The first VR devices have struggled to get into our homes and into our daily gaming routine, PlayStation VR included. The mistake they made was to put uncomfortable devices on the market. After a few minutes of use, they caused nausea and headaches. This cause has unfortunately turned off all the interest of the masses. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, is still pushing a lot on VR. This is shown by the agreements signed for exclusive VR versions of Ubisoft games: Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell.
According to a leak released by The Information, the two titles will be launched exclusively for Oculus devices. This is being done to push the latter’s sales by exploiting the popularity of the titles in the gaming scene. The initiative would be led by Jason Rubin, the former Oculus content manager at Facebook. He was promoted in December as vice president of special gaming initiatives.
“The response to the Oculus Quest and Rift S games was incredible”, an Oculus spokesman told The Information. “We cannot comment on specific partnerships, but we will continue to focus on expanding our library and reaching a wider gaming audience for years to come”. A Ubisoft spokesman said, however, declined to comment on this story.
With this new initiative, Facebook is trying to compete with Google and Microsoft. They use improved technology to launch cloud gaming services that do not require expensive hardware. Although with the improvement in technology the prices of VR headphones have decreased. Distributors have so far ignored such platforms. A recent survey of participants in the annual Game Developers Conference found that only 27% were interested in developing VR games. That’s a 6% decrease compared to the previous year.
According to Brandon Ross, a BTIG analyst, the production of triple-A games will play an essential role in attracting new users. “One of the current problems with VR is that you have the problem of the egg and the chicken”, he said, “They will need content”.
There is still nothing official and given the press silence of Ubisoft, we take the news with the necessary precautions.
