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First Contact Entertainment, the studio behind PSVR’s acclaimed Firewall Zero Hour and PSVR2’s pseudo-sequel Firewall Ultra, will close down at the end of the year. The team cited the industry’s overall lack of virtual reality support as the reason. “As a AAA virtual reality game developer, we are just not able to justify the expense needed going forward,” a statement said.
Firewall Zero Hour was supported for many years as a live service, and in an interview earlier in the year, the developer had expressed a similar ambition for Firewall Ultra. “With Firewall Zero Hour, the live service model was a pivot that happened after launch,” communications manager David Jagneaux told us prior to launch. “But the pivot we have with Firewall Ultra is that it’s being designed from the very beginning to be a live service game.”
The developer released Operation Bloodline earlier this month, the first of Firewall Ultra’s post-release seasons – although it’s probably safe to assume at this point it’ll also be its last. We’ll try to contact the developer to find out what the future holds for the release, and whether its servers will remain active.
“We are a team of fearless innovators willing to push new technologies to its limits,” the developer’s closure statement continued. “I am extremely proud of the team and grateful to our investors, our partners, and of course our community of dedicated and passionate players. It’s been a wild ride. Thank you!”
While the original Firewall Zero Hour attracted a sizeable community and a lot of praise, we found that its PS5 successor had fallen behind the curve. “There are certainly the bones of a good game in here, but with the streamlined gameplay experience and limited content roster, frankly we just kept thinking about the better VR games we could be playing,” we noted in our review.
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Well that escalated. Still to try this one as I was put off by the review
First of many. VR is too expensive for the mass market to be successful, simple as that.
Stripped out the sequel and went hard on live service, it's like they wanted fail.
I can't afford to buy something I may not use because I get motion sick easily. Sad for the devs
@zhoont I'll buy one as soon as Sony announces at least 1 new game being developed by one of their 20+ studios, that's when you know they are taking this seriously.
Meta has 9 studios that make exclusives for the Quest, why doesn't PSVR2 have at least one studio allocated to it? PlayStation is as popular now as it was during the PS2, if they really wanted to push VR this is the best moment to do it.
Wow - that’s a real shame. Firewall Ultra wasn’t my sort of game but I’d read that the latest patches had improved it considerably.
Worrying times for all devs it seems.
PSVR owners tend to be the older hardcore due to the investment required and lack of trend games. Trying to run a live service game at AAA quality is a fundamental mistake. I buy many PSVR2 games, but not once would I or anybody else I know look at COD like games.
It is true however that VR could be better supported all round. Including by the press and MS. If only MS would support it you would suddenly see 99% of online negativity removed when the fanboys lose the ability to score points.
Stil, the resi games alone pay for the headset for me, so I’m happy with my investment. I already know PSVR2 has given me the best gaming experiences of the generation by far. Hopefully Sony will make more games, or at least a team to focus on improving the weaker quest ports.
Regarding this game: try launching a multiplayer game that allows you to connect rather than having to continually dropp out of and rejoin lobbies, try including basic features like manual reloads that everyone wants. I don’t want to kick a dev when they are down, but it’s best to be honest with yourselves.
Where are the games Sony??? Where is the marketing for PSVR2???
I'm sure that the very fact that the game got pretty bad reviews didn't help. Sorry to hear about the closure, but let's keep it real for a second.
@__jamiie agreed. At first, it was fine, but now it seems that Sony isn't fully invested in it. There are a ton of games for it, but the lack of first party exclusives is inexcusable.
@naruball @thefourfoldroot1 I had similar thoughts - This just isn't the kind of game I bought VR for.
I feel like I've been playing PSVR2 a lot lately too, but it's the likes of RE4 and GT7 that have me hooked. Arizona Sunshine 2 looks great too.
Too bad for First Contact. It's never been easy to take risks in this industry.
Bought firewall 2 on launch player it twice and never again ...was just a pain to play when you could manage to find games
I have yet to finish a vr game and I have bought plenty ....might finish Arizona sunshine 2 though ....Horizon I would have finished if my save didn't corrupt ..and Synapse I do plan on finishing one day...I just find it a pain to actually put the vr on and play..can't play for long periods...find it easier now I've decided to play sat though
@naruball Sony have been happy to take the rising tide approach to VR. It's basically what they did with PS1 - Let third party titles drive it. The success of one will benefit all.
