Meta to Drop Quest 1 Support for Population: One
August 08, 2022 By Awanish Kumar
(Image Credit Google)
Population: ONE is a popular VR (virtual reality) shooter game developed by BigBox VR (Meta-owned) and released almost two years ago. Additionally, it is one of the most popular Meta VR games among the VR community because of its unique adventure. However, BigBox VR recently announced in a blog post that it would end Quest 1 support for the game on October 31, 2022. Therefore, Quest 1 owners will no longer be able to launch or play Population: ONE from October 31.
Furthermore, BigBox VR stated that the move is necessary to shift its focus on developing new experiences “that will push the boundaries of multiplayer VR.” In addition, currently, BigBox is working on developing BIG POP 1 experiences.
However, Quest 1 owners can technically still play Population: ONE if they possess a VR-ready PC. The reason is that the game supports cross-buy, making the PC version available through Air Link and Oculus Link. Thus, Quest 1 players can connect their headsets to their computers either wirelessly or with a wired connection to play the game. On another note, Quest 2, Oculus Rift, and Oculus Rift S owners will still have access to Population: ONE.
Most importantly, Meta’s offering Quest 1 owners a refund if they purchased the game from the Quest Store within the past six months.
Meta dropping Quest 1 support of Population: ONE is raising questions if it will lead other developers to end support for the VR headset. Caiti Sullivan, a Meta spokesperson, stated that the company is “working out the details of an ecosystem-wide end-of-support process.” She added that if “other developers decide to end support for apps on Quest 1, they will be able to do so.”
On the other hand, Meta recently introduced two new titles - MINIverse and Stratoverse in its Quest 2 VR headset for players in the US and Canada.
By Awanish Kumar
I keep abreast of the latest technological developments to bring you unfiltered information about gadgets.