Niantic previously announced another mobile AR title for launch this year, in partnership with Nintendo and focusing on the Pikmin franchise.
Transformers: VR Invasion Location-Based Experience Teams You Up With Optimus Prime
A new location-based experience (LBE) centred on the Transformers franchise will allow you to fight alongside the Autobots against the Decepticons in a cooperative VR game, with appearances from iconic characters such as Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Megatron.
It’s produced by game studio Minority Media, who were also behind the other location-based experience Transformers: VR Battle Arena. In Battle Arena, players fought against each other, playing as either the Autobots or the Decepticons in a PvP game.
However, Invasion will put the focus on working together and pit you in a battle against the Decepticons, playing as the Autobots. Here’s a bit more info:
TRANSFORMERS: VR Invasion delivers collaborative gameplay that enables guests to be part of the liberation squad of humans fighting alongside well-known Autobots like Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, as well as Grimlock, the leader of the Dinobots powerful strike squad. Players enter epic battles against sworn enemies Megatron and Soundwave and repel non-stop swarms of Insecticons. Failure is not an option in this high-stakes mission to stop an all-out invasion by the Decepticons.
This isn’t the end of Battle Arena either – Invasion will simply join the line-up of available Transformer VR experiences available to venues.
There’s no specific date for when Invasion will make its debut, but Minority Media says it will be available in the US at Kalahari Resort in Poconos, PA, Airway Fun Center in Kalamazoo, MI and Compass Entertainment in Irvington, VA. It will also be available at select Kingping Bowling locations in Australia.
Have you tried Transformers: VR Battle Arena or are you excited for Transformers: VR Invasion? Let us know in the comments.
Bigscreen Cinema Shows Popular Movies In Social VR For $4 To $5 Per Admission
Bigscreen Cinema is a new service selling tickets for around $4 to $5 per admission to popular movies you can view in a theatrical setting with far away friends or family through virtual reality headsets.
The new service from startup Bigscreen, originally founded by Darshan Shankar in 2014, offers a refined version of the social app tailored around a VR-enabled full cinema experience. The company is partnering first with Paramount Pictures with more studios slated to come on-board early next year offering both 3D and 2D screenings of popular movies.
Check out the trailer here:
Bigscreen is publishing its launch schedule with four new movies planned to premiere every Friday and screen for only one week. You can purchase tickets now with screenings starting every 30 minutes. The launch lineup consists of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Ghost In The Shell, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and Star Trek. On December 20 Star Trek: Into Darkness, Terminator Genisys, Intersteller, and I Love You, Man will premiere in Bigscreen Cinema.
More movies will be announced in January.
Bigscreen Cinema is available on Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, Oculus Go as well as via Steam for HTC Vive, Valve Index, and all Windows Mixed Reality headsets. Facebook recently dropped support for the phone-powered Gear VR on its Oculus platform and so Bigscreen dropped support for that platform as well. Shankar told us he hopes to have PlayStation VR support in the next six months.
The founder and CEO told us they are planning a friends system for Bigscreen in January that should make it easier to coordinate meetups with friends, but for now he said people can put on the headset and enter the lobby for Bigscreen Cinema to find a friend or send the friend their Room ID. If your friend buys their own ticket they’ll be able to join up in the same room, according to Shankar.
Trailers for upcoming movies and other pre-roll content may play a few minutes before the movie’s start just like a traditional theater. You can, of course, customize your avatar and its accessories and there are toys to play with or throw around during the movie, like popcorn, soda and tomatoes.
“Bigscreen also has user protection features such as a personal space bubble, muting, banning, and undisclosed features to combat trolls from disrupting the movie experience,” according to the startup.
Prices per ticket should be about $4 to $5, but varies by country, with support initially for the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Sweden, Netherlands, Australia, and Japan. You can also get a private theater to watch by yourself or just with friends, or a public cinema to watch with other movie fans.
