Horror game Phasmophobia will get VR rework and new progression system next year
Popular co-op horror game Phasmophobia is getting a virtual reality rework next year, with further optimizations for VR, a new VR interaction system and OpenXR support. The game will also have an adjustable difficulty and a new progression system.
Kinetic, the developer of Phasmophobia, shares his roadmap with upcoming updates on Twitter† The studio then reports a ‘major VR rework’ for Phasmophobia, which should be released next year. The company does not share a concrete release date for this. As part of that, the horror game is getting a new VR interaction system. The developer reports that the VR rework will also overhaul the in-game sound sensor with new visuals and changed functionality. The game will also be ported to a newer version of the Unity engine.
In addition, the title will receive support for the OpenXR API. This is an open source and cross-platform VR and AR standard from the Khronos Group consortium, which also develops other open standards such as Vulkan. Kinetic reports on its Trello board that the move to OpenXR will allow it to support “future VR headsets and controllers.” Kinetic also mentions ‘VR optimization’ on its roadmap.
The Phasmophobia Roadmap for 2022. Image via Kinetic Games on Twitter
Phasmophobia will also get an adjustable difficulty next year. This allows players to select custom options, for example. Gamers can adjust the weather, affect the effectiveness of the sanity pill, turn off flashlights, change the duration of the ghost hunt, and adjust how often the in-game ghost interacts with players.
According to Kinetic, the horror game will also receive a two-part progression update next year. In part one, gear will be upgradeable and new gear will be added. Also, the models and animations of in-game characters are changed and a level wipe takes place. The progression system is adjusted and the level of all players is reset. The render pipeline is also modified. In part two, daily and weekly challenges will be added to Phasmophobia, along with optional objectives and customizable player characters.
Phasmophobia appeared on Steam in 2020 as an early-access game and quickly gained popularity. The game was one of the most-watched games on Twitch for some time after its release, having over 100,000 concurrent players at its peak, according to information from SteamDB. In the co-op game, players investigate a haunted house. Players must find out which ghost is roaming a particular house by finding clues and can also connect with the ghost by asking them questions via voice chat.