IO Interactive and UK-based studio XR Games announced they’re bringing a new version of stealth-action game Hitman 3 exclusively to Meta Quest 3 this summer.
Hitman 3 came along with VR support for the original PSVR at launch in 2021, later bringing Agent 47’s most recent exploits to PC VR headsets with the Windows version a few months later.
Now, a version called Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded is slated to arrive exclusively on Quest 3, which is described as have been “[r]ebuilt from the ground up for VR,” including a completely overhauled user interface and “enhanced movement mechanics” beyond the versions for PSVR and PC VR headsets.
It’s also set to include dual weapon-wielding (finally), enhanced interactive environments, more locomotion options, and other visual enhancements—chief of which is a new cel-shaded art style, which ought to help cut down on the extensive compute load that the game’s dense crowds and large maps were sure to cause on Quest 3.
In collaboration with IO Interactive, Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded is being overhauled for Quest 3 by XR Games, which is also known for having brought a number of titles to various VR headsets over the years, including the upcoming Zombie Army VR from Rebellion, as well as past titles Zombieland VR: Headshot Fever, Jurassic World Aftermath, Shadow Point, and Angry Birds Under Pressure VR.
“We are excited to partner with IO Interactive to bring HITMAN 3 VR: Reloaded to life on the Meta Quest 3,” said Bobby Thandi, Founder and CEO of XR Games. “Our teams have worked tirelessly to bring this huge AAA franchise to VR. We knew the HITMAN audience demanded the absolute best VR experience, and only the Meta Quest 3 could power such large environments, dense crowds and emergent sandbox gameplay. With dual-wielding, a stunning new art-style, new features and improvements, we believe HITMAN 3 VR: Reloaded will set a new standard for bringing AAA franchises to Meta Quest.”
Whatever the case, we’re hoping it does a fair bit to fix some of the porting issues we remember from the PC VR-supported version of the game, which players have ranked ‘Mostly Negative’ on Steam.
There’s no exact launch date for Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded yet, with the studios saying it should launch sometime in Summer 2024. In the meantime, you can pre-order Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded for Quest 3here.
XR Games released Zombieland: Headshot Fever for Meta Quest last year – followed by several other headset ports – a comedic zombie title all about quick shooting and high-scoring. Today, the team has revealed it’s about to release a major update that’ll add a whole new way to play.
Called the “Arcade Attack Update”, players will be able to test their headshot skills in the brand new Arcade Mode, which is: “designed to be much more pick-up-and-play than the main game’s original Story Mode” XR Games notes.
Players will have five randomly chosen levels to complete, earning TP (the in-game currency) to buy new guns, new perks (such as the classic the Big Head perk), extra medkits, and other useful items to help in their next run. Each run will require new strategies and, of course, players will want to aim for the best score possible by the end. Considering Zombieland: Headshot Fever is all about accumulating those headshots to slow down time, that Big Head perk will be very useful.
The update will also be an excellent content addition for those location-based entertainment (LBE) venues that promote Zombieland: Headshot Fever and are looking to add more quick-fire gameplay sessions.
Reviewing the Meta Quest 2 version of Zombieland: Headshot Fever at launch, gmw3 found that: “What it offers is a quick arcade FPS fix when you might only want to kill the odd 30 minutes. This is speed runner heaven in VR, it doesn’t take itself too seriously or pretend to be something it’s not.”
Zombieland: Headshot Fever developer XR Games has acquired another VR studio.
The company this month announced the acquisition of Fierce Kaiju, a long-running team that got its start in VR in the early days of the Gear VR headset with the Viral series. A figure for the deal was not disclosed. In a prepared statement, XR Games Founder and CEO, Bobby Thandi said that the acquisition would help the studio expand as it “takes on multiple projects with larger budgets”.
It’s currently not known what the XR Games team is working on past the launch of Zombieland, an arcade shooter for Quest and PC VR that saw players gunning for top points. The team also worked on 2019’s Angry Birds Under Pressure and, in late 2021, raised $2.1 million to expand and work on original IP. The studio did confirm to UploadVR that, whilst Fierce Kaiju will retain its name, the entire organization will work on the same projects as one whole team.