I asked Shankar whether the new cinema feature signaled any changes planned to Bigscreen’s existing desktop-sharing service which allows people to share content playing on their computer screen with friends using a VR headset.
“Nope! No changes at all,” he wrote in a message. “We don’t know what people do on their desktops — we respect their privacy — and we don’t care since we’re not an ad-driven business. Bigscreen Cinema, Bigscreen TV, and Bigscreen Desktop features are designed to coexist well together. Our goal for the future is to enable people to hangout together in a virtual living room in Bigscreen with many virtual applications: PC desktops, a livestream from a TV channel, music from a radio station, etc. all working together.”
Will we be seeing you in Bigscreen Cinema sometime soon? Let us know in the comments what you think and if you’re excited about any of the movies.
The post Bigscreen Cinema Shows Popular Movies In Social VR For $4 To $5 Per Admission appeared first on UploadVR.
Transformers VR Coming To Arcades From Minority Media
Pull on a headset and roll out; there’s a Transformers VR game on the way to arcades.
Time Machine VR developer Minority Media just announced Transformers: VR Battle Arena in collaboration with Hasbro. It’s a PvP shooter for up to four players in which you get to embody your favorite Autobots (or Decepticons).
Players are tasked with recapturing shards of the all-powerful allspark, battling it out across three landscapes. Whoever has the most shards at the end of the round is the winner. You stand on levitating platforms that glide around city landscapes.
As you can see from the screenshots, the game is based on classic Gen 1 Transformers designs and not the Michael Bay movies (much to our relief). Characters include Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Megatron. There isn’t any footage of the game to share yet.
Transformers VR will debut at the IAAPA Expo in Orlando, which kicks off on November 19. No word yet on when and where the experience will be available, though Minority Media does say it will continue to expand the experience with new modes, environments and characters. Don’t hold your breath for a home release, either; this is strictly for VR arcades for now.
Back in 2017 we reported that Minority Media was placing its bets on VR arcades. It’s an unexpected move for a company initially known for obscure indie gems like Papo & Yo. The company’s rig gives four players their own space to stand and shoot in. For this particular game participants will wield gun-shaped controllers.
Will you be seeking out Transformers VR? Let us know in the comments below!
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VRobot Gets New “Transformers” Update Which Gives You An Awesome Sword
What does every giant robot need? Like, aside from equally giant lasers, rockets, thrusters, etc.? That’s right. A giant sword which folds out and looks really cool. Well Luden.io heard your calls, and their game VRobot has now got a giant sword, and it’s fantastic.
The update is called the Transformers Update – yes, based on that Transformers, the famous one! No, no it’s not official. The Transformers Update is basically just a cool sword that folds out in a way similar to the mechanical monsters of Michael Bay’s movie series.
The Transformer’s Sword is basically the only new feature – but that’s fine, because it looks God damn awesome. The sword flips out and you can use it to cut down your environment or even play a round of “golf,” as you can see below. VRobot is available for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR. We’ve played VRobot and enjoyed taking the role of a giant robot. The game is currently in early access, and hopes to hit other major VR platforms later this year.
VRobot is a fun game – exactly the kind of fun we hope to have in VR. For more on VRobot, or any of the other absurd and immersive games to play in VR, make sure to keep reading VRFocus. We’ll leave you with one more gif for the road…
The Virtual Arena: From Silver Screen to Silicon Dreams! (Pt 2)
In the second part of his feature, (click here for part one) looking at the impact that the movie business and prominent Intellectual Properties (IP) have in steering new commercial entertainment VR business. Digital Out-of-Home entertainment (DOE) industry specialist Kevin Williams charts the major develops shaping this emerging new sector. One of the technologies gaining a strong interest from the deep pockets of this sector is the untethered backpack VR experience (Arena-Scale VR). The technology seen as the perfect medium to immersive the guest in the selected movie IP like-never-before, even some investors seeing this as a natural successor for the representation of the movie experience.
