Facebook just acquired the virtual reality studio behind the critically-acclaimed role-playing game 'Asgard's Wrath'
- Facebook has bought Sanzaru Games, a US video game developer that makes games for the Oculus virtual reality platform.
- Since 2016, Sanzaru has developed 4 titles for the Oculus platform, including the critically-acclaimed role-playing game "Asgard's Wrath."
- In a blog post published Tuesday, Oculus - the Facebook-owned developer of the Rift VR headset - said Sanzaru is joining Facebook "to help us pursue a future of rich, immersive, and original VR game content."
- The post added that, while "the vast majority" of Sanzaru staff will now join Oculus's games-focused arm Oculus Studios, Sanzaru will still work as "an independent studio operating out of their current offices."
- Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's interest in VR is both longstanding and well-publicized.
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Facebook has bought Sanzaru Games, a US video game developer that makes games for the Oculus virtual reality platform.
Since 2016, Sanzaru has developed 4 titles for the Oculus platform, including the critically-acclaimed role-playing game "Asgard's Wrath." The Norse-themed title holds an 88% rating on review aggregation website Metacritic and has been described as "the most ambitious and impressive VR game ever" by critics.
In a blog post published Tuesday titled "Welcoming Sanzaru Games to Facebook", Oculus - the Facebook-owned developer of the Oculus Rift VR headset - said Sanzaru is joining Facebook "to help us pursue a future of rich, immersive, and original VR game content."
While "the vast majority" of Sanzaru staff will now join Oculus's games arm Oculus Studios, Sanzaru will still work as "an independent studio operating out of their current offices."
The post also hinted at further VR-related acquisitions by Facebook, adding: "We're exploring many ways to accelerate VR, and 2020 is going to be an incredible year for VR game launches and announcements. We are thrilled to have Sanzaru joining our team. This is just one of the many amazing VR announcements we have in store this year."
The move serves to advance Facebook's interests in VR and VR gaming - areas its CEO Mark Zuckerberg has long taken a keen interest in.
The social media giant first acquired Oculus in 2014 for around $2 billion. Speaking after that acquisition, Zuckerberg reportedly called Oculus "the clear leader in something that has the potential to be the next important, or one of the next most important, computing platforms."
More recently, Facebook bought Prague-based VR game studio Beat Games, best-known for making the rhythm-based VR title "Beat Saber."
Sanzaru's website appears to have been pared down in the wake of the news, with its homepage conveying a simple message: "Excited for what's to come!"