With many VR multiplayer games now available for free to play, GlassBreakers: Champions of Moss is the exception that is curious in the opposite direction.
Spinoffs like Moss and Moss PVP MOBA: Book 2, Glassbreakers from PolyArc: The champions of Moss will leave you to destroy the enemy “Glass Stronghold” by selecting a team of three champions with unique abilities. Following the 2023 free-to-play open beta, the news has become quiet for Glassbreakers after it ended last January. It has recently reappeared in the launch window in the second half of 2025.
Over a year without major news, it took a long time for the game to silence after the open beta, and many fans wondered what was going on. Before it appeared on last week’s VR Games Showcase, PolyARC had begun releasing the developer’s diary in July.
So, what’s going on all this time? PolyARC Design Director Chris Bourassa explained more in a recent video call interview, but not before he jumped into Glassbreakers’ history. This is an idea that goes back to the early days of the studio, when the game was originally known as “Crimson.”
“Danny Brah, one of the studio’s founders, was my university roommate. He started this in 2017. He visited me and visited.
PolyARC put the idea on hold, believing that the VR multiplayer market is still not well developed, but the studio revisited this prototype after finishing the original Moss. The studio, which offers renovations and updated control, began pitching to investors following the launch of Brass Tactics, and is based on GlassBreakers’ movement model for real-time strategy games.
“I spent a lot of time trying to replicate their athletic models. So we updated it and looked around, but we weren’t entirely interested yet. After that, we spent some time working on a few other prototypes and then we were contracted for the Moss Book 2.”
Working with Glassbreakers continued in the background during Moss: Book 2, and multiplayer interest began to gather as Rec Room became more popular. Following about 3/4 of the path through the development of the sequel, Bourassa started to move Glassbreakers after Book 2 was finished, entering full development and increasing the smaller team.
In 2023, GlassBreakers’ Open Beta arrived at Quest’s now-deprecated App Lab platform before receiving a steam release nearly two months later. Bourassa says the reception was pretty much positive, to the point that some Discord Server members still discuss the open beta metagame and calling it “a real big driving force” for the team.
Bourassa says the team “learned tons” from this “cruelly honest” feedback. However, as a studio with just under 50 staff and multiple projects, PolyARC has realized that the free play model is not sustainable for the team.
“We began to understand the expectations that gamers could play for free against the team size we had. We quickly realized that we couldn’t meet this. We hit that junction point on the road.
So Glassbreakers eventually moved from free to paid games. Considering we’ve seen many VR multiplayer games take the opposite approach, Brazen Blaze and Mannequin are recent examples, was this a risk? Knowing that playing for free was not the right choice, it became an easier pivot.
“We were already having a conversation about being a premium game. We tried this using open beta time. If it doesn’t work, we have a plan to go back to this.”
To go further, Bourassa uses a free-to-play model, so you’ll often be unlocked behind factors like time and grind, and you’ll need to use the Battle Pass to unlock cosmetics. He described this as “handcuffing me a bit” when working within a particular model. Free to play did not allow him to create a progression curve he liked.
In comparison, the premium experience makes him more easily focused on being a designer. The current method of unlocking is to play as a champion to unlock other champions, and after reaching level 20 or trying different characters along the way, you can earn a “mastery” skin.
The intention is that before everyone can make each champion play “a little” and introduce the champion with more complex abilities, Reese is one of the first rocks. Bourassa explains how this layered approach to building team composition is not something you can play for free as people buy what they want right away.
“It’s great to have the freedom to create experiences with premium models.”
This doesn’t mean Glassbreakers are one deal either. Publishing Director Lincoln Davis has confirmed that seasonal events are planned with new cosmetics to unlock, and also mentions contests and tournaments coming. Bourassa has not checked if there is a post-release DLC, but the options are not ruled out either.
Anyone familiar with the previous beta versions will find that despite these changes in progression, the core gameplay remains an externally balanced tweak, but the full release adds three maps that some champions may be stronger than others.
Since each map uses a hex-based layout, this takes more positioning than a specific environment trick. Using one of the previously introduced champions called Mojo as an example, Bourassa says that every map offers a small puzzle that players can solve.
“One of the maps where Mojo is strong has all the gears in the center of the island. Two characters close the doors and the other enemies can’t get into all the gear. In the case of Mojo, you can pull across the gap and pull it out.
There is also a new 2v2 option called “BUDS Mode.” Here you and your friends can work with other players and fight AI players. He compares this to Starcraft 2’s Archon Mode. This means that instead of both players playing a 6V6 match, they will jointly command the same team of three champions.
Bourassa says that the meta that is preferred here is for better players to control two champions, so the other handles what requires more micromanagement. This allows those who handle singular champions to “play like a traditional MOBA.” This is how BUDS mode plays internally.
At launch, Glassbreakers will feature 12 different champions. PolyArc hopes to expand the Moss Universe by introducing more characters for the first time. There are some that we’ve encountered before, like Sahima in Moss: Book 2. Have you ever seen Quill appear as a champion? For now, that’s unlikely.
“When we started building Glass Breakers, Quill was a prototype champion, but for a few reasons, she doesn’t want to do it. Her adventures are strictly in Moss. She’s going on with her. She doesn’t want to confuse players who are really into Moss.
Currently, Glassbreakers have been confirmed on Steam and Quest, particularly Quest 3, 3S, and Pro. When asked about Quest 2, Davis advised that PolyARC is currently working on full platform support. Although not a confirmation, PolyARC is currently “exploring” releases on PlayStation VR2 and other platforms.
Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss will arrive at Quest and Steam later this year.
