What Is Virtual Reality (VR) Game Development? Trends, Examples, and Essential Tools for Creating a VR Game

• More immersive experiences: The most obvious benefit of virtual reality games has been their biggest selling point: The ability for players to feel like they are inside the game, experiencing different worlds and exciting storylines on a deeper level.  
• Increased potential for innovation: Due to this greater immersiveness, virtual reality game development allows developers to push past some of the limitations of traditional gaming storylines and technology. Since there are fewer virtual reality titles, it is also easier for studios and teams to differentiate themselves and deliver truly new experiences in the virtual reality space.  
• More social gameplay: Gaming publications like The Gamer and GameRant regularly publish lists of the best virtual reality games to play with friends. These games bring groups together with laughter, new experiences, and healthy competition. A 2023 study published in the Association for Computing Machinery Journal also found that virtual reality interactions can promote social connection and offset loneliness. In interviews with study participants who used virtual reality platforms, virtual reality gamers described themselves as becoming more outspoken, more comfortable initiating conversation, and more confident. 
• Greater physical activity: According to a report from Games for Change, a nonprofit dedicated to uplifting and promoting gaming as a means of social change and advocacy, exercising in virtual reality has a comparable impact to exercising at the gym. An increased offering of games makes getting in your daily workout through virtual reality easy: The game Supernatural, for example, lets users choose between workouts like boxing, yoga, and dancing, as well as allows them to set these workouts to their favorite music. These workouts are led by certified fitness coaches. And the world’s first virtual reality gym, Black Box in San Francisco, opened in 2019. In workouts at Black Box, gym members fight virtual reality opponents while incorporating chest presses, squats, rowing, and other exercises.  

Challenges of VR Game Development 

The biggest challenge for the VR game development industry to overcome is its high barrier to entry. According to 2023 statistics from Statista, fewer than 2% of people globally regularly play virtual reality games, compared to the 45% who play traditional video games. This slow adoption can be attributed in part to the hardware’s high price point. Apple trended on social media with their $3,499 headset, Apple Vision Pro, set to release in 2024. Though this is an extreme example, virtual reality gaming is expensive across most popular models: 

• The Meta Quest 2 headset is $299.99 USD. 
• The PlayStation VR 2 headset is $549.99 USD.  
• The Vive Pro 2 headset is $799 USD.  

Though costs are one of the primary concerns for VR game development, there are other challenges for both developers and players: 

• Difficult development timelines: The development timeline for traditional video games is a more established, fine-tuned process. Familiar workflows, like coding followed by storyline mapping and testing, may need to be revised significantly for virtual reality projects. Virtual reality game development also involves the added step of choosing what platform to develop for, since each significantly differs in terms of processing power.  
• Heightened potential for graphics issues: Virtual reality games have richer visuals, which is a benefit for players, but a quality that has challenging implications for game developers. Since players are even more enmeshed in the setting than when playing traditional video games, cohesion and accuracy take on greater importance.  
• User discomfort: Virtual reality experiences can lead to eye strain and motion sickness. To combat this, when creating a VR game, developers can focus on reducing the processing time of their game and optimizing animation frame rate. They can incorporate both high-action moments and stationary visuals to give players breaks from movement. Continued innovation in VR headset technology is also helping ensure that headsets are becoming more comfortable and lightweight.  

Examples of VR Game Development 

Big names like Meta, Google, Apple, and Sony have already begun investing in VR game development, even acquiring some indie virtual game studios. Along with these established companies, notable indie studios like Psytec Games, Survios, and Cloudhead Games have started carving out brand recognition.  

Like traditional video games, VR game development can extend to all types of games for a diverse range of users, from cozy games to adventure-packed storylines. These are just a few of the top-selling recent virtual reality game releases: 

• Beat Saber: Beat Games, an indie studio acquired by Meta, first released Beat Saber in 2019. Players are surrounded by neon visuals and must match their movements to the rhythm of music as they “slash” the beats coming toward them. Players must match the color and direction of the beats and can advance to different levels, plus choose favorite songs. Beat Saber is one of the most successful releases in VR game development, with The Wall Street Journal reporting it achieved $255 million in revenue.  
• Half-Life: Alyx: Valve Software, a leading gaming company, released Half-Life: Alyx in 2020. The follow-up to the best-selling game Half-Life, this game lets the player act as Alyx Vance, a revolutionary fighting against alien invaders with her father. This game represents one of the biggest strengths of VR games – their ability to create high stakes for the player – as players fight a war against an empire. According to UploadVR, Half-Life Alyx surpassed 2 million units sold.  
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR: Bethesda Game Studios, known for high-fantasy epic games, released a VR version of their popular Skyrim series in 2018. This exemplifies a common trend in VR game development – developers releasing VR versions of games players already love and allowing them to more deeply inhabit these familiar worlds. In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR, players live in a medieval world, traverse mountains, and battle dragons.  

Unreal Engine 5 

Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) offers teams a powerful set of VR software development tools. It works with a multitude of VR technologies. With UE5 you get: 

• Script access in C++ and/or Python to customize the tool for your needs. 
• Multiplayer framework combined with a flexible editor. 

• Blueprint visual scripting, which helps you design prototypes fast. 
• Temporal super resolution. 
• Virtual shadow maps.  

Learn More About Unreal >> 

 Unity 

Unity is well-known for game development with a specialty in mobile. But it also can be used to design VR solutions. Teams across industries have used it to design training and simulation because it works well with all popular VR platforms. With Unity you get: 

• Powerful 3D editor. 
• Built-in artist and designer tools, as well as support for CAD tools. 

• Collaboration features that streamline your process. 

Learn More About Unity >> 

Software Development Kits (SDKs) 

How Helix Core Can Help With Creating a VR Game 

When creating a VR game, development teams face complex workflows and new challenges. That makes it even more important to use a version control system your team can trust. 

Plus, if you’re creating a VR game with a team of 5 or fewer, you can use Helix Core for free. Helix Core offers several key features for VR game development teams: 

• A single source of truth for every digital asset.  
• Unlimited scalability.  

• Secure permissions and restriction features for IP security.  
• Integrations for tools like Unreal Engine, Unity, and more, so you can version in the background.  

Get Free Helix Core 

Looking for solutions to support your team’s creative process and improve collaboration on 3D art and animations?  

Helix Core gives your whole team a single source of truth for your 3D art assets. It is the version control system trusted by 19/20 AAA game development studios for its integration with popular 3D animation software and game engines.  

You can use Helix Core for free for up to five users. Try it today, plus Hansoft project management, in our cloud-ready pack. 

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