Meta Quest is not a platform for AAA gaming
We have games on Meta Quest that rival classic AAA games, but there are still not enough players to buy and play them.
One of the most ambitious games in the history of virtual reality, Assassin's Creed Nexus VR, has been hailed by the press and gamers alike when it released in late 2023.
Ben reviewed the Quest exclusive VR game and was blown away by it.
"Mostly well-realized Assassin's Creed gameplay with thrilling assassinations and wild courses over the rooftops of cities," wrote Ben in his review. "Assassin's Creed Nexus finally takes the aging franchise to the next level and heralds a technological paradigm shift with its quality: PC and PS5 are no longer the only platforms for high-fidelity, immersive VR experiences. The Quest 3 has become an AAA platform with Assassin's Creed Nexus".
Less than half a million sales
But how big is the appetite for AAA games on Meta Quest? If we take Assassin's Creed Nexus VR as an example, not big.
Youtuber QuestWithMatt recently pointed out on X that Assassin's Creed Nexus VR has passed the 400,000 player mark for unlocking the first achievement of the game.
The achievement is called "Make Yourself Comfortable" and is activated after completing the comfort setup early in the game. I can confirm this number after checking the Quest companion app. It currently stands at 403,500 players.
Even if you assume that many buyers never started the VR game or unlocked the first achievement, the actual sales are probably less than half a million units. And that's not a lot for a VR game of this caliber.
Assuming that it cost $10 million to develop (and we don't know), it barely recouped its costs. So it's no wonder that Ubisoft was disappointed with the sales figures and indicated that it would not invest further in VR until the market grew.
There isn't enough demand for AAA VR games
But that's the reality. There just aren't enough people on the Quest platform willing to spend $40 or more on VR games like this. Some of them will have taken advantage of a sale like the one current one, which has significantly reduced the price of Assassin's Creed Nexus VR.
A little feedback on the evolution of the number of active players (who have unlocked the 1st achievement) for the 3 big #VR games this year on #Quest3. pic.twitter.com/kHnIkfMeTS
- QuestWithMatt (@QuestWithMatt) January 11, 2025
I've written elsewhere about the problem with AAA gaming on Meta Quest and cast doubt on titles of this type being the key to the medium's gaming success. The most successful VR games still seem to be those that are only possible in VR, rather than those that adapt successful flat gaming concepts to VR, no matter how well they do it.
What did you think of Assassin's Creed VR? Join the conversation on Facebook, Bluesky or X or share your opinion in the comments below.
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