Google's VR studio celebrates major milestone
Owlchemy Labs claims to be the first VR studio to have two VR games with sales of more than one million units each.
Founded in 2010 and acquired by Google in 2017, the VR studio created the VR classic Job Simulator (2016), which hit the one million unit sales mark in early 2020.
This smash hit was followed by Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality (2017), Vacation Simulator (2019), and Cosmonious High (2022).
Owlchemy Labs has now announced that Vacation Simulator has also passed the one million mark. CEO Andrew Eiche claims that Owlchemy Labs is the first studio to have released multiple platinum VR-exclusive titles.
"This is a monumental achievement for VR, showcasing the medium’s growth and sustainability for game developers," Eiche writes of his company's milestone.
Two of their VR games receive a Meta Quest 3 update
The studio also announced Quest 3 updates for Vacation Simulator and Cosmonious High. Both VR games now feature real-time shadows, while Cosmonious High has also been given a higher frame rate and now runs at 90 frames per second.
You can currently purchase Job Simulator, Vacation Simulator and Cosmonious High for a limited time at 40% off by entering the discount code BFCM23 in the Meta Quest Store.
The VR pioneers now explore hand tracking
Owlchemy Labs' VR games are known for their quirky humor and innovation in interaction design. They're about interacting in a fun way with virtual environments that are always within reach.
The next area in which the studio wants to innovate is hand tracking. On Meta Quest, you can play through Vacation Simulator using only hand tracking, and at Gamescom 2022, Owlchemy Labs teased a multiplayer title with a hand tracking focus, although details about the game are still scarce.
In any case, I'm betting that the title will also be released for Apple Vision Pro next year. As we know, the mixed reality headset does not support controllers and relies solely on hand and eye tracking.
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