Proton Pulse, originally created for the Oculus Rift DK1 development kit in 2013, has been re-released on Apple Vision Pro this week. Practically untouched from its original head-tracked input scheme, the game marks a soft reset in XR game development as developers assess how to approach Vision Pro’s lack of controllers.
Created by developer Justin Moravetz, Proton Pulse was first built for the Rift DK1, the very first headset released by Oculus for developers. The game was also released on Google Cardboard, Google Daydream, Samsung GearVR, Oculus Go, and the Oculus Rift consumer headsets.
And now, more than 10 years after its debut, you can buy Proton Pulse on Vision Pro.
The game was able to seamlessly span a decade of XR headsets because it was designed around gaze-based input. Without the need to rely on controllers, hand-tracking, or eye-tracking, Proton Pulse has remained highly adaptable from one headset to another without any core changes to the gameplay.
And at this very early stage in immersive gaming on Vision Pro, Proton Pulse stands out as one of the best games you can play on the headset at the moment. While many other games on the platform feel closer to board games, Proton Pulse is a fully immersive experience that takes over your whole environment—like most VR games on other headsets.
The game’s launch on the Vision Pro points to a broader moment in the VR industry: interested developers are experimenting to figure out exactly what works best on the headset. Apple’s decision to exclude controllers from Vision Pro has undercut much of the XR game design knowledge that’s accumulated over the last decade. Working within those limitations is forcing a back-to-basics approach for many.
As for this particular experiment, developer Justin Moravetz tells us that he’s “strongly considering an all-out sequel if this does well.”