Creating big open-world role-playing games is no easy task, especially where VR is concerned. The likes of Zenith: The Last City and OrbusVR: Reborn are just two examples currently on the market, with a third likely to arrive later this month. Team 21 Studio has been working on VR MMORPG, Ilysia for the past few years, announcing this week plans for an early access launch in October.
Ilysia was originally a Kickstarter project which achieved successful funding in 2020. Since then development hasn’t necessarily been rapid but the team did run a series of beta tests for backers earlier this year. Now, it seems, that the first main goal of an early access launch is in sight, a new X posting reveals.
Team 21 Studio says it’s ‘targeting’ an October rollout (so no guarantee just yet). The launch will feature: “TONS of Bug Fixes, new zones, new races, brand new starting areas and brand new tutorials.”
On the road to Ilysia
Like any MMORPG, Ilysia will feature an expansive world to explore, filled with dungeons and creatures to fight. Some of these monsters are so massive that they effectively function as moving dungeons. Players will be able to choose from a range of classes with particular skills whilst also enjoying in-depth character customisation.
“Our current internal EA build is not a quick demo – it features 4 playable races in two opposing factions, the first 15 levels of character progression, 4 skill trees, 3 dungeons with different design mechanics, and a sizeable world to explore with tons of quests spanning different types we’re testing out,” states the studio on Steam. “All told, it’s roughly the first 20-30 hours of content.”
As for the early access duration, Team 21 notes: “Our goal is to have Ilysia in Early Access for a bit over a year- we are targeting the December 2024 holiday period, which we believe will be enough time to validate our design, make the adjustments we need, and use the formula to expand the content to Release levels.”
The early access release of VR MMORPG Ilysia will be for Meta Quest and SteamVR headsets. Plans have now been dropped for Quest 1 and PSVR support. However, the studio is planning a Quest 3 update and PSVR 2 support further down the line.
Did you back Ilysia‘s Kickstarter? What are your thoughts on its development? Let us know in the comments below.