Those who have been following along will remember Proton Pulse as one of the best early demos for the Oculus Rift. After being mysteriously shut down over what seemed like intellectual property concerns, the game may have a chance of being resuscitated.

Proton Pulse was an early Oculus Rift demo made by developer Pushy Pixels. The game, which was like virtual reality Breakout, was heralded as one of the best demos for the Rift because of how simple it was to pick up and play (thanks to being controlled only with head movements). From my own experience giving dozens of Oculus Rift demos, Proton Pulse demonstrates virtual reality superbly for first-timers. You can get an idea of the gameplay here.

Its excellence made it all the more sad when, after having more than doubled their Kickstarter goal to turn the demo into a full game, Pushy Pixels announced that they had canceled the project. The reason was ambiguous, but the most popular hypothesis by far was that it had to due with intellectual property disputes.

proton pulse revival
“Beep”

In December, 2013 an image was posted on the official Proton Pulse website with nothing more than the headline “Beep.”

The image, which looks like a flat-lining ECG readout, seems a clear allusion to the ‘Pulse’ in Proton Pulse.

Then, earlier this month, our own Cymatic Bruce had a teaser to share with his livestream audience which featured the same ECG readout, but this time it was a video and set to escalating Proton Pulse music. You can see it at 1 hour and 7 minutes in the video below.

SEE ALSO
Creator of Rhythm Action Game 'Thumper' Announces New VR Game Set for 2024

It would seem that whatever issues led to Proton Pulse’s untimely demise may have been settled. So far there’s no official word from Pushy Pixels’ lead developer, Justin Moravetz. We’re looking forward to what will hopefully be the revival of this great game!

Newsletter graphic

This article may contain affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and buy a product we may receive a small commission which helps support the publication. More information.


Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • DarkAkuma

    Good for them if this turns out to be true! =)

    I can’t say I’ve played the ProtonPulse demo, but I have enjoyed PushyPixels “Cooking with Unity” tutorials. They were an immeasurable help in getting me started on my projects!