That's what they've said at least.
It seems to me though that outcomes like this are why they are holding back perhaps. The industry isn't kind to taking risks atm.
Then again, maybe if they supported it more it wouldn't be as risky.
It makes me wonder if they do shift away from GaaS, maybe some talent will be put to work in this space instead.
Personally I'm still hyped for VR. I'm eager to see more of Behemoth and if Light no Fire has VR it's the game I'll die playing.
The lack of VR in that game didn’t help, along with the egregious grind or pay up micro transactions on release made it difficult to like.
I loved the first game with the aim controller apart from waiting to get a game.
With this one, if I wanted to just press x to interact with everything, I’d play a flat screen game. And there should’ve been a focus on some more singleplayer modes to play when you got sick of waiting.
Lots of potential but this game completely missed the mark for what I wanted in a VR game for me.
Sony needs a PSVR2 big budget Half Life: Alyx-type release, not a Horizon climbing simulator. I'd love to buy the system but given the price they should be making it unbelievably tempting. Instead it seems like they pumped it out solely for people who enjoy wasting money on novelties
So nothing to do with them releasing a mediocre game which didn't even have VR controls in it? Don't get me wrong, I think Sony have done an appalling job marketing PSVR2 but you can't blame others when your own game isn't any good.
Overall I'm very happy with my PSVR2 experience so far, Horizon was ok at best but GT7 is absolutely incredible in it, Resident Evil 4 is amazing, I've just started No Man's Sky in it and that is how you make a VR game. Plus many smaller games like Beat Saber, Tetris, Rez etc but I still feel Sony themselves really need to be supporting it more as it seems they're not even making games for it
@LifeGirl Exactly, I would love to get PSVR2 but I just can't justify paying that amount for a limited amount of games, plus the thought that is VR going to be a phase or move onto the next thing, with closures like this because of lack of support it makes me not want to part with my cash more.
Never heard of them… Did an internet search and they’ve seemed to have only released games for PSVR, and 1 Quest and PCVR titles. No wonder they’re shutting down. PSVR exclusivity makes absolute no sense unless you’re getting a pay check daily from Sony. You basically not support 85% of the vr market. Not supporting the Quest is death sentence.
Now this is the time for Sony to swoop in and buy the studio while they would be super cheap. Then First Contact Entertainment can continue to work on VR games and Sony would have more support for PS VR2. It would be a win-win
@__jamiie There are plenty of awesome games. RE4, RE8, GT7, Horizon, Synapse, Red Matter 2 etc. Remember the headset isn't a year old yet. Far better first year for content that any console launch... I do fear for the future of PSVR2 though as it hasn't sold great. Desperately needs the new Astrobot. It has to be in the works.
@SgtTruth “ Original full size AAA VR gaming as a profitable venture is dead. Doesn't exist. Not viable.”
It is viable. Just don’t limit yourself to 1 platform, and if you do have limit yourself. Limit yourself to largest platform with the highest possible number of buyer.
@Terry12 There are tons of amazing games but complete silence from Sony themselves. As someone who paid £530 for the headset and owns a huge amount of games, I want to know what the hell Sony are playing at.
Even some VR1 upgrades would be great for the time being. Blood and Truth, Farpoint, Rush of Blood, Arizona Sunshine 1 and Astrobot spring to mind. Even a few more "experiences" like PSVR Worlds would help.
@SgtTruth I personally feel that Vertigo and Arizona Sunshine are triple A. I would like to add Saint and Sinners, Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond, and After the Fall.
But of course they aren’t going to compare to Alyx, Lone Echo, or Call of Mountain. Those are the equivalent of first party games…
As a person with a vr headset, id say combining a live service model, where the challenge is pulling your audience away from other billion dollar franchises like fortnite, and VR where your audience is much smaller than the traditional audience, is why you failed.
Astrobot, enough said.
You make one mediocre game, you go bust. This is the reality for most developers, regardless of platform.
GT7 in VR is one of my most played games this year. It was my only premium full price purchase of the year too. I’d be in the market for any competitors. VR is an absolute game changer for some genres, and I want more sims.
AAA VR is perfectly viable, but it needs to actually be AAA. This is a £35 B-game, which is a very crowded market, and is an online shooter the best VR genre? It sounds exhausting.
