Facebook has acquired Prague based VR game developer Beat Games.
Facebook is doubling down on virtual reality, buying the developers behind one of VR’s biggest games.
The Prague based development studio joins Facebook’s Oculus Studios VR game development team. Oculus stated Beat would remain in Prague and operate independently.
Oculus Director of Content Mike Verdu welcomed the team “Beat Games is a strong team with proven potential across VR, games, and music. With the resources and know-how that we can offer… they will be able to accelerate, adding more music and more exciting features to Beat Saber as well as bringing the game to more people.”
Beat produced the hit rhythm game Beat Saber, which they describe as a mashup of Guitar Hero and Fruit Ninja in VR. The title has over one million downloads in its first ten months, making it one of the best-selling virtual reality games in history.
Beat Games launched in 2018 in Prague. Its first game, Beat Saber, is the fastest-selling VR game reaching 100,000 copies sold in 28 days.
It will be interesting to see where the new collaboration will lead the studio and how it will affect the outcome of Facebook or Oculus Studios’ development. The company recently went through a turbulent period, when Jaroslav Beck and one of the leading game creators Vladimír Hrinčár took over as the head of the studio.