Welcome to UploadVR’s 2024 Better of VR Awards.
2024 was a busy 12 months for the VR and broader XR trade, delivering new {hardware} releases and a strong set of latest VR video games. As 2024 attracts to a detailed, we’re as soon as once more utilizing our Better of VR Awards to spotlight one of the best work throughout {hardware} and software program. Every class will characteristic one winner and related honorable point out.
As with final 12 months, many of the acknowledged winners and nominations are video games or experiences which can be at the moment in full launch. Nonetheless, this 12 months we additionally established a number of new classes, together with awards for particular early entry tasks.
On Wednesday, we checked out our favourite newly launched platforms: Quest, PCVR, and Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional. We acknowledged Batman: Arkham Shadow, Underdogs, and Slasher for his or her excellent achievements on these platforms in 2024.
On Thursday, we targeted on a brand new class: blended actuality apps and hand monitoring. We admire the groundbreaking work of Maestro with hand monitoring and Figmin XR with blended actuality, and we hope to see continued growth into 2025, together with Airspace Defender and Laser Dance. We additionally targeted on his early works.
On Friday, we’ve UploadVR’s Better of VR 2024.
Most up to date VR video games
Whereas 2024 introduced an unprecedented wave of latest releases, many current video games acquired notable assist. Beat Saber, Synth Riders, Smash Drums, and Drums Rock proceed to obtain new music packs, Hellsweeter VR makes a comeback after a rocky launch on PS VR2, and Asgard’s Wrath 2 and Amongst Us VR add new occasions commonly I did. And that is earlier than we even contemplate No Man’s Sky, which has supplied constant updates that proceed to construct upon this bold journey sport.
Rather a lot has occurred, however there can solely be one winner. That is Walkabout Mini Golf. Walkabout has established an $8/season launch schedule with two new locations, and the latest Vacation Hideaway DLC and 8-Bit Lair course introduce enjoyable new gameplay concepts. Walkabout’s path by way of VR is the most recent to attach individuals to headsets for normal journeys, as growth studio Mighty Coconut strikes towards giving individuals new causes to spend time collectively in VR each week. Join your participant on the go together with the iOS model.
Walkabout Mini Golf Overview: Essential VR value scheduling with associates
Walkbout Mini Golf releases in the present day on PSVR 2 and is likely one of the must-have video games for VR on any platform. Our evaluate:

Greatest VR Developer Award
Lucas Martell is the founding father of Mighty Coconuts, and as of 2024, he employs dozens of “coconuts” on the studio that makes Walkabout Mini Golf, together with one he lately employed close to the tip of the 12 months. It additionally consists of individuals. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Coconuts additionally consists of artists working from their properties as distant as Australia.
It takes greater than a 12 months to construct up a brand new course from the essential constructing blocks of Gravity Sketch. Martel joins different artists within the studio to start the method of laying out the essential constructing blocks of the world in VR. As one “coconut” defined to me, Martell is implementing some concepts instantly into the code himself, simply as he did when he was engaged on the sport alone for the primary time in 2020. .

Martell informed UploadVR that Mighty Coconut stays absolutely self-funded and has no buyers or plans to promote the corporate. Which means when the studio releases a brand new course on Walkabout on any platform, a big portion of the per-course payment per platform goes to assist and develop the inventive course of Martell is constructing with this crew. It’s anticipated that they are going to be managed instantly.
Walkabout contains a forward-thinking design throughout releases on Steam, Quest, Sony, Pico, and iOS, with iPad assist, and whereas sticking to a six-week launch cycle as with every new programs sooner or later. The studio can also be exploring methods to unlock new content material and occasions within the sport every week.
In response to the studio, “60% of Walkabout’s VR periods” are multiplayer, with the vast majority of customers taking part in the sport for 2 hours, and plenty of till the battery dies. Examine twins geared up with lengthy USB cables to remain linked on every new walkabout course.
Why VR? Leaping over the Eiffel Tower with my sister
The twins have busy work schedules and dwell in numerous time zones. However they make time to play mini-golf in VR.

Final 12 months, we named Zulubo Productions’ Zach Tsiakalis-Brown our Developer of the 12 months. Be sure you try Vertigo 2: Into The Aether in 2025.
In 2025, VR might be even larger, and persons are in search of one thing to do, whether or not it is getting along with associates, taking part in on their iPhone, or dropping into VR for a fast nine-hole expertise of focus and rest. Masu. It is an surprising outcome from Mighty Coconut’s reliably creative growth crew, led by Lucas Martell.
The studio says gamers can have collectively spent greater than 6 million hours with the sport in 2024. I do not normally write about vainness metrics like this, however I believe it is value noting so as to add that Mighty Coconut stories that this quantity is up 23% in comparison with 2024. A 12 months in the past.
Greatest Early Entry Sport
This 12 months we’re seeing some promising candidates at the moment accessible in early entry. Bootstrap Island is off to a robust begin in PC VR survival, Frenzies affords a enjoyable multiplayer shooter that helps six-player groups, and different highlights embrace Into The Radius 2, Final Stand, One True Path, and Mecha Drive, and so on.

That is the case with Downtown Membership, Commuter Video games’ simcade racing sport with full digital controls. We thought the preliminary launch can be just a little sparse, however we discovered a promising racer that has captivated us thus far and we will not wait to see the place it goes subsequent.
Downtown Membership evaluate in progress: A strong chassis to construct on
Downtown Membership is a enjoyable however sparse early entry VR racer with full digital controls, lovely visuals, and a promising future. Presently beneath evaluate.

