Facebook gas acquired BigBox VR, makers of the popular battle royale virtual reality game titled Population: One for an undisclosed sum. 'Population: One' has been a runaway hit, earning more than $10 million on the Oculus Store "after just a few months".
"POP: ONE stormed onto the VR scene just nine months ago and has consistently ranked as one the top-performing titles on the Oculus platform, bringing together up to 24 people at a time to connect, play, and compete in a virtual world," said Mike Verdu, the VP of content at Facebook Reality Labs. BigBox VR may be small, but they are a mighty, nimble team of game industry vets who seamlessly nail the game development duality of craft and data-driven live service.
"We're excited to help BigBox VR grow and accelerate their vision for POPULATION: ONE as a state-of-the-art VR social gaming experience, as well as pursue future projects, with access to the resources and support of Facebook and Oculus Studios," Verdu said in a statement on Friday. As part of the Oculus Studios family, BigBox VR will have the opportunity to grow POP: ONE and cultivate its community with the full support of Oculus Studios resources, and, in the future, pursue other projects.
'POP: ONE' will continue to be supported on all its current platforms. Facebook said that it is exploring many ways to accelerate VR, including investments in third-party content, AAA IP, hardware, and more.