Espire 1: VR Operative, Digital Lode and Tripwire Interactive’s hotly-awaited VR stealth combat game, may have been delayed a day before it was originally set for release back in September, but now the studios say the time is nigh for the game’s launch; it’s now slated to arrive on November 22nd.

Update (November 20th, 2019): Espire 1: VR Operative is officially slated to arrive on November 22nd, coming to Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index, Windows Mixed Reality, and PlayStation VR.

The original article follows below:

Original Article (September 23rd, 2019): Originally planned for release on September 24th, Digital Lode and Tripwire Interactive announced today—one day before its planned launch—that Espire 1: VR Operative is going to be delayed by several weeks.

The studios say in a Steam community post that launch, which is now slated to take place sometime in Fall 2019, has been delayed due to “a few lingering issues that were not so readily apparent in previous testing.”

“Currently we have found some stability and performance issues, that while not always impacting the player, will be frequent enough with sustained play that we feel it would hinder your enjoyment.”

The game has been under development for a few years now by the Melbourne-based Digital Lode, and was previously scheduled to release sometime in August. The studios subsequently pushed back launch to September 24th, an announcement that came only a few days before the end of August.

Espire 1 is a story-based single-player VR game centered around stealth and espionage, with not only a healthy does of gun combat, but plenty of novel locomotion and game mechanics to boot. Take a look at the GDC 2019 gameplay play-through to see a bit of what Espire 1 had on offer:

Espire 1 is priced at $30, and is targeting a variety of platforms, including HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Valve Index, Windows VR, PSVR, and Oculus Quest.

The game is set to be available on Steam (Vive, Rift, Index, Windows VR), the PlayStation Store (PSVR), and the Oculus Store (Rift, Quest).

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • –Will–

    That’s fine, I’d rather wait and have a stable game that runs properly.

    • David Hill

      I agree 100%

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  • JesuSaveSouls

    Rockstar use to always do that right before release and once delayed for almost two years.I recall colonial marines was due to release on ps2 and to the day it got canceled.Things to do instead of anticipating false hope releases.Use your quest to stream steamvr.Sideload games with sidequestvr.Spend some quality time with Jesus.

    • Heaven’s Reject

      Hail Satan!

      • JesuSaveSouls

        You too can be restored and forgiven if you confess Jesus God’s Son as your Lord and Savior.

        • Frank M Siemen

          Neither one of your gods will save us from the hell that is waiting.

          • Alex

            True story
            We live in lust while lots live in misery. We are going down my friends, all of us

      • I don’t believe in Satan, but I do believe insulting other people’s faith makes you a d*ck.

  • Andrew McEvoy

    Take your time to get it stable lads.

  • Alex

    About time ;) still there’s no exact release date but before christmas would be nice !

  • I wonder if the roomscale is enough to justify the decreased quality on the Quest? Is it crossplay? Then I wouldn’t have to pick between Rift or Quest releases. If it’s not, I’ll just get it on Steam, opt out of Oculus’s walled garden entirely.

  • mab

    Espire 1: VR Operative excels in delivering some familiar stealth combat in a new, more immersive package, albeit with a few hiccups along the way. In addition to its superhuman acrobatics, you may find Espire 1 a serviceable Metal Gear-style game, although it is still somewhat rough around the edges due to stupid AI and Dell Inspiron 15, a standard but forgettable story, and a general lack of haptics and solid world geometry that might otherwise have sent this high-flying stealth combat game yet higher.