Greatest New VR/AR {Hardware}
There have been a number of notable {hardware} releases this 12 months.
Quest 3S lowers the worth of entry into blended actuality and high-quality standalone VR to simply $300, and brings the flexibility to make use of hand monitoring at nighttime to Meta headsets for the primary time. In the meantime, the Pico 4 Extremely affords the primary true Quest 3 competitor, Logitech’s MX Ink affords a brand new type of enter for spatial artwork, and Sony makes the PlayStation VR2 a PC VR headset with a $60 adapter. I modified it to
However there may be one {hardware} launch that’s an important of all time. It is Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional. Not solely does this mark the world’s largest expertise firm’s entry into XR, it additionally introduces various essential firsts. Most of them will finally change into commonplace on all headsets.
Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional Overview: Heavy Transportable Cinema & Monitor
At $3,500, Apple has excessive hopes for the Imaginative and prescient Professional. However will it arrive? What’s it wish to personal and use? Learn our detailed evaluate of Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional {hardware} and software program right here.

Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional is the primary headset with an ultra-high-resolution micro-OLED show, turning your bodily display into software program to look at films anyplace, get the productiveness setup you want, and extra. Appropriate for the primary time.

Its working system is equally essential. visionOS goes far past Android forks and the main PC VR runtime, introducing a brand new idea: shared areas. In a shared house, you may run as many home windows as you need with a number of volumetric apps, and others can take part as practical spatial personas and work together inside the house. Shared coordinate house.
As well as, visionOS is leveraging Imaginative and prescient Professional’s eye monitoring for a gaze and pinch interplay system that might be adopted by the remainder of the trade, together with Google, Samsung, Meta, and Immersed.
Sure, Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional is a $3,500+ product aimed toward rich tech fans and early adopters, and isn’t a mass-market system, so it will not instantly affect most customers. However its clear affect on the trade, and the longer term it proves, will earn it the likes of Meta’s Horizon OS and Google’s Android The place might be secured within the 2024 part of. What has been written thus far.
Greatest new multiplayer sport
We have seen some sturdy contenders for VR multiplayer into 2024. Spatial Ops provided a promising blended actuality shooter, whereas Exploding Kittens VR and Simply Dance VR provided enjoyable diversifications to their respective sequence. Different highlights embrace Contractors Showdown, Into Black, Ghosts of Tabor, Human Fall Flat VR, and Iron Rebel.

Lastly, select a model. Quick Journey Video games creatively produced a extremely entertaining prop hunt whereas taking full benefit of VR. Two brokers try and seek out three shape-shifting aliens who’re locked in place. It has continued to enhance since its full launch because of common updates together with mod assist, new modes, and extra maps.
Favourite PS VR2 Video games of 2024
PlayStation VR2 is now in its second 12 months, and this 12 months has been largely pushed by multi-platform launches. My First Gran Turismo is the one first-party title to assist PS VR2, however third-party publishers embrace Arizona Sunshine Remake, Skydance’s Behemoth, Max Mustard, Trombone Champ: Un flattened, Vertigo 2, Alien, and extra has produced many blockbuster hits. : Rogue Invasion.

In 2024, we identify Metro Awakening the PlayStation VR2 Sport of the 12 months. The prequel to Vertigo Video games’ long-running flatscreen sequence provided highly effective atmospheric storytelling as a “fascinating story of survival” within the Moscow underground.
Metro Awakening evaluate: A charming story of survival in Moscow’s darkish underworld
Go deep underground in Metro and expertise the dystopian way forward for post-nuclear struggle Russia in Metro Awakening.

2024 VR Sport of the 12 months
And we gained the most important award of the 12 months. Like 2023, this was a troublesome determination with sturdy competitors throughout the board. Arizona Sunshine Remake, Behemoth of Skydance, Max Mustard, Trombone Champ: Unflat, Underdogs, Metro Awakening, Iron Rebel.

Just like Quest, the ultimate winner for VR Sport of the 12 months in 2024 is Batman: Arkham Shadow. Regardless of some efficiency points in its preliminary launch and quite a few fixes since then, Camouflaj’s action-adventure hit affords probably the most highly effective experiences we have ever seen. and felt proper at dwelling within the Arkham Universe.
Batman: Arkham Shadow developer talks Rescue Imaginative and prescient, distant work, and new sport+
Batman: Arkham Shadow’s developer speaks with Rescue Imaginative and prescient about manufacturing management and the potential for a New Sport+ mode.

It is a nice second try at Batman in digital actuality, and very like Camouflaj, I would like to see the studio make a sequel within the subsequent few years. Taking part in as a caped crusader has by no means felt so good. A gripping story blended with strong motion mechanics will hold you hooked.
That is why Batman: Arkham Shadow deserves to be the 2024 VR Sport of the 12 months.
Batman: Arkham Shadow Overview – Triumphant Return
Batman: Arkham Shadow is a superb return to the Darkish Knight, cleverly adapting the sequence to VR with Quest 3 and Quest 3S.

Essentially the most anticipated VR video games of 2025
2024 has seen a robust lineup of upcoming VR and MR video games, however the outlook for 2025 and past is already good. Aces of Thunder, The Midnight Stroll, POOLS, Orion Drift, Silent North, Glassbreakers, Ghost City, Roboquest VR, and Arken Age all present nice potential. We’re not counting DLC, however let’s not neglect Vertigo 2: Into The Aether.

Our winner is Mighty Eyes’ time journey journey sport, Wanderer: The Fragments Of Destiny. From what we have seen thus far, it seems like a promising remake of Wanderer, at the moment aiming for a Q1 2025 launch on Quest, Steam, PS VR2, and Pico.