Arizona sunshine on the VR is absolutely brilliant and well worth picking up for anyone that has the PSVR2
@TrickyDicky99 well as an owner of several VR platforms I can tell you that with Quest 2 or Quest 3, by the time you spend the necessary additional money to get a good 3rd party head strap and additional batteries to make them comfortable use and play them for hours, you’ve surpassed the cost of PSVR2.
I know a lot of gamers in my life and none of them talk about VR let alone have it.
@TrickyDicky99 I’ll agree to disagree on PsVR2 needing an additional comfort option and you don’t “need” the charging station for the controllers. I have a giant, perfectly round dome of a head so comfort with the Sony headset isn’t an issue lol.
They chose to go with live service. They pretty much set themselves up for failure, and can hardly blame anyone but themselves.
Live service is a stain on gaming.
@TrickyDicky99 I have none of those extras and have zero issues with comfort or charging a couple of controllers, they aren't necessary at all
@SgtTruth they backed the wrong horse with that one, it's not a bad game but flashy visuals aside, I wouldn't put it in my top 20 VR games across PSVR1/2 and some devs think climbing in VR is way more fun than it really is
@TrickyDicky99 no I don't think those are either, I'm looking to get a Quest 3 myself early next year to play games like Beat Saber without taking over the living room and PC VR games like Half-Life Alyx and more racing sims
@TrickyDicky99 the quest 3 absolutely needs a different head strap from that start. Where PSVR2 failed is that they made it such a closed system. If they have made it PCVR compatible then it would have sold much better.
With games like Pavlov there's more competition in VR shooters than there was on the PSVR1, and it seems to me Firewall had fallen behind the times, as well as having a lot of connection and progression issues at launch.
Sad to see them shut down though, have some great memories of Zero Hour with the Aim controller.
I'm tired of seeing developers blame 'lack of support' as the reason of a games downfall. There's plenty of brilliant vr games. Plenty of indie vr games are just as good as AAA games, and they never complain. The only reason firewall is shutting down is because its a bad game. Its as simple as that. They're just trying to pass the blame instead of taking responsibility for the fact that the game doesn't play well, and isn't particularly that fun.
Yikes 😅 really was routing for the psvr 2. Still at least capcom support it well.
Sony is failing VR I must say. First the underwhelming psblog reveal, the price and the ongoing support.
Why isn't there a single psvr2 game on psplus (any tier)!? Ok, there's Humanity but that doesn't qualify. It would attract more people to invest if they'd already have something to play in their library and the devs would get a guaranteed paycheck. As it is there are few VR games I'd actually want to put down money for outside of a subscription, since most qualify more as short "experiences", so a subscription would be a better fit.
@MrZurkonKeelYou As someone who has put over 500hrs into their Quest 3 with the default strap. You don’t not absolutely need a different strap. The default strap is good enough for basic daily use.
They should refund players of this game. Simple
And it’s a dreadful game. Was at the start and still is now, a lifeless rubbish game
I think it's a combination of PSVR2 entry price (at normal price PS5 + PSVR2 is just over £1000), no 1st party games post-launch and the decision for the game to go live service.
A strong 1st party lineup showcases to players that the platform won't be abandoned and so it's safe to buy without regrets.
Seems an odd reason to point blame at, I think if Ultra wasn't a messy flop they wouldn't be throwing in the towel...yet the VR market would still be at the same place.
@TrickyDicky99 I wouldn’t go as far as saying it would be useless, it would prove the viability of VR in general. They would sell more headsets and potentially port some of their games to PC.
@AverageGamer hard disagree. The stock strap is terrible. If it was great or even passable, companies like BOBOVR and Kiwi Design wouldn’t exist. Unless you’re only going thru and playing it until the battery is dead after 95 minutes then maybe you can live with the stock strap. As someone that games almost primarily in VR at this point the 3rd party straps and batteries are required.
VR paradox - user base is small because the game library is lacking, the game library is lacking because the user base is small.
I don't know if it will ever get out of the niche corner of gaming and become mainstream. Personally, I see 95% of VR games as cheap gimmicks. It's hard to justify the hardware cost on such a small number of quality games(especially the psvr2 which will likely be tied to this console gen only).
This is literally the first time I’ve ever heard anyone refer to FCE as a AAA developer. There seems to be a ton of confusion around this term as it applies to VR.
