Now Oculus owns the best VR battle royale game

It’s tough to imagine how much more the battle royale genre can expand, but with so many popular games already, it’s inevitable that new platforms like virtual reality will need their own spin on it. Population: One has managed to arrive as a breakout VR hit with its 24-person games and Fortnite-like gameplay, and now Facebook’s Oculus arm has acquired its developer, Bigbox VR.

Devindra Hardawar quickly fell in love with the game last fall, and particularly enjoyed its crossplatform VR chops. According to a blog post, Pop: One “will continue to be supported on all its current platforms,” so even if you’re on a non-Facebook headset you will still be able to play this game, which the team will continue working to expand even as it develops new projects. 

As Upload VR notes, the current business model for the game also follows Fortnite and other BR hits by using a paid “battle pass” system of unlockable content. It will be interesting to see how that develops over time, and if the graphics get an upgrade to take advantage of more powerful VR hardware in the future. The last big studio Oculus acquired was Lone Echo developer Ready at Dawn in a deal announced last June, so this is also a sign that Facebook will keep spending to find interesting content for its VR platforms.