One of the most promoted developers of this approach has been The VOID, championing their ‘Hyper Reality’ concept. After many twists and turns the company opted to enter the race by presenting their technology within the Ghostbusters: Dimension attraction. Sony Pictures in partnership with operator Madame Tussauds investing in a walk-through waxwork attraction with a backpack virtual reality (VR) experience in support, commissioned from The VOID. The whole experience created as part of the marketing effort for the reboot of the famous Ghostbusters franchise, with the 2016 film.
The opening of the New York venue, though critically acclaimed and reported as seeing crowds, has yet to see the proposed roll-out at other Tussauds venues; but The VOID has opened a standalone Ghostbusters: Dimension attraction at JBR’s The Beach in Dubai. With a third installation charted for their new flagship entertainment facility in Utah, Nevada, scheduled to open to the public in July.
The growth in interest in movie properties having their own backpack VR experience was evident during CinemaCon 2017. New start-up Nomadic is an immersive entertainment company creating tactile VR adventures, and promoted at the conference their backpack VR experience (Arena-Scale), aiming to occupy a 20-foot-by-30-foot space. Not only seen as “Lobby Entertainment”, but targeting the existing screening rooms (auditorium), to be appropriated as standalone entertainment offerings with their own recurring revenue stream.
Major movie IP’s that have embraced Arena-Scale VR technology have started to reveal their plans thick-and-fast over the last few months – major movie studios such as 20th Century Fox, through their theme park arm (FoxNext Destinations) revealed that they are in the process of developing a 2,000 sq.,ft., multi-player VR experience based around the Alien movie franchise. FoxNext working to develop a ‘free-roaming’ VR experience undergoing secret testing. This new development building on the work creating a free cinema pop-up 360-degree VR journey called Alien: Covenant in Utero; the promotional lobby entertainment developed by FoxNext VR Studio in partnership with AMD Radeon and DELL.
Another major movie franchise receiving VR attraction investment was revealed to be in develop in partnership between Hasbro and DMG Entertainment, (through the recently established DMG VR division). The planned Transformers Experience Center is based on the popular Transformers IP that over the last 30-years has expanded to include comic books, animated series, films, video games and consumer products, the recent film properties generating $850 million internationally. The first interactive Transformers digital simulation experience center, scheduled to open in China this summer.
The application of arena-scale VR has been charted beyond the cinema landscape, with already Zero Latency establishing a growing number of locations for their multi-player backpack VR platform. The game system complimenting family entertainment centers and karting locations. A constant iterative process the operation launching their last multi-player backpack experience called Singularity with a play duration of 30-minutes in this space station exploration narrative. While at the same time announced that they were working on eight-player simultaneous experiences – while also planning to open the largest free-roaming virtual arena in America in the Boston-area later this year, and Philadelphia in 2018.
As previously reported the Asian amusement scene has jumped into out-of-home VR applications with both feet, in Japan investment in this approach has increased and Zero Latency, saw the first commercial installation of their system through a deal with SEGA at their JOYPOLIS site. Building on this, and a new location for Arena-Scale VR experiences opened within the brand new ‘SEGA VR Area’ location – taking over the top (6th) floor of the famous Club SEGA Akihabara amusement venue in Tokyo. The venerable Japanese amusement factory the latest to dip their toe into the waters of dedicated VR based out-of-home entertainment.
The first VR installation in this new space sees SEGA partner with Korean based Skonec Entertainment installing their new Mortal Blitz For Walking Attraction – a three player, backpack VR shooting experience, (using the Pimax 4K headset), opened to the public at the end of May. This destination facility approach following the work that the other amusement powerhouse BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment achieved with their first VR Zone: Project i Can temporary installation; BANDAI announcing that they will be opening a second version of their temporary VR Park in a matter of months in the Tokyo area. (Editor’s Note: For more about this check out two recent VRFocus stories about the experiences on offer including ones based on Mario Kart, Neon Genesis Evangelion, the Gundum franchise and Dragon Ball Z.)
