‘Moss’ Developer Polyarc Lays Off Two-Thirds of Studio Following “major project” Cancellation

So we have

Casual gamers: They tend to spend less, often play free-to-play games and have lower per-capita purchasing power.

Hardcore gamers: They are more likely to buy games at full price, DLCs, subscriptions and hardware, and play premium titles more frequently.

Whales/big spenders: A small group, but a very important one, as they account for a large proportion of revenue.

I would argue that, as things stand, VR consists of casual gamers, thanks to developments in the mobile sector. But we need hardcore gamers, and you certainly won’t attract them with the games currently available. There are absolutely no whales or heavy spenders in VR. So explain to me how your plan for VR is supposed to work. Or do you really believe that a platform can continue to grow through games in the style of ‘Gorilla Tag’? If you believe that, then you’re completely wrong. You should never compare mobile gaming on a smartphone with consoles or PCs. The mobile VR platform is more like a console than a smartphone. Don’t forget that.

Well, you could derive a definition of that from the games played and bought on PC and console. But that’s not my definition. A platform needs a large player base that’s willing to pay for good games. But that doesn’t exist. So neither is there. No games and no people willing to spend money.

There are too few titles that are interesting enough for core gamers. The few games that might be able to compete in the flat-rate sector are unfortunately not enough to really spark interest. Especially not niche games like the ones you mentioned. They’re VR ports of very old games, flight simulators that really have nothing to do with casual gaming, and hardcore survival and management games. Where are the games we’ve come to love on consoles? They don’t exist. Don’t close your eyes to reality.

Mods are for hobbyists who are already into VR anyway. VR options need to be offered natively in the games by the developers so that friction is kept to a minimum. But why do these mods exist at all, and why are they used? Right, because they let you play games you love that aren’t available in VR.

There are some really great VR games, but unfortunately, these games won’t attract new VR users. That can only be achieved by building habits in small steps. These are simply the games people are familiar with.

Sorry, but that’s all nonsense. The current VR user base has only grown so large because prices and barriers to entry have been artificially inflated and lowered by Meta’s financial injections. But none of the users are buying games. This is proven by the revenue figures Meta publishes every quarter. The user base is growing, but revenue remains the same. I’m looking forward to the next quarterly figures, as I suspect they’ll be down significantly this time. I don’t know what you’re seeing there, but I suspect you’re simply blind and don’t want to accept the truth. Let’s just drop the subject here. I find the whole thing rather tiresome.

Could you please read my messages properly? I never mentioned the cost-to-revenue ratio. I was simply talking about how revenue is stagnating at the same level despite a growing user base. And I’m not only talking about Meta, but about VR gaming in general – and I’ve never claimed that VR was or is a big deal. Calm down, please.

And what’s all this about Covid? Those are fluctuations that can easily be smoothed out. I don’t even see them because this Covid pandemic is showing up in all the statistics. Just ignore them for once.

I’ve never in my life said that VR ever had AAA status compared to flat gaming. I’m not stupid; I’m a core gamer on all platforms and I know what’s going on. But the fact is that when VR gaming started on the PC with the Rift CV1 and Vive, the content was better thanks to the more powerful GPUs.

What we have now with 15W SoCs is a travesty. Let’s be realistic. And I’ll say it again: there are hardly any VR games that core gamers would look at with envy. Please read through all my posts. I see it exactly the same way as you do. They’re releasing almost all VR software that nobody’s asking for or is even interested in. VR can only grow if it can spark the interest of non-VR gamers. As things stand, it’s less interesting than it once was on the PC.

They’ve tried with small games on the PC that weren’t enough to catch the attention of core gamers. That doesn’t work either. So that’s it then, or what? Maybe they should just take a look at what PC gamers actually play and see if VR might add any value to the games they usually play. Hellblade showed the way, but hardly anyone gave it a go.

No, they chose a different path – the one dictated by META, who, with their money, decided that they’d now be making mobile casual kids’ stuff. Yeah, and what do we have? A massive pile of rubbish.

My point is that VR needs to become more like what’s played on traditional consoles and PC. With the introduction of motion controllers, VR set out to be different and has focused ‘entirely’ on 6DOF room-scale. It’s too different and too far removed from what players on other platforms know and love. In my view, that’s the main reason why VR isn’t managing to win over flat players. It has nothing to do with AAA or live service games, but rather with the medium and the input method, which is ‘too far’ removed from what people are used to. That’s not to say that 6DOF room-scale is a mistake, but rather the complete lack of VR options in standard games – ‘seated controller VR’. Of course, VR enthusiasts will argue that VR is only good if you have to move around a lot, but this completely excludes players who simply want to play and watch their “favourite” game with an HMD.

Well, people ask that because the mod works even without it. No one needs to ask about it. With Luke Ross or Mutar (NoMoreFlat), everyone plays the UUVR mod with a gamepad. Sure, some people ask about it, but it’s also used without one—and mostly without one. The thing is: no one has tried it on a large scale, and as long as no one does, we can go around in circles 100 more times. The main point is, first and foremost, to show flat players how fantastic flat games can look and how immersive they can be in VR (360° 3D). That would be the absolute easiest and cheapest way for developers to show players how VR works. That’s what this is all about.

“I think the best thing you can do if you want VR to grow is to buy VR games; there really is no shortcut here. More and more people are getting VR headsets, and more and more are buying games.”

Well, that’s exactly what we VR gamers have been doing since 2016. Unfortunately, this is hitting its limits, especially as the games get worse—and they’ve been doing just that ever since Meta shifted its focus toward mobile VR games. The enthusiasts who were happy to pay for VR games are gone now. I can only say it again. Meta’s stagnating sales figures prove it. No one likes to spend their money on things they don’t enjoy. I haven’t spent a single cent on current VR games for a few years now, because there’s nothing left that I find truly good or worth playing. How do you picture that working? That’s not how it works. You want to pull the wool over the eyes of hardcore gamers? They’ll just jump into VR and see what’s really going on? Yeah, that’s what I call a brilliant plan.

Yeah, and you’ve just never asked yourself why these games aren’t selling or why they can’t capture players’ attention. You’re so deeply immersed in your own VR world that you’ve lost sight of the bigger picture. So I’m sorry, but I’m trying to figure out why VR still isn’t a thing in gaming, and to me, that’s just a huge part of the whole issue. There are other factors, but the software is the biggest problem. You just can’t deny that. You don’t get that for many VR gamers, this isn’t bashing—it’s a warning.

I never said VR was a big deal. I’m saying they need to adopt a different strategy so that VR can become more mainstream in gaming. Anyway, that’s it.

Oh yeah, that's right. Moss 1 and 2 are just two of the better native VR games out there. We just need to keep moving forward and keep getting better.