Facebook today announced it has acquired Beat Games, the studio behind the hit VR rhythm game Beat Saber (2018). Beat Games is joining Oculus Studios as an independently operated team based out of Prague.

Facebook didn’t release any further info in regards to the terms of acquisition, however the company had some choice words on what it meant to the game’s users on all supported platforms, which includes Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, HTC Vive, Valve Index, and Windows VR headsets.

Mike Verdu, Facebook’s Director of AR/VR Content, said Beat Games will “continue to ship content and updates for Beat Saber at the same time across all currently supported platforms.”

Concerning the moddablity of game, which is a cornerstone of its functionality on PC VR and to some extent also Quest, Verdu had this to say:

We understand and appreciate the value that modding brings to Beat Saber when done so legally and within our policies. We’re going to do our best to preserve the value that mods bring to the Beat Saber player base. As a reminder, our most recent policy updates give more clarity to how developer mode is intended to be used, such as helping developers build their apps or for enthusiasts to explore new concepts. It is not intended for engaging in piracy or illicit modding, including mods that infringe on third-party IP rights or contain malicious code.

Although not stated specifically, it’s not unlikely that by “third-part IP rights” Facebook is implying the distribution of music and its corresponding beat maps may no longer be sanctioned by Beat Games under Facebook, which has thus far operated in a grey area legally. Sony doesn’t allow modding of Beat Saber for PSVR for the same legal reasons. We’ve reached out to Beat Games to clarify this, and will update when/if we hear back.

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As for the road map forward, Verdu says Beat Games has “only scratched the surface with Beat Saber in terms of social features, new modes, music, and more.”

After Sony’s acquisition of Insomniac Games, it’s possible Facebook has begun looking to strategically mark its territory by locking down the rights to Beat Saber, one of the most visible games in VR right now. Facebook thus far hasn’t publicly acquired a VR studio, potentially making this a big first for the company, which is confident in securing what Mark Zuckerberg hopes will one day reach a billion people, even if it’s admittedly taking longer than he initially hoped.

As an indie studio that’s sold well over one million copies of its game as of March 2019, and also signed some fairly high-level deals with bands such as Imagine Dragons and Panic at the Disco!, Facebook’s cash will undoubtedly also provide the studio with a means to secure more and bigger music deals. What Beat Games has up its sleeve next, we aren’t sure yet though, and  whether Facebook bought it defensively or offensively is still to be determined.

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Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 3,500 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • jasonmartino

    No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • Blanca

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  • manhunt0r

    and another one bites the dust.

  • Ramon Hernandez

    Well, it was fun while it lasted. :

  • MeowMix

    As a reminder, our most recent policy updates give more clarity to how
    developer mode is intended to be used, such as helping developers build
    their apps or for enthusiasts to explore new concepts

    So it sounds like modding capabilities will remain the same on PC since were using 3rd party apps to do it already.

    • Nice

      I don’t know about that. How is a mod that adds a menu that allows for download of copyrighted songs straight from Beat Saber game UI for free not a 3rd party app? It is very likely that they will now block adding custom songs in next release.

  • Justos

    If this helps us get more content and features faster, im all for it.

    This is a very very good thing for the game. With facebook at the helm, we could get things never thought possible before in the #1 most played VR game.

    • aasdfa

      no this is not good. they could stop all updates and make a BS2 oculus only… they could ruin bs as being the most played game faster then you can say fuckerburge

  • *breathes in heavily* … WHAT?!?!?!?

  • JesuSaveSouls

    Looks like beat studio got a golden ticket like Palmer lucky and oculus did.Don’t think they got billions but perhaps 50 mill.Mark from facebook is like a kid with a checkbook investing in vr that we vr enthusiasts all benefit from.

    • Patrick Hogenboom

      “we vr enthusiasts”, as in: those inside the Oculus/Facebook walled garden….

      • aasdfa

        right. losing Beat saber to the garden is going to hurt VR and piss a lot of people off.

  • JesuSaveSouls

    Jesus loves you !

  • Mike Porter

    Lucky them, pointless purchase for Facebook. Literally building a team and recoding one from scratch would be cheaper than anything they spent on this purchase.
    There’s nothing of value other than the name. Nothing patented, no IP other than name, nothing too unique about the gameplay, nothing unique about the gameplay that others don’t already easily replicate. This would be like if Microsoft bought Minecraft before the Youtube era when only creative mode existed. Just clone it. But I guess when you have a near-infinite pile of case only then such purchases make sense for saving a little time.