This self-perpetuating gloom cycle around PSVR2 is so annoying. There’s a lot of great games on PSVR2. It’s given me some of the most genuinely thrilling gaming experiences in years! It doesn’t need costly AAA first-party exclusives to succeed. Those just aren’t feasible financially, especially with the financial turmoil in the games industry right now. I wish people could just appreciate PSVR2 for what it is. With hybrids, we actually have some true current-gen AAA games playable in VR.
And on that note, I genuinely hope that Push Square will find some time to write up the VR Mode for Resident Evil 4 Remake. It’s incredible!
I’m a big fan of VR and I’ve bought 2 PSVRs along with an Oculus through the years but felt from day one that the PSVR2 came at a bad time and actually too early.
It launched when people were still struggling just to get a PS5. I believe the PSVR2 should have released like next year or even later. I just never had a good feeling about it this go around and haven’t bought one either so far.
@TrickyDicky99 @naruball @__jamiie Meta just Lost about 4 billion dollars in the 3rd quarter trying to make VR successful and they lost about 25 billion dollars last year on VR. They're not profitable and never have been, it's just propped up by Facebook and WhatsApp that's why Sony plays it safe because they can't afford those losses. It's actually pretty smart, they are letting Meta do all the hard work while keeping their foot in the door in case it takes off.
@TheCollector316 why would Sony even want to buy the studio? They have shown to put out bad to mediocre games, not listen to feedback, and be outright hostile towards customers asking them questions. Sony would be smart to stay far away from anyone associated with FCE
@PloverNutter
Perhaps you are right. It would be an inexpensive way to bolster PS VR2, but if the studio is terrible, maybe buying the studio would be more trouble than it's worth.
@MrZurkonKeelYou “If it was great or even passable, companies like BOBOVR and Kiwi Design wouldn’t exist”
They would still very much exist. Their job is to provide a more premium option over the stock, not just to improve the wearability of the HMD.
“Unless you’re only going thru and playing it until the battery is dead after 95 minutes then maybe you can live with the stock strap.”
I mean… Your average person is only playing VR for like 1-2hrs anyway. No body is really spending 7-8 in VR unless you’re a streamer or one of those VRChat FBT weirdos who sleeps in VR. Granted, I do spend 8hrs in VR on VRChat genuinely.
@MrMagic Sony releasing some first party games will not lose them billions of dollars though. They've already spent however many millions in R&D and manufacturing costs for the headset so releasing new content will only go towards recouping some of those costs. A half decent first party game would sell like hot cakes.
Lack of VR support? I need some clarity on how this article translates to the title.
Sounds like it's biggest issue was trying to be a live service vr game before learning how to make a vr game. I've played both, even push square found this wanting. If zero hour was a possible future, then why pioneer in a dying fad. No one's interested in live service games anymore, hard pressed to say they ever were. Its possible to make the formula work sure, but its gotta be something you stumble on, bot design from the ground up and force on the user. Prove your damn game concept first, get some free content out there before being like "here's a season bro, where's my 30 bucks?" People will just bail.
This is sad. Game was a lot of fun on PSVR1
Aren't small VR developers like Stress Level Zero and WarpFrog thriving?
Don't blame the VR industry on the failure of your s--tty game.
With that being said, still sad to see another gaming studio closure.
This is really unfortunate, and I’m concerned it’s an omen for the future of VR gaming. I doubt VR is going away, but the notion that it’ll become a mainstream form of gaming with full-fledged AAA game support is regrettably losing steam. Why? Sony has done an absolutely pitiful job of showing off their tech to the masses.
Where are the VR2 in-store displays? Where can interested gamers try on a VR2 headset and run through a game demo prior to plopping down a whopping $550-600? Nowhere in my area that I’m aware of, anyway.
I’m in Minnesota (US), and the headquarters of both Best Buy AND Target are both less than 100 miles from me, and so is the place where they publish GameInformer magazine & website!!! As far as I know, there’s not even a place in the Mall of America that has a VR2 demo booth. If I’m completely wrong on this, PLEASE, let me know!!
Here’s the bottom line: VR is AWESOME, but very few people have the big bucks in disposable income to toss at a gaming platform that they’ve never tried—especially when there are no absolute, must-have AAA games to use it with. No Uncharted. No The Last of Us. No inFamous. No God of War. No GTA. No Red Dead 2. Resident Evil 4 and Gran Turismo 7 are probably the closest things we have to killer apps, but it’s not enough.
