Indie VR title Vanishing Realms brought Zelda-esque room-scale RPG action to SteamVR all the way back at the launch of the first PC VR headsets in 2016. The game is one of the top rated titles on SteamVR, but remains in Early Access more than three years after launch. Development updates from the title’s sole indie developer have been extremely sparse, but recently it was confirmed that a “full expansion” for Vanishing Realms would be coming “in a few weeks.” Now weeks have slipped toward months with no new indication on when the expansion will ship.

Update (August 2nd, 2019): While the Vanishing Realms expansion was said to be set to launch “in a few weeks” by its developer in mid-June, it’s now been more than one and a half months since that tease.

While the game saw a small update in June which added support for the Index controllers, regarding the “full” expansion which will bring Chapters 3 & 4 to the game, the developer has only checked in briefly to assure eager players on the game’s discussion board that the expansion is still being worked on.

“Status: a) Happy to report, I am still alive b) still an Indie dev and c) there will be an actual new release soon,” he wrote.

The delay is not entirely unexpected, as we noted below in the original article about the forthcoming expansion:

Some loyal users on the game’s discussion board remain skeptical that it will really launch within the coming weeks considering Bailey’s infrequent updates and ‘Valve time’ approach to development, though it’s certain that anyone trawling the discussion boards of the three year old title will be happy to be proven wrong.

Original Article (June 14th, 2019): Kelly Bailey is the brains and sole developer behind Vanishing Realms: Rite of Steel. His indie VR title has been praised for its embodied room-scale VR gameplay, especially considering how early it was to market.

As it stands today, the title comprises the first two chapters of Bailey’s vision. While a third chapter has been on the roadmap for some time, the developer became reticent to offer specific timelines, especially as the scope of the game expanded in ways he hadn’t anticipated. Communication from Bailey to the game’s community (who have been worried that the project was abandoned) has been minimal at best, but it seems he has remained head-down on development.

Image courtesy Indimo Labs

After a seven month lapse in communication, today Bailey briefly poked his head above the water for some big news, saying that a “full expansion” to Vanishing Realms, including chapter 3 and chapter 4 of the game, will launch within weeks.

In a reply to users on the game’s discussion board, Bailey writes, “I’ve been operating under an NDA for a while, but will be able to make a full product announcement soon. In brief, the full expansion, ch3 and ch4 will ship within weeks. I remain the sole developer on the project, and again apologize for the lack of communication on progress.”

What NDA Bailey might be under isn’t entirely clear, but it seems likely that he’s been developing the game for the Valve Index headset, especially considering his pedigree as a former Valve employee who worked on the Half-Life series.

If Bailey is hoping to launch the Vanishing Realms expansion in time for Index, that would put a potential release date around June 28th, the same day that the headset is expected to begin shipping to the first customers.

From a product standpoint, it isn’t clear yet how Bailey plans to roll out the Vanishing Realms expansion. It could come as an update to the base game, wherein he might choose to move the game out of Early Access and bump the price up from its current $20. Alternatively the expansion could be released as optional, paid DLC.

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So what’s taken so long? Well, aside from being a one man shop, Bailey says that the scope of Vanishing Realms expanded as he continued to build out additional chapters. Back in November of last year, he offered some insights into where things were heading:

“This feels like the most challenging game design task I’ve ever worked on. Sticking with exclusively linear design would be significantly easier, but I am just personally fascinated by the sense of exploration in larger outdoor fantasy landscapes in VR,” he writes in a development update. “I’ve spent tons of time working on this, and I’m tentatively optimistic.”

Bailey has also talked about overhauling the game’s melee combat to feel more reactive and immersive, with development work involving a physics-based animation system.

At this point we don’t know how expansive the expansion will be, or what new features and gameplay it will include. Some loyal users on the game’s discussion board remain skeptical that it will really launch within the coming weeks considering Bailey’s infrequent updates and ‘Valve time’ approach to development, though it’s certain that anyone trawling the discussion boards of the three year old title will be happy to be proven wrong.

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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."
  • Jonathan Winters III

    Nice! Great game and great news.

  • impurekind

    Oh yes!

  • Brian Brown

    I love this game. I get so immersed that I hit my ceiling trying to knock objects off of ledges. Ended having to buy a new Vive wand.

  • M Rob

    Was my No1 VR game until Fallout 4 VR and Skyrim VR came out. This game is very very good. Can’t wait to play the new chapters. Really hope it is a Valve Index release.

  • Peter

    Would love to see this great game and the expansion come to the quest. I would be willing to pay for it again if that happens.

  • Lance Obe

    Once locomotion was added, I was able to play and I was great…..I refuse to tele-frog around

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      • LW2019

        No one asked you, “Katie”.

  • sfmike

    If only this could be scaled down for the Quest.

    • Mateusz Pawluczuk

      It’s not on Oculus Store only on SteamVR so likely would get rejected :p (unless dev puts his game on Oculus Store).

    • Zachary Scott Dickerson

      If he wants to make a lot more money, that would be the smart move.

      • namekuseijin

        is that true? I thought most Quest users are casual gamers having their fitness fun…

  • Immersive_Computing

    Fantastic news! Thoroughly enjoyed the early release back in 2016 on the Vive Pre…heady days

  • impurekind

    Def looking forward to giving this a try. Really hope he hasn’t f’d up anything that was already awesome with the game as is just to try and appeal to whomever with new-fangled stuff.

  • y_m_o

    Don’t care if it’s paid dlc. The base game was so good and way ahead of it’s vr time it’s more than worth it. Definitely one of the true classics of early vr. When you see a lot of the poor experiences that’s come out recently, this makes this 3 yr old title all the more impressive. Can’t flippin’ wait!

  • david vincent

    “Bailey has also talked about overhauling the game’s melee combat to feel
    more reactive and immersive, with development work involving a
    physics-based animation system.”
    Indeed, who can go back after playing Blade & Sorcery ?

    • Digusting

      Who can justify supporting the literal gore-enthusiast and gore-porn “community”? (I mean literally – the developer actively courts LiveLeak viewers)

      • david vincent

        You must be fun at parties…

  • lloydbeatz

    Did this game ever get the ability to reposition? like snap turning? I only played about 5 min of it because the inability to adjust where you were looking was a deal-breaker for me

    • zingowner

      I believe I did see an option for snap-turn in the menu, however I do not use it so I can’t confirm.

    • Fdruid

      There’s snap turn in this game.

  • Randy V.

    This was the game that validated my purchase of VR. I will love to see it get additional content! Weeks…. months…. I do not care. It has been years.

  • DanDei

    I don’t get why this guy needs to do it all alone. The first episode, sure. But it was a big success. Hire people and build on it while the demand is there!

  • impurekind

    Well this is disappointing. :-(

  • Sven Viking

    “Weeks” Turn to Months for Release of Indie Gem ‘Vanishing Realms’ Expansion

    He has learned well from his time at Valve.

  • Jarilo

    Sucks, hope it comes soon. I recommend The Morrigan if everyone wants a good similar title.

  • asdfasdfasdf

    ok? its one dude on one game. find some real news

  • Is Vanishing Realms nowhere to be seen?