    Not being negative here, the team wins because they got a lot of case, non-Oculus users win because more quality clones will come along to fill any potential void and facebook wins because they still have plenty of money and can now dictate the development of a good selling app.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh4k0Q1Pl7E

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vajFnFhqxpo

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TeJ1xfTeao

    • aasdfa

      its te title and the similarities. now they can literally make beat saber 2 oculus exclusive and never update beat saber one.

      • Mike Porter

        They could make a beat saber 2 and name it differently without buying the studio behind beat saber. Wouldn’t be illegal or unethical.

    • Christian Schildwaechter

      Most VR developers are fortunate if they manage to break even, everybody mostly hopes that the market will grow or that they will hit the jackpot like Beat Saber. For Facebook/Oculus to create a Beat Saber clone would be incredibly stupid, because this sends a message to all VR developers that if you are lucky and actually create a hit, the platform owner will screw you over and steal your cake. It is hard enough for Oculus to entice larger game studios to invest time and money into VR without that. Buying Beat Saber on the other hand may add a motivation for developers as it adds “in case of success sell yourself to Facebook” as a possible exit strategy.

      • Mike Porter

        That’s a very dumb assumption that Oculus would themselves create a clone. They’d probably fund (maybe even privately) a 3rd party developer making it and then “buy” that 3rd party, if needed.
        I don’t think any developer relies on the hope that they will be bought one day by a publisher, they need monthly stable income, not a dream of an acquisition.
        Also I don’t think Fortnite stopped any 3rd party from using the Unreal engine for the same logical conclusion.

  • Brian Brown

    Not trying to be a dick, but Facebook is huge dick. HL: Alyx should be excluded from Oculus HMD’s

    • Shawn MacDonell

      That’s an attack on Rift users rather than Facebook itself, it’s also detrimental to Valve’s overall goal: for all VR users to purchase their apps off Steam, including Rift users if they can sway them from Oculus Store (excluding Oculus exclusives of course).

    • MeowMix

      Sure, as long as it’s ONLY exclusive to Index.
      That means blocking all other headsets: Rift, Vive, WMR. Sure go for it, I dare you.

    • So we shouldn’t be able to play a game owned by a company that loves to treat people equally just because you think we shouldn’t? Shows your values, man. Not everyone can afford an Index.

      • Hugo Fergusson

        I agree that HLA shouldn’t be exclusive at all, this guy’s just pissed, but that should go both ways, Valve is being nice to Oculus here, Htc has done the same in the past, but Oculus refuses to stop exclusive games.

    • mark_burnes

      that’s not in Valve’s style. They are way better than FB.

    • aasdfa

      you have sound logic even if it is an eye for an eye. everyones downvoting you for saying valve shouldn be more closed garden but we all agree fb shouldnt be such a walled garden. losing beat saber over the fence is a big hit to the vr industry.

  • 1234WARMANNNN

    Modding for Beat Saber will never die. It doesn’t matter if they make it harder, or even ban it outright, this game has such a strong modding community that they will find a way past it.

    Hell, if they piss everyone off enough, I’m sure we’ll just find a new rhythm game, or even make a Beat Saber clone.

    And at least they promised that it will be updated at the same time across all platforms. I hold them to that. Don’t make me regret purchasing a Rift S, Zuckerberg.

    • aasdfa

      most likely beat saber will see one or two updates and then beat saber 2 will be coming out soon for oculus only…..

      • 1234WARMANNNN

        I certainly hope not. I’d consider that a breach of that promise, certainly. At least Revive exists, I know it’s not perfect though. Exclusives in any way shape or form can go suck it.

        • Nice

          I woudn’t be very surprised if this would be Quest exclusive. Recently, even some Oculus-funded experiences don’t make it to Rift..

      • Raphael

        Yes, whatever comes next will be oculus exclusive and facebook may shut down the studio.

  • The Bard

    Beat Saber = Greedy, so greedy Czechs who NEVER discounted this game even by 1 dollar. So f*** greedy! I did not buy from them for this reason.

    • benz145

      It’s greedy to not discount a game? What if it was priced fairly in the first place?