Fierce Kaiju, meanwhile, was founded by Dan Roberts and Paul Colls in 2014. The studio’s Viral series consisted of on-rails, points-driven shooters. However the series never really moved beyond Gear VR (and, by extension, Oculus Go). According to the press release, the team has supported on other, unspecified projects since that time, though Colls moved on from his role a few years back, whereas Roberts now joins XR Games as Art Director.
What do you want to see next out of the XR Games team and Fierce Kaiju? Let us know in the comments below!
The Brits have always had a strong presence in virtual reality (VR) with one of the earliest pioneers being Fierce Kaiju, the Leeds0based team behind the Viral series. Today, fellow Leeds VR studio XR Games has announced the acquisition of Fierce Kaiju, its first-ever studio acquisition.
Fierce Kaiju was founded in 2014 by Dan Roberts and Paul Colls, both of whom were already videogame veterans thanks to working on titles including Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption and Call of Duty. They set up their studio with a focus on VR, originally creating Viral for Samsung Gear VR followed by Viral Quarantine and Viral EX for Gear VR and Steam.
Since then though, Fierce Kaiju hasn’t released any more of its own videogames, with most of its time spent as a full-service studio, helping game makers build projects from the ground up, or supporting other projects. XR Games, on the other hand, has created VR titles for some big IPs including Zombieland: Headshot Fever and The Angry Birds Movie 2: VR Under Pressure.
“From the first time I met Bobby and the team, I knew there was a shared vision,” says Dan Roberts, Fierce Kaiju co-founder. “At Fierce Kaiju we love experimenting with new and disruptive technology and turning it into something immediate, accessible, and fun, and It’s clear that Bobby and the team at XR Games share the same values. There’s a tangible sense of excitement and energy when you enter the XR Games studio after their huge success with Zombieland: Headshot Fever in 2021, and we knew we wanted to be a part of that.”
“For our first acquisition, we knew we wanted to bring in a team that shared the same vision as XR Games. The experience that Fierce Kaiju brings from working at places such as Rockstar Games and Activision Blizzard will be invaluable when it comes to supporting XR Games’ trajectory. As the studio grows in size and takes on multiple projects with larger budgets, this expansion will ensure we can scale safely and effectively. We’re fiercely proud of our roots, and while we’re still based in Leeds, our titles are sold around the world, so with Fierce Kaiju joining the family, we’re confident that our reach will grow even further as we continue developing exciting new gaming experiences for years to come,” XR Games Founder and CEO, Bobby Thandi adds.
The acquisition will see the Fierce Kaiju team join XR Games, with Dan Roberts joining XR Games as Art Director. The acquisition sum wasn’t disclosed.
Gmw3 will continue its coverage of XR Games, reporting back with its latest VR projects.
Every weekend VRFocus gathers together vacancies from across the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) industry, 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 Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).
We’ll see you next week on VRFocus at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.
UK-based VR studio XR Games, known for its recently released Zombieland VR game, announced this week that it has raised an additional £1.5 million (~$2 million) investment to expand its studio with 20 new jobs and a focus on original IP.
XR Games has made a business out of building VR games as movie tie-ins. The studio’s most recent projects are Zombieland VR (2021) and Angry Birds Movie 2 VR (2019). With a new £1.5 million (~$2 million) investment announced this week the studio is hoping to kick-start projects built around original IP.
The investment was led by Maven Equity Finance with participation from existing XR Games investor ACT Capital Partners and Praetura Ventures. XR Games says the investment will allow it to expand the studio with 20 new job offerings, fund additional R&D in AR and VR, and kick-start projects built on original IP. The studio says it will also expand its work-for-hire division to continue contracted development work.
Though XR Games didn’t specify what series it considers the investment round, it has raised two prior investments; $2.6 million in 2018 and £1.5 million in 2019. The most recent investment brings the studio’s total funding to around $6.6 million.
British virtual reality (VR) developer XR Games is known for bringing high profile IP’s into VR, having released Zombieland: Headshot Feverand The Angry Birds Movie 2 VR: Under Pressure. To help with its expansion plans the studio has announced this week a new funding raise of £1.5 million GBP ($2.1 million USD).
