Trade veteran and XR specialist Kevin Joyce has launched Evolution Publishing to assist indie studios as they navigate the VR gaming panorama. And though he acknowledges that issues are powerful for VR studios proper now, particularly following Meta’s current cuts, he thinks the long-term future is far brighter – if studios can get there.
Joyce is CEO of AR/VR advertising specialist Tiny Brains and founding father of the VR Range Initiative. He was beforehand chief advertising officer at Rush VR, in addition to CEO and editor-in-chief of the publication VR Focus.
He says one in all Evolution Publishing’s essential targets is to help studios survive and “help with the development of VR software program” until the “true breakout second” arrives, when VR strikes from its area of interest and into the mainstream. However the current studio closures and layoffs at VR champion Meta – whose Actuality Labs division reported a $19.2 billion loss in 2025 and has racked up complete losses of $83.6 billion over the past six years – have solid appreciable doubt on VR’s means to make that mainstream leap. Evolution’s launch comes at a time when the VR specialist nDreams has simply introduced the closure of two studios together with a “vital discount in general staffing ranges.” Nevertheless, some business specialists suppose that though the VR panorama seems bleak within the brief time period, the longer-term view is far rosier.
Joyce, for his half, thinks it is solely a matter of time earlier than VR goes mainstream, and when it occurs, “we’d like a pool of modern builders creating distinctive content material for the medium, so Evolution Publishing exists to make sure that we meet this demand.”
He thinks a number of tweaks to the method may remodel VR’s fortunes. “VR has at all times had a difficulty of serving to customers perceive what units its gaming medium other than extra conventional ones,” says Joyce. “There’s plenty of debate about this inside VR circles each day, and plenty of excuses you may throw round. However to me, the largest one remains to be type issue.”
“In a sensible sense, it boils down to consolation and usability. Gaming on a console or PC, you are normally on a pleasant sofa or in your gaming chair, relaxed and laid again. VR headsets, alternatively, could be weighty and scorching, and, relying on equipment just like the headstrap, can develop into uncomfortable after an hour or so.”
“The dialog wants to change to what VR can do higher, quite than being about how effectively it may well replicate phone- or laptop-based experiences. This, coupled with a big discount in dimension and weight, will see VR turning into much less of an outlier and extra of a extensively accepted entry into the fashionable tech combine.”
As for a way Joyce anticipates the VR publishing panorama evolving over the following few years, he says that the “period for enormous investments is over” and that the VR business will expertise a “seismic shift over the following 12 to 18 months.”
“We anticipate that while this may imply far fewer VR video games coming to market, the methodology and high quality can be that a lot greater. There’s additionally a shift away from premium ($25+) video games towards sub-$15 titles and free-to-play video games that depend on in-app purchases, similar to the cellular gaming business,” he notes.
“I absolutely anticipate extra publishers to diversify their portfolio – a mixture of high-end VR titles for the core demographic in addition to free-to-play video games for youthful players. There is not any denying that VR at current appears to have a really clear break up between the 2 audiences, and I really feel most VR publishers can be trying to add titles that fulfill each to their portfolio.”
The deal
By way of funding, Evolution Publishing costs a proportion of income per settlement as an alternative of upfront prices, with phrases tailor-made to the studio’s particular wants. “One key aspect that we see as necessary to our mission is that we do not take fairness or IP possession,” says Joyce. “Our aim is to assist the expansion of VR indie builders, and we imagine that calls for reminiscent of these could unintentionally hamstring future initiatives on the studios.”
“We’re on the lookout for studios that construct particularly for the VR medium, not round it”
When deciding which studios or titles to assist, Evolution Publishing seems for those who problem “the preconceived notions of VR growth” – whether or not by approaching a style in a brand new means or bettering accessibility with motion mechanics that ease simulation illness.
“Not everybody desires to put a cumbersome headset on their face,” says Joyce. “Those who do should not be confronted with additional friction and accessibility points the second the sport boots up. We’re on the lookout for studios that perceive this – studios that construct particularly for the medium, not round it. From these first onboarding moments to accessibility choices, the ecosystem wants to be inclusive and welcoming.”
Evolution Publishing has three titles launching in 2026: Gamitronics Studio’s Darts VR2: Bullseye this spring, Fallen Planet Studio’s Affected: The Asylum in the summertime, and a 3rd unannounced title later this 12 months.
“I would like to see this portfolio rising in 2027,” says Joyce. “There are many studios on the market with incredible concepts and the know-how for a way to construct them, however little confidence in elevating consciousness of this. I need Evolution Publishing to be often known as a publisher that may be a excellent accomplice for this example.”
Challenges
Joyce observes that the VR area has already confronted its first main hurdle for 2026: Meta’s plans to “shift the main focus” of its Horizon Worlds metaverse platform from VR to cellular.
Joyce’s stance on this announcement is that Meta is not abandoning VR; as an alternative, it’s “extending the runway.”
“Meta is not investing in AAA VR content material in the intervening time and will as an alternative be doubling down on rising Horizon Worlds as a cellular platform. This can separate out Horizon Worlds from the Meta Quest Retailer, which ought to, hopefully, imply much less saturation of the UI with Horizon Worlds content material and as an alternative present extra alternatives for indie builders to get seen. Retailer visibility is an issue I do not suppose anybody has solved but, however eradicating Horizon Worlds from the Meta Quest Retailer will definitely help in that regard.
“In the end, Meta’s aim remains to be VR adoption. I absolutely predict a return to VR for Horizon Worlds a number of years down the road. However for now, it is clearing the trail a little bit and bringing new alternatives for indie builders.”
He thinks that one of many greatest challenges indie studios face this 12 months is overcoming the notion that Meta is “bailing on VR”, which is able to, in flip, trigger builders to compete ever extra heatedly for the prevailing VR viewers.
“The strategies to attain that viewers – doubtlessly outdoors of retailer visibility – do not get any simpler,” says Joyce. “The most important problem will not be about whether or not you must make one thing, however whether or not you could find the best viewers for what you make.”
“Maintaining studios dedicated to VR for the following sport, and the sport after that, goes to be the largest problem this 12 months”
“Meta drove plenty of overinvestment within the COVID period, and we’re now seeing a reset with purse-string tightening. Sadly, this may possible show out in lots of studio closures, but when studios can survive 2026, that ought to put them in a agency place transferring ahead.”
Joyce concludes that there’s trigger for optimism if studios can cling on. “VR growth is getting simpler on a regular basis. New classes are being learnt, and higher-quality worlds and interactions are approaching a near-monthly foundation. The event group remains to be pushing the bounds of what we expect is feasible on present {hardware} recurrently, and so holding these studios dedicated to VR for the following sport, and the sport after that, goes to be the largest problem this 12 months.”