Job Simulator and Rick & Morty VR developer Owlchemy Labs was just acquired by Google according to the studio. The surprise announcement seems to indicate that Google is pushing more into the VR space, with Owlchmey having been at the forefront of the emerging VR gaming space. The added resources of Google could result in some really big things ahead for both the developer and VR as a whole.
“Today is a REAAAALLY BIG day for Owlchemy,” explained the dev in their announcement. “We’re positively thrilled to announce that Owlchemy Labs has been acquired by Google!”
“We set out on a journey over six years ago to build the kinds of games we wanted to see exist. Over those years, we learned that Owlchemy, at its core, cares deeply about a few key things: building quality multi-platform games, solving tough problems with a small but absurdly talented team, sharing our learnings with the community, and Austin’s famous tacos. Now, as we look to the future with Google by our side, we couldn’t be happier. Our plan to build awesome things will continue forward stronger than ever.”
According to the developer, this acquisition means only good things. They promise to continue work on games for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and PlayStation VR, and that those games will still focus on “hand interactions”. Motion controls and room scale has been a big part of Owlchemy’s two latest titles, so it’s good to see that they’ll continue pushing the technology.
“It’s incredibly exciting that Google and Owlchemy are so well aligned on our goals and vision for the future of VR,” the developer continued before looking back on the history of the studio. Owlchemy started small and has found success in their VR efforts, such as Job Simulator.
“Job Simulator was our overnight success many years in the making. We pushed in VR so early and so hard that we were repeatedly told we were crazy, but we knew that we would never be satisfied by making a ‘safe bet’.”
The post closed by looking to the future, which the studio believes is only better thanks to this acquisition. “The future of VR is extremely bright, so we’re donning our lab goggles just in case.”