Zombieland: Headshot Fever
The funding round was led by Maven Equity Finance with participation from ACT Capital Partners. This follows on from a £1.5 million raise in 2019 and £2.6 million in 2018. XR Games will use the investment to develop its own original IP as well as creating 20 new roles at its Leeds, UK studio.
XR Games will still continue its work-for-hire which has seen the studio work with the likes of Rovio Entertainment and Sony Pictures Virtual Reality.
“We’re delighted with the investment from our new partners at Maven Capital Partners, as well as ACT Capital Partners following on from their previous investment, and continued support from Praetura Ventures. We’re already putting the investment to good use by hiring senior personnel such as a chief operating officer, creative director, and a new head of production,” said XR Games’ CEO Bobby Thandi in a statement. “We’re also expanding the development, game design and art teams, and we’re further developing our sales and marketing initiatives to expand our work-for-hire division.”
The Angry Birds Movie 2 VR: Under Pressure
“It’s so exciting to see the team grow and develop, and with our vacancies receiving hundreds of applicants, it’s clear that there’s a huge appetite from others wanting to join our journey,” Thandi continued. “This most recent round of investment enables our recent hires and existing team to kick start our own original IP initiatives, and helps to fund further R&D into augmented and virtual reality.”
Zombieland: Headshot Fever is XR Games’ most recent release, originally arriving for Oculus Quest earlier this year followed by a Steam port last month. A PlayStation VR version is also slated to be in the works. As further details arise regarding what XR Games is doing next, VRFocus will let you know.
“Oh, another zombie shooter…yey.” That is probably what most of you thought when XR Games (The Angry Birds Movie 2: VR Under Pressure) announced Zombieland: Headshot Fever. Its tie-in to the Zombieland film franchise naturally helps elevate the virtual reality (VR) videogame above many of the others currently available but it also hangs the heavyweight of expectation. While the original film was a breath of fresh air – the second was ok – thanks to its stellar cast, comedy and over-the-top action sequences, can a VR videogame that solely focuses on one core gameplay mechanic (there’s a clue in the title) really do Zombieland justice?
It exists in that weird world between developers trying to make a fun videogame that emulates what fans love and what can actually be achieved due to publishing rights and all the legal entanglement. Which gives Zombieland: Headshot Fever a very faux Zombieland feel right from the off, because Tallahassee, Wichita, Columbus and Little Rock are all present and correct, likenesses and all…well almost. Little Rock is still voiced by Abigail Breslin from the movie – thus providing most of the narration – but the rest aren’t. Tallahassee is the most unusual – in a strange, alternate reality way – because rather than Woody Harrelson reprising his role, his brother Brett takes over instead.
Putting the necessary franchise connections to one side for a moment, Zombieland: Headshot Fever is first and foremost an arcade-style shooter. The team firmly state that it’s been inspired by light-gun videogames for the 90s such as House of the Dead and there really is no mistaking that. Which can be both good and bad, there was a reason gamers shoved coin after coin into these machines to perfect those runs yet our expectation of what we want from videogames has evolved over the last 20 years or so.
There is still a loose point to it all, you’re not simply running around unleashing all hell with a 9mm for the sake of it. Some rich guy created an event called the ‘Zombie Invitational’, challenging people to run and survive the course for fame and glory, and our four heroes were chosen to run it. In turn, you’ve been selected to take part, but before that, you need to prove your worth.
Inside a decadent man-cave, there are four key areas, Little Rock has all the levels, Tallahassee is on gun and upgrade control while Wichita and Columbus sit up top with all the achievements you can unlock. There’s also a training range with popup targets for additional challenges.
Zombieland: Headshot Fever offers nine levels for you to perfect those head-popping skills from Rookie all the way to the pro invitational. Scores don’t matter here what’s important is time, finishing each course as fast as possible. And to do that effectively you need to be double-tapping heads, a lot of them. One hit to the head and it’ll glow yellow, a second quickly after and you’ll unlock a slow-mo adrenaline system, massively putting the break on the timer whilst giving you vital extra seconds to set the next one up and so on. Really repetitive, and insanely addictive.
