Both games in the VR-exclusive Moss series are coming to flatscreen platforms in one unified game this summer.
Polyarc has announced that the previously VR-exclusive Moss and its sequel Moss: Book II are coming to flat screens in a unified package called Moss: The Forgotten Relic. The game will launch this summer for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox and Nintendo Switch.
Moss: The Forgotten Relic not only unifies both Moss games into one, but also includes Moss’ DLC Twilight Garden. Polyarc’s announcement also mentions that the new game will feature enhanced visuals, a reworked camera, new cutscenes, and an accessibility feature that will let players skip challenging combat sections.
This news follows recent turmoil at Polyarc. We reported in March that two-thirds of the studio’s staff had been laid off after the studio’s next “large project” lost its funding. Other studios have suffered similar setbacks in recent months. Survios, makers of Alien: Rogue Incursion and Creed: Rise to Glory, has all but shut down after a pivot to flat screen products failed to bolster the studio’s coffers.
This year has seen more and more VR studios pivot to a hybrid model. Vertigo Games and their The 7th Guest Remake, ,Realities.io,’s Puzzling Places, and Resolution Games’ Demeo x Dungeons and Dragons: Battlemarked are just a few of the many VR titles that have recently released or are currently being ported or remade for flat screen platforms.
The trend is one that we discuss on this week’s UploadVR Gamescast. It speaks to challenges in the broader game industry, and in the VR market in particular. The games industry has always moved through similar peaks and valleys. If a hybrid model helps VR developers weather the storm and come out the other side producing new VR titles, that’s the best possible outcome.
