Zynga has been behind a series of huge mobile titles over the years, including FarmVille, Words with Friends, and Harry Potter: Puzzles and Spells. Two veterans from the studio, Marcus Segal and Mike Pagano Doom, are looking to take their success with Zynga and utilize it in a fresh venture, with the duo recently launching a development studio called ForeVR.
The company will focus exclusively on immersive VR titles that are playable by "all ages," with a statement on its site suggesting the team wants to build games that allow "friends and families of all ages [to] connect and have fun." The studio will be comprised of significant talent from all across the games industry as well, including the likes of EA, Disney, and Glu Mobile.
ForeVR also supposedly has a number of investors, including Zynga founders Mark Pincus and Justin Waldron as well as Twitch co-founders Emmett Shear and Justin Kan, according to VentureBeat. As for what the studio will be developing, it seems it may have something out sooner than many might expect, with the team developing a bowling VR game titled ForeVR Bowl for Oculus headsets that aims to launch early next year.
Talking to GamesBeat, Segal said the idea for the game was influenced by how easy Wii Sports bowling was to play, and that "it’s a great place to start this accessibility revolution for VR." With the team comprised of some significant alumni, ForeVR is sure to build a solid studio on its dedication to making virtual reality an approachable space for all.
VR has seen some increasingly acclaimed titles in recent years. In 2020, fans saw the release of Half-Life Alyx, the next entry in the seminal PC franchise, with fans claiming the title was an exceptionally innovative delve into what could be achieved in a virtual reality space. Meanwhile, games like Boneworks, The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners, Beat Saber, Resident Evil 7, and Star Wars: Squadrons have all been heralded for pushing the medium in recent years. Hopefully, ForeVR can add to the discussion when it drops ForeVR Bowling next year.
As for Zynga, the company is working on a big project for mobile devices, with it announcing a new game using the Star Wars license earlier this year. This isn't the first time the studio has been given access to some of cinema's biggest IPs, with the team also working on Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Willy Wonka, and The Wizard of Oz in the past. With the team set to shut down FarmVille at the end of the year, it's clear Zynga is ready to move onto a big new project heading into 2021.
Sources: ForeVR, VentureBeat, GamesIndustry.biz