The first eight levels are set out in a predefined run, so after a couple you should know where all the zombies appear from helping define your plan of attack for that faultless run. It’s the simplicity of the task yet the complexity of its completion which is the main draw here, the Zombieland franchise just helps to ice the cake. Each level also has four challenges such as completing it in under a minute, not missing a single shot or shooting the bag of weed to unlock new guns, skins, perks and most importantly, toilet paper. Because that’s the currency of Zombieland, used to pay for gun upgrades and buying into the Invitational (more on that later).
Keen to ensure a comfortable experience XR Games has included a pseudo, point-to-point teleportation system so there’s no need to worry about locomotion. Kill all the zombies in an area and you’ll be presented with a blue marker to look at and automatically walk to. It’s a clean and efficient method so you can just worry about the shooting. In keeping with the arcade-style, there are no manual reloads, a quick flick down on the stick ejects a magazine then move the gun to the centre of your body to insert another. Both processes mean that some levels can easily be completed in under 30 seconds once you get into that flow state.
And it’s nice when that happens. Kind of like Pistol Whip evoking that feeling of being the untouchable John Wick, Zombieland: Headshot Fever manages something similar. But you’re not invincible. Should any zombies get too close, and they will, you’re essentially dead in a single swipe. There are several varieties too, from your standard shamblers to ones that’ll scream at you, stay at a distance lobbing items or the really big tanks which need several shotgun shells to the face.
Before any level, you can pick your loadout depending on what you’ve unlocked. Pistols are your main weapon and handily come with unlimited magazines. Secondary guns like the UZI or the shotgun have limited ammo but can instantly activate the adrenaline mode. So for a videogame about running and gunning headshots, there’s enough variety to mix up your strategy a little.
Finally, there’s the Zombieland Invitational which adds a vital component, multiple routes. Each section of the level tends to provide a couple of paths, thus providing plenty of route possibilities and greatly extending the experience.
Without trying to unlock everything an initial run-through will probably take most players a couple of hours or so. As mentioned Zombieland: Headshot Fever relies heavily on that desire for perfect runs and therefore you need to love that repetitive nature otherwise you’re going to get bored fairly quickly. What it offers is a quick arcade FPS fix when you might only want to kill the odd 30 minutes. This is speed runner heaven in VR, it doesn’t take itself too seriously or pretend to be something it’s not.
XR Games revealed its next virtual reality (VR) title in the form of Zombieland: Headshot Feverat the start of the month. As part of the SXSW Gaming Awards held over the weekend, the studio announced that the Oculus Quest version would be arriving this week, on Thursday in fact.
Zombieland: Headshot Fever is an arcade shooter, where players have to pop heads as quickly as possible, gaining score multipliers to land on the global leaderboards. While you can hit the zombies elsewhere, two quick headshots activate the ‘Adrenaline Mode’ which slows time for even bigger scores using shotguns, revolvers, assault rifles and more.
As part of the launch announcement, it was also revealed that XR Games has partnered with the VR Master League (VRML) to organise Zombieland Invitational esports events during 2021. Open to all players, you can sign-up for the Zombieland Invitational over on the official website.
“XR Games set out to make a VR game that was all about tight, focussed, shooting gameplay with nuanced mechanics driving a superior level of skill. Watching the influencers in the first Zombieland Invitational demonstrated to us the degree of excellence that players can develop, which becomes apparent when you play the game,” said Bobby Thandi, Founder and CEO, XR Games in a statement.
“We’re thrilled to collaborate with XR Games to provide backup in this fight against zombies,” says Alex ‘DaKinMan’, Founder and CEO of VR Master League. “Growing competitive scenes and showcasing exciting competitive VR is our focus in VRML. Providing services for events such as this Zombieland VR Invitational is one of our goals and we’re glad to be a part of it!”
Officially licensed by Sony Pictures, Zombieland: Headshot Fever will feature Tallahassee, Wichita, Columbus and Little Rock from the movie franchise and their likenesses, with Abigail Breslin voicing her Little Rock character – Tallahassee will be voiced by Woody Harrelson’s brother, Brett.
Zombieland: Headshot Fever will launch this Thursday, 25th March for Oculus Quest. Other platforms including Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Windows Mixed Reality headsets, and PlayStation VR will arrive at a later date. For further updates on the arcade shooter, keep reading VRFocus.
Every weekend VRFocus gathers together vacancies from across the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) industry, 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 Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).
We’ll see you next week on VRFocus at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.
