Sparc, the virtual sport from CCP Games, launched last week as a PSVR exclusive but could be coming to more headsets in the near future.
Sparc is an intriguing 1v1 virtual sport created by CCP Games, the studio behind VR flight combat game EVE: Valkyrie (2016) and the iconic (non-VR) MMO EVE Online (2003). The game launched last week as a PSVR exclusive and, so far at least, is enjoying a strong reception from players with the game holding down a 5 out of 5 star user rating on the PlayStation Store.
Because the number of VR headset owners is still relatively small, one challenge multiplayer VR games face is finding a sustainable player population, which makes platform-exclusivity a potentially risky gambit. Sparc may however end up like CCP’s other VR game, Eve: Valkyrie, and add support for more headsets over time.
When Eve: Valkyrie launched in 2016, it was exclusive to the Oculus platform. Less than a year later, CCP had added support for both the HTC Vive and PlayStation VR, and offered cross-play multiplayer between all three headsets.
Speaking recently to a CCP developer working on Sparc, I was told that the company plans to “talk about additional platform support later this year,” suggesting that plans to bring Sparc to other headsets like the Rift and Vive are likely being laid.
Assuming Sparc ends up landing on other headsets, cross-play remains in question. With Eve: Valkyrie, a gamepad-controlled game, all three headsets remain on relatively level playing ground, graphical differences aside. Sparc, however, is CCP’s first VR game made exclusively for motion controls. It’s no secret that PSVR’s motion tracking is sub-par compared to the Rift and Vive, which could offer an advantage to PC players who might be able to throw more accurately and dodge with higher precision and a greater range of motion.
That’s probably the sort of information that CCP will be talking about later this year when discussing cross-platform plans for Sparc.
Interested in Sparc? You can catch our hands-on thoughts here.