Underlining the interest in using VR as an audience experience akin to a movie theatre or planetarium approach, and Japan has seen the launch of the VirtuaLink. A pop-up paid entertainment experience that has multiple guests sharing a virtual space, with a specially created 360-degree 3D video. Several locations around the Tokyo area will be turned into viewing theaters accommodating some 26 special seats (Wonder Pods) – the VR experience presented on Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) Playstation VR head-mounted displays (HMDs). The concept the closest seen to being a ‘virtual-planetarium’ experience, constructed by Konica Minolta Planetarium Corporation.
From those commentators entrenched outside of the out-of-home entertainment business, we have seen some wild and contradictory statements regarding the perceived impact of this business on the application of their hopes for VR – statements ranging from if VR is confined to public spaces there is a risk of stunting the growth of the medium, too comments that state to love to see these types of themed [VR] centers popping up around the world. A level of ignorance of the DOE market revealed in superficial research of the scene.
This confused speculation, illustrates the disquiet by some as their promised consumer sector slows, in the shadow of the growth (and revenue generating) out-of-home adoption; best illustrated by the growing numbers of consumer platforms pivoting to destination application. Along with HTC, we see OSVR (The VOID, Zero Latency) and StarVR (IMAX VR) deployment in VR arcade settings; it was recently announced in Japan of the new Virtual Gate platform developed by Techno Blood; allowing VR content to be enjoyed at the countries host of Internet Cafes, the platform partnered with the once consumer facing FOVE eye-tracked HMD – already operational at 33 net cafes in the country.
The commercial entertainment industry has proven an uncomfortable enigma to many that had previously invested in a promised consumer approach to VR. To educate and promote, the Digital Out-of-Home Entertainment (DOE) sector has invested in a unique conference in September, partly supported by my consultancy (KWP) and a major exhibition organizer. Based in Las Vegas, the Future of Immersive Leisure convention will bring together operators of the latest immersive entertainment technology, as well as developers of the hardware, and investors shaping the latest developers.
This new event will be the launch-pad where several new projects will reveal their thinking behind entering the commercial entertainment against previous interest in consumer investment. It is the ability to have direct access to the revenue stream, and a believable business model that has drawn both established operations and new start-ups to the DOE business for VR. Expect reports on the build-up to this event and industry developments in following columns.
Transformers Roll Out In Chinese VR Experience Centres
The Transfomers franchise has been around for more than 30s years in various forms, beginning as a toyline and cartoon before moving on to comic books, videogames, CGI cartoons and live-action films. Now DMG entertainment and Hasbro are bringing the Robots in Disguise into virtual reality (VR).
Hasbro and DMG will be launching VR and augmented reality (AR) entertainment centres in China, a place where the franchise has done particularly well in recent years. The centres will have what is referred to as ‘digital simulation experiences’ based on the Transformers universe which will feature both AR and VR. The first centre will be opening in Shanghai later this summer, with others opening up in other locations over the next five years.
The Transformers featured in the experiences will be based on the designs of the fan-favourite ‘Generation One’ designs but with photo-realistic rendering to increase the immersion of the experience for visitors. Details of the experiences are currently relatively scarce, but it is known that visitors to the centres will be able to battle Decepticons on Cybertron alongside Optimus Prime, and take Autobot scout Bumblebee for a ride.
“We’re pushing the boundaries of creative storytelling by harnessing innovative, immersive and interactive technology that brings fans into the Transformers world like never before.” said DMG Founder Dan Mintz, in a statement.
“We’re very excited to work with DMG as we launch into the rapidly growing space of VR, AR and other mixed reality experiences,” said Simon Waters, a senior vice president at Hasbro, in a statement. “The Transformers digital simulation centers will offer fans an incredibly immersive experience.”
VRFocus will bring you further news on the Transformers VR experiences when it becomes available.