Making a Living in Virtual Reality
For local developer Owlchemy Studios, the best way to prosper in an environment with a small consumer base (i.e., those lucky few with headsets) was to not rely on software sales at all. The studio secured a deal to have their sci-fi/slapstick/faux-instructional VR game, Job Simulator, included as a pack-in game with the HTC Vive during its first months on the market. According to CEO Alex Schwarz, the deal (Valve bought an undisclosed number of copies of the game up front in bulk) has been a financial boon to the studio.
“Our best year is the one that everyone told us, ‘Watch out, there won’t be many headsets and you might have your worst year ever,’" Schwarz said. “We prepared for the worst.”
Owlchemy plans to eventually have the game available for purchase once the pack-in copies are depleted and additional versions of the game are released for the Oculus Rift and Playstation VR (a Sony-developed headset scheduled for release this October). They already had a price point of $39.99 decided upon and listed online. This turned out to be a consistent sticking point with the press in reviews of the game, which contended that there was not enough content present to justify the price (a common video game complaint stretching back to the days of cartridges and joysticks).
See the full story here: http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/screens/2016-05-31/making-a-living-in-virtual-reality/