CCP Games revealed that Sparc would make its Steam and Oculus Store debut in two weeks even though the studio is shutting down its VR development teams.
CCP Games first revealed its take on a virtual sport during GDC in February. The developer announced Sparc, a fast-paced, tennis-like game reminiscent of the Tron disc game, and it showcased the title running on an Oculus Rift and an HTC Vive. We were also told that the game would eventually support PlayStation VR.
Following GDC, we expected that Sparc would debut on the PC VR platforms, but at E3, CCP Games surprised us by revealing that it would be a PlayStation VR timed exclusive. CCP Games released Sparc to the PlayStation marketplace on August 29, but the developer didn’t have any news about the Vive and Rift releases.
On Monday, CCP Games announced that it would be closing its virtual reality studios in the Newcastle, UK, and Atlanta, GA, and halting further investment into VR until “market conditions justify further investments,” which left us questioning whether Sparc would ever land on the Steam and Oculus stores. Fortunately, CCP Games hasn’t given up on virtual reality entirely. The developer still wants people to enjoy its hard work.
CCP Games said that Sparc would be available on the Oculus Store and the Steam Store. The developer also confirmed that cross-platform play between all three platforms would be enabled.
“Our goal is to get as many players as possible onto the Sparc courts,” said Morgan Godat, the game’s executive producer at CCP Games. “Having cross-platform VR play available on PlayStation 4 and PC means everyone can play together in the same virtual space.”
Sparc features solo challenges to help you hone your skills and multiple multi-player modes to show them off. The game also includes a VR spectating lobby that lets you watch live games from the sidelines with others. The lobby also lets you meet your opponent in VR while you queue up for your next match.
CCP Games said that Sparc would be available on the Oculus Store and Steam Store on November 16. The game supports HTC Vive and Oculus Rift with Touch controllers. The PlayStation VR version of the game is available now. For more information, visit https://www.playsparc.com/