Here’s the sad thing: I bought a used PSVR a few months back (you can get ‘em refurbished online from GameStop for under $70!), and I showed it off to a couple of my friends…and now my friends have their own used PSVR headsets! My skeptical friends were DAZZLED by PSVR’s tech and game immersion, and PSVR is LAST GEN—it’s, what, 7 or 8 years old at this point?! If only Sony could let its gamers try VR2, the gamers would buy it! I’m absolutely 100% convinced of that—even with its large price point. But, Sony hasn’t learned a damn thing about introducing new gaming technology to the masses. They failed with the Vita, failed with the Move, failed with PSVR, and are now on the precipice of failing with PSVR2. 🙁
@__jamiie Where are the games games? RE Village, GT7, NMS, Horizon COTM, Walking Dead Saints and Sinners 1&2, Synape, Hubris, Red Matter 1&2, Walkabout mini golf, Humanity, RE 4 plus over 150 other PSVR2 titles, but where are the games? I admit the Sony could've hyped it more but the games ARE there and they need to be highlighted more.
@AverageGamer no one that I know can play with the stock strap or without swappable battery packs. I guess if you’re just sitting there in VR Chat then maybe the stack strap could work but that actual games like Racket Club, Dungeons of Eternity, AC Nexus, that require more forceful movements need more than the stock strap can offer. I’m also not a streamer nor do I have a channel. I do game with some people that do both though and it’s not uncommon for our sessions to last 5, 6, 7 hours or longer.
@TrickyDicky99 if they unlocked the headset for PCVR and sales really took off, I could easily see Sony porting their VR games to PCVR.
@SonOfClement I've already said how many amazing PSVR2 games there are and I've bought pretty much all of them.
But I'm talking about first party games and you can list 2 of them. Horizon and GT7's fantastic addition.
Why aren't Sony studios making games for Sony's headset? It's a legitimate concern.
I love the PSVR. My only wish would be that Sony loved it too. Haha.
Aside from that, I think it’s an amazing bit of kit with brilliant games.
Alright I guess I’ll be the first one to say it. PSVR2 is starting to look like the PS VITA
@__jamiie We don’t know what all of Sony’s studios are making. Some could be working on PSVR2 games that have yet to be announced. We just don’t know. I wouldn’t expect for Sony to sink a ton of development resources into PSVR2 though. The VR market is just so limited.
Also, remember that beloved PSVR1 games like Astro-Bot and Blood & Truth released a couple of years after the headset’s launch. Sony is funding VR modes for games made by other studios, which is great! Unfortunately, I think Sony’s first party support across the board is going to suffer because they made such a big bet on live-service games.
@ryanburnsred I hope you’re joking. If I had a dollar for every time someone said PSVR2 was looking like another Vita I could personally fund development of a VR-exclusive God of War game by now. I don’t think it’s a good comparison though.
What's wild to me about Sony's lack of first-party VR support is that before they brought them in house, Insomniac was diversifying its portfolio and releasing quite a few VR titles. Instead of bringing them in and letting them keep working on those titles, they turned them into a Marvel game machine.
Sony should have AT LEAST 3 studios working on mid-large gauge VR titles. There is no reason PSVR2 hasn't had it's own Half Life: Alyx or Asgard's Wrath 2 type release by now.
And this is coming from someone who REALLY wants one.
I started with a PSVR, enjoyed it, then looked at and bought a quest 2. The draw of no wires, adding custom songs to Best Saber and for the most part much better tracking was appealing. I knew it wasn't as powerful, but it was a better fit.
While I'm SURE PSVR 2 is way more powerful, looking at the game library and seeing the lack of support from Sony isn't getting me back.
@Tecinthebrain Couldn’t agree more. Sony’s tots lack of support or resources is pathetic.
I bought the first one and was very disappointed with 80% of playtime being finding a match and loading times. I didnt even bother looking at the 2nd kne because of this.
They can blame themselves. It was never gonna break the mass market and they should've had a backup plan. The PSVita first party support was killed for the first PSVR. It was a loss in all fronts.
I just hope we can finally move on from it. This isn't the future of gaming. Not like this. Too many comfort and health issues with the current designs and little to make up for it.
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