Sony has finally released word on when PSVR owners will be able to get their hands on the popular VR boxing title Knockout League; it’s officially coming to PlayStation VR February 13th. The game has been in Early Access on SteamVR, Viveport, and the Oculus Store for almost a year. It’s uncertain if the PSVR release will mark the game’s exit from Early Access on the platforms listed above.
Update (02/11/18): According to a recent PlayStation blog post, ‘Knockout League’ will be landing on PSVR headsets February 13th. It comes alongside PSVR titles ‘Drunk n Barfight’, ‘Sprint Vector’, ‘Pop Up Pilgrims’, and ‘CubeWorks’.
Original article (12/13/17): Announced at PSX 2017, the full version of Knockout League, with its 9 opponents and training modes will make the transition to Sony’s VR platform. Played from a first person perspective, with motion controllers enabling 1:1 fist tracking, boxing is a natural fit for the current generation of VR hardware. Knockout League differentiates itself from other VR boxing games with an arcade presentation reminiscent of Nintendo’s classic Punch-Out!! series, and opponents with wildly different personalities and fighting styles.
As we described in our early access review of the PC version, the gameplay is rather strenuous, requiring rapid, energetic movements to succeed, meaning Knockout League will likely be an effective workout title for PSVR too. It is currently rated on the Virtual Reality Institute of Health and Exercise as equivalent exercise to rowing for burning calories.
Developer Grab Games specialises in AR/VR experiences, having created John Wick Chronicles (2017), Knockout League, and other mobile apps. Their current major project is the ‘Grab AR Tabletop Platform’, which was showcased at Google’s hardware event in October.