×

Facebook Buys Maker Of Hit Virtual Reality Game ‘Beat Saber’

  Facebook-owned Oculus on Tuesday said it is buying the studio behind hit virtual reality game “Beat Saber” as it looks to expand VR technology … Continue reading Facebook Buys Maker Of Hit Virtual Reality Game ‘Beat Saber’


In this file photo taken on October 23, 2019 Facebook employee Elza Uzmanoff tries out an Oculus device at the company’s corporate headquarters campus in Menlo Park, California. Facebook-owned Oculus on November 26, 2019, said it is buying the studio behind hit virtual reality game “Beat Saber” as it looks to expand VR technology to wider audiences. Josh Edelson / AFP Add to cart Print Download Related documents Share this document Full size|1024 px|512 px Mockup (1024 px)> ^ AFPForum Your opinion matters 1 My notifications USER MESSAGESView all AFP’s content accessible on the move? AFP Agenda Welcome to AFP Forum! LATEST NEWSView all 11/27/2019 10:51 UTC+1 – AFP URGENT: Supreme leader says Iranians foiled ‘very dangerous’ plot 11/27/2019 10:01 UTC+1 – AFP ALERT: Kremlin says ‘regrets’ WADA’s proposed ban 11/27/2019 09:28 UTC+1 – AFP ALERT: Germany to reach 2% NATO target defence spending in ‘2030s’: Merkel 11/27/2019 00:16 UTC+1 – AFP URGENT: First remains of UK truck victims arrive in Vietnam 11/26/2019 23:57 UTC+1 – AFP URGENT: US anti-doping boss wants no Russians at Tokyo Olympics Welcome [email protected] Logoutx facebook All documents Show menuLaunch searchAdvanced search HOME TEXT STORIES PHOTOS VIDEOS GRAPHICS MULTIMEDIA BETA Editorial Facets View timeline View worldmap CompositionShow/Hide HORIZONTAL11 GENERAL VIEW3 PeopleShow/Hide Prophet Mohammed3 Sacha Baron Cohen1 Elza Uzmanoff1 TopicsShow/Hide US: Facebook’s Zuckerberg open to scaling back Libra plan FACEBOOK – Illustrations Facebook – FILES FACEBOOK US : Facebook stakes out Android ‘home’ to battle rivals Show all » EventsShow/Hide Bangladesh charge …3 Digital battlegrou…2 Google shifts rule…1 Facebook buys make…1 LocationsShow/Hide +United States5 +Bangladesh3 +France3 CategoriesShow/Hide News25 Business17 Art & Entertainmen…6 Lifestyle and Huma… Sport KeywordsShow/Hide LOGO4 ILLUSTRATION4 CROWD3 DEMONSTRATION3 MOBILE APP3 Show all » TOPSHOTS PARTNERS Check out our offers For your information Conditions of use Report an incident Login : [email protected] Server: VSPAR-MF-WEB-05 AFPForum v2.19.522.2 Chrome78 v78.0 (x64) facebook 11 photos Display My selection 0 Display all documents, even if I cannot download themSave this search Alert FILES – US – CZECH – INTERNET – … 10/23/2019AFP Photo FILES – US – IT – LIFESTYLE – … 8/28/2019AFP Photo FILES – US – IT – LIFESTYLE – … 7/10/2019AFP Photo FILES – US – IRAN – POLITICS – … 9/4/2019AFP Photo FILES – US – IRAN – POLITICS – … 10/1/2019AFP Photo FILES – US – POLITICS – RACE – … 5/15/2019AFP Photo TOPSHOTS – BANGLADESH – UNREST – … 10/21/2019AFP Photo
In this file photo taken on October 23, 2019 Facebook employee Elza Uzmanoff tries out an Oculus device at the company’s corporate headquarters campus in Menlo Park, California. Facebook-owned Oculus on November 26, 2019, said it is buying the studio behind hit virtual reality game “Beat Saber” as it looks to expand VR technology to wider audiences. PHOTO: Josh Edelson / AFP

 

Facebook-owned Oculus on Tuesday said it is buying the studio behind hit virtual reality game “Beat Saber” as it looks to expand VR technology to wider audiences.

Oculus, which makes Rift and Quest VR headgear, did not disclose financial terms of the deal to acquire Prague-based Beat Games.

“Beat Games is joining us in our quest to bring VR to more people around the world,” Oculus director of augmented and virtual reality content Mike Verdu said in a blog post.

“Beat Games’ accomplishments are already impressive, but Facebook and the Beat Games team know that there is so much more that can be done across VR, games, and music.”

Verdu assured players that the studio would continue to ship content and updates for “Beat Saber” on platforms where it is already available.

In the virtual game, players use light sabers to slash oncoming, large cubes to the beat of music, sometimes twisting or ducking to avoid oncoming walls.

“VR reimagines old genres and invents new ones,” Verdu said.

Oculus is exploring ways, including acquisitions, to accelerate the adoption of virtual reality technology, which Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg has heralded as the next major computing platform.

“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,” Verdu said.

Facebook is planning a virtual social community where users of its Oculus headgear can “explore new places” via its Horizon virtual world, which is set for a beta launch in 2020.

Oculus users will be able to choose an avatar and interact with others in the virtual community, Facebook said earlier this year.

Horizon will replace earlier versions of the social VR community Facebook Spaces and Oculus Rooms.

Oculus remains a small part of Facebook, whose core social network and other platforms reach more than two billion people worldwide.

Analysts expect sales of 1.3 million units in 2019 of the Oculu