It seems to have been a rough few months for Perp Games. At the very least, there must have been some moments of high stress, as PS VR2’s most active publishing company has worked tirelessly to put a proper exclamation point on a run that has delivered a number of high-profile ports to Sony’s platform. Over the course of PS VR2’s short history, no one has been busier, as the studio has announced title after title, with every announcement bringing gamers to a whole new level of hype, anticipation, and enthusiasm. But over the last few months, Perp has been forced to make some difficult decisions, and as we move further into PS VR2’s second year, some of the anticipation is turning to doubt.
The end of summer 2023 was a somewhat turbulent time for PS VR2 gamers. Mass confusion had begun to set in as Sony’s next-gen VR platform seemed to experience a bit of a drought, directly after putting forth the most content-rich launch window that any VR platform has ever seen. It was during this time that we first started to hear PSVR gamers ask, “Where are the games?” Perp would quickly answer the call by announcing two high-profile titles for October: critically acclaimed PCVR hit Vertigo 2 and scientifically proven ‘scariest game of all time,’ MADiSON VR.
As October arrived, PSVR gamers were ready to go. The somewhat short-lived drought had allowed their collective bank accounts to grow, along with their anticipation. However, as the days grew shorter, Perp became quieter, and before we knew it, October had passed. The following months were marred by delays to both titles, with each passing release date only leading to the next.
It wouldn’t be until 2024 that the first of these two titles would finally launch for PS VR2, with Vertigo 2 releasing on January 15th. The wait was over! In the days that followed, the reviews began to pour in, and they echoed a shocking consensus: the game had launched too soon. Instead of receiving the definitive version of this instant classic, Perp had delivered a game with obvious bugs and performance issues. The studio appeared to have chosen to release an unfinished port rather than face the disappointment that would have resulted from another delay. While later updates would correct the majority of these issues, the community’s trust in Perp Games had been shaken.
In the days that followed, Perp would work day and night to correct their obvious mistake, while PSVR gamers shifted their focus to the next big date: February 20th. The waking nightmare that is MADiSON VR was just right around the corner… or was it? After all, it was already months late, having been delayed much like Vertigo 2 before it. As the date approached, an all too familiar silence began to set in, and everyone knew what it meant. Sure enough, just days before the game was set to drop, it was delayed by a month. Within a couple of weeks, it would be delayed again, albeit only slightly, this time pushed to March 29th.
That brings us to yesterday, when Perp Games announced that MADiSON VR has been delayed yet again. I must admit, this one came as a bit of a surprise, as a few trusted reviewers like Gamertag VR have already positioned this game as one of the best releases of the year. Nonetheless, Perp has chosen to delay once more, citing changes to the Unity SDK that will now allow for the implementation of Dynamic Foveated Rendering. The expectation is that this will enable the game to render natively at 90Hz, as opposed to the 60/120 interpolation mode that many PS VR2 titles employ, to varying degrees of success.
So, here we are. March 29th has arrived and it seems that we have found ourselves in an all too familiar situation. As I write this, we do not know when MADiSON VR will launch. We’re told that this will take “a few weeks,” but we haven’t been given a date. With that said, my confidence in the quality of this title has never been higher. While many people may view this latest delay as just more of the same, I see something completely different. I see a Perp Games that has learned from its mistakes.
I see a Perp Games that no longer sets dates it isn’t 100% sure it can meet. I see unprecedented transparency, with a detailed, technical explanation for the delay. I see a studio willing to take the more difficult path, opting to deliver the best game possible at the cost of short-term ridicule and discontent. As PS VR2 reaches a critical juncture in its very brief history, I see a platform that needs more studios like Perp Games.
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