      • Jistuce

        I still say they should’ve doubled the price, then put it on a perpetual 50% sale.

      • Mike Porter

        That’s not how downloadable digital products work. There’s no production cost past a certain point which they of course had reached long ago.

  • iThinkMyCatIsAFlea

    @Beat Games You didn’t Google Oculus Trump, did you?

    Idiots!

    Google Oculus Trump.

    • MeowMix

      If Trump was colluding with FB then wouldn’t he be sending out his daily social media updates on FB ? Last time I checked his ‘tool of choice’ was Twitter.
      Besides, all of big tech is bad; we need to regulate them all. The time for ‘self regulation’ of big tech has failed.

    • manhunt0r

      in case anybody ever doubts the existence of trump derangement syndrome – this post makes for a solid argument.

    • Andrew Jakobs

      Oh please why can’t you stop this nonsense every time… Stop beating that old horse that’s got nothing to do with this…

    • Trenix

      You’re a perfect example of why Trump won the election.

  • CURTROCK

    The “Beat” goes on… Every single time Oculus/FB makes a move, the haters lash out…yawn. Meanwhile, the Quest is becoming the Juggernaut of VR and the “walled garden” is in full bloom. Facebook is leading the way for VR. Congrats to Beat Games.

    • Hugo Fergusson

      Fair point, I don’t want to start a war against facebook again, and I love the idea of the quest and how cheap it is (not needing a PC is great) but after Half Life Alyx was announced, the Valve Index would likely be called the Juggernaut of VR. Also nobody likes the walled garden principle. Oculus fans would hate if Half life alyx was exclusive to Valve, meanwhile Oculus continues to produce more and more great games that for no reason have to be exclusive. I’m not a hater, but just because you bought an oculus doesn’t mean it’s the best headset, I have a valve index, htc vive pro, and rift s but see little point in the rift s even including the exclusives.

      The quest is a great entry point for people with smaller budgets though.

      • CURTROCK

        Thank you for your civil comment. I appreciate your point of view.
        1. I used the term “Juggernaut” to refer to the sales and functionality of the Quest. The Index is certainly the Highest quality or premium HMD right now. No disputing that. It remains to be seen how the sales will pan out at $1000.
        2. I am fine with the “Walled Garden” that Oculus/FB is curating. It works just fine for my Apple/Sony products, and im quite happy with the Rift/Quest paradigm. I wouldn’t care if HLVR was Index specific, as im not a fan and it is only 1 game.
        3. There is a reason for Oculus exclusives to be “exclusive”. They want to sell their hardware. Many might not like it, but that is the reason.
        4. I never said Oculus was the best HMD. However, the Quest is certainly the best value for $$$, with the Link functionality adding much value to the proposition.
        5. I am grateful that Valve has created HLVR, which is a great service to the advancement of the VR cause in general. It’s HUGE :)

  • aasdfa

    and now youre worse. id rather have religios crap to wade through then political crap especially thick headed and racist trump fans. IMPEACH THE DOUCHE

    • Hugo Fergusson

      Alright can we please keep this a VR site?

  • NooYawker

    Found this on reddit to stop the game from updating.

    Close steam, open the appmanifest 620980 file in “SteamLibrarysteamapps”, change the “StateFlag” to 4, the “BytesToDownload” to 0, and the “UpdateResult” to 0. This should make Steam believe that the app is always up to date.

  • WyrdestGeek

    And Facebook will soak Even Moar of that juicy user data…
    -or- they might awkwardly try to graft Teh Social onto it.

  • Nice

    Honestly I think that now Beat Games & Facebook will make Beat Saber pre-installed on Quest for free and make it free for current users, with more DRM for custom songs. That’s the obvious way to even further increase “addictiveness” of Quest. Buy Quest, unpack, configure with phone and start playing beat saber in less than 30 min! Sounds like a great marketing pitch. I have hmd since a few months and more than 50% of my time in VR was in Beat Saber, that’s how addictive it is. Though, I have 1200 maps not 30..

  • They say that the team will become independent and the game won’t be an Oculus exclusivAHAHAHAHAHAH

  • GrimmyReaper

    “We understand and appreciate the value that modding brings to Beat Saber when done so legally and within our policies.”
    I don’t like the sound of that … I mean technically custom songs should be fine but what do they consider legal?