Facebook Acquires Studio Behind Beat Saber
Facebook has announced that they have acquired Beat Games, creators of the hit VR title, Beat Sabers.
“The shared experiences of games are profoundly memorable ones, and for millions of people, Beat Saber was their first encounter with immersive VR gaming,” said Facebook in their press release. “Today we’re announcing that Beat Games is joining us in our quest to bring VR to more people around the world. They will join Oculus Studios as an independently operated studio in Prague, continuing to create new ways for people to experience music and VR gaming. Most importantly, what the community has come to love about Beat Saber will remain intact. Beat Games will continue to ship content and updates for Beat Saber across all currently supported platforms, now with even more support from Facebook.”
Not only has VR provided a fun immersive experience in VR but they have brought together some new exciting music along their journey. With the acquistion Facebook looks to continue to sail the ship with this newly acquired IP.
Facebook also wanted to clarify some doubt and noise with the acquisition of Beat Games.
What about 360° Levels mode? And more music? And all the other stuff you’ve talked about doing?
Beat Games is still shipping 360° Levels mode in December, and more music is coming this year, too!
Do you plan to acquire other studios? What else are you doing to accelerate VR?
We’re exploring many ways to accelerate VR, and we think next year is going to be an incredible one of VR game launches and announcements. We are thrilled to have Beat Games join our team. This is just the beginning.
Why Beat Games?
Beat Games is a strong team with proven potential across VR, games, and music. With the resources and know-how that we can offer, Beat Games will be able to accelerate, adding more music and more exciting features to Beat Saber as well as bringing the game to more people.
There’s a long history of indie studios joining larger companies and being ruined. How are you going to avoid that?
I’ve been in the industry for a while and have seen that firsthand. However, I’ve also seen and been a part of some incredible success stories. The story we aim to prove over time is this: An indie studio joins forces with some like-minded allies, and together they find a way to push VR to new heights.
What does this mean for the modding community?
We understand and appreciate the value that modding brings to Beat Saber when done so legally and within our policies. We’re going to do our best to preserve the value that mods bring to the Beat Saber player base. As a reminder, our most recent policy updates give more clarity to how developer mode is intended to be used, such as helping developers build their apps or for enthusiasts to explore new concepts. It is not intended for engaging in piracy or illicit modding, including mods that infringe on third-party IP rights or contain malicious code.
Are you going to be slowing down updates for non-Oculus platforms and prioritizing development for Oculus?
No, Beat Games will continue to ship content and updates for Beat Saber at the same time across all currently supported platforms.
Does this mean Beat Games will no longer be independent?
The Beat Games team will operate the same way they have to date as an independent studio, and they’ll continue to work on Beat Saber across all currently supported platforms.
What are your thoughts? Let us know.