Over the last few years if you looked at a list of the most anticipated VR games then Low-Fi was likely to make an appearance. A retro-futuristic cyberpunk game by Iris VR, Low-Fi has looked promising ever since its Kickstarter in 2019. With a small development team, the project has seen continual delays to its official launch on PCVR and PSVR 2. Now, original Low-Fi creator Blair Renaud has issued a statement noting the death of PCVR (in general). Furthermore, he’s said the game “won’t ship until its good and done.”
Renaud is a VR veteran who released the highly praised interactive visual novel Technolust for Oculus Rift in 2016. Technolust’s spiritual successor, Low-Fi raised CA$108,191 (about $80,000 USD) from Kickstarter, with development further funded by PC early access. After five years of development, Renaud said on X that: “We are starting to run low on money,” thus meaning: “that the fire is lit under my ass to ship this thing.”
So the good news is that Low-Fi’s PCVR and PSVR 2 launch might not be too far away. On the other hand, Low-Fi won’t be released until it is ready. “A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad,” he notes.
High and Low-Fi
After such a long time in development, the VR industry has evolved quite a bit in that time. Hence why the team expanded support from PCVR to PSVR 2 to ensure a wider player base. However, Renaud acknowledges that PCVR isn’t what it once was. The Rift store is essentially dead, Windows Mixed Reality is definitely dead and HTC’s Viveport isn’t worth mentioning.
So almost everything is pinned on Steam and PSVR 2 doing well. He mentions: “We have a decent amount of wishlists (66k on Steam and 24k on PS5) so far,” which could translate into decent sales numbers if the game is as good as everyone hopes.
But Iris VR isn’t solely relying on VR sales. Just like Rogue Sun did with Tin Hearts, Low-Fi also has a flatscreen mode. “Good news! Non-VR mode is great! No just for testing, but for playing,” says Renaud. “We decided to go full in on it’s development and offer it to the consumers. Bonus, it also runs on Steam Deck!” That may give the team a much-needed financial lifeline in the long run.
Even so, there’s still no confirmation as to when we’ll be able to fly around the cyberpunk streets of Low-Fi.
Have you been looking forward to the game? Let us know your thoughts on this news.
