In March 2012, motivated by a shared vision of what VR home entertainment can and should be—active and social—University of Southern California students Nathan Burba, James Iliff, Graham Matuszewski and Alex Silkin launched Project Holodeck. Together, they built the first full-body and portable VR system and developed Wild Skies, a co-op tech demo featuring Active VR gameplay, full-body tracking, and avatar embodiment.[9][10][11]
In 2013, the students officially founded Survios and began demoing its first virtual reality project, Zombies on the Holodeck, a noir, horde-based survival shooter demoed on a prototype Oculus Rift head-mounted display (HMD) that used a variety of tracking devices for improved immersion, including PlayStation Move controllers and Razer Hydra controllers from Sixense.[12][9] The project won three Proto Awards for ‘Best Overall Experience’, ‘Most Transportive’ and ‘Best Interaction Design’.[13][9] In 2014, Survios secured $4 million in funding from Shasta Ventures, Mavent Partners, World Innovation Lab, and Felicis Ventures, allowing the studio to continue developing virtual reality content and technology.[7][6]
Raw Data and Active VR
Survios announced its first game, Raw Data, in December 2015 for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. The game features a variety of weapons for players to use against hordes of robotic enemies and touted interactive environments and destructible objects. It also included full-body positional tracking, avatar embodiment, and cooperative multiplayer.[14][9] Prior to release, the media praised Raw Data for its immersive gameplay experience, which TechCrunch hailed as "Perhaps the most advanced first person shooter in VR."[15][9] After months of event demos and alpha tests, Survios released Raw Data on Steam Early Access for HTC Vive in July 2016. A version for Oculus Rift+Touch was added shortly thereafter with support for cross-platform co-op.[16][9]
Raw Data was the first VR game to reach $1 million in sales one month after its early access release as well as the first VR game to become a #1 Top Seller on Steam across all games. In addition to its financial success, Raw Data also garnered critical acclaim.[17][9]
Expansion and Growth in VR
In 2016, MGM and Lux Capital joined Shasta Ventures, Danhua Capital, Shanda Holdings Felicis Ventures and Dentsu Ventures in two rounds of funding for Survios, which provided $50 million to resume development on projects and further expansion.[18][9] In January 2017, the company announced Raw Data Arcade, an exclusive version of the game that was designed with arcades in mind.[19][9]
Sprint Vector, the company-owned VR racing game, was announced at GDC 2017. Sprint Vector introduced Survios’ "Fluid Locomotion," which allowed players to simulate walking, running, climbing, leaping and flying at high speeds by swinging and moving their arms, providing an alternative to moving in VR beyond teleporting or blinking through environments.[20][9] The game launched February 2, 2018 for PCVR and PSVR. It received high praise from critics due to its polish, content offerings, and ambitious locomotion systems.[21][9]
In December 2017, Survios announced its newest game alongside Apple and their powerful new iMac Pro, revealing Electronauts, a dynamic, immersive music creation experience designed for music lovers of all skill levels.[22][9]
Survios officially announced at CES 2018 that it would open up its own VR arcade in Torrance, Calif. The studio also announced that it partnered with theaters and retailers to host VR Pods under the codename "Tesseract," which were designed for easy and social gameplay experiences: players can play the game as they see it, however the glass projects allow spectators to see the action as well.[23][9]
In May 2019, Survios unveiled its new project for that year called Battlewake, a pirate-themed naval combat game akin to Twisted Metal where players engage in fights on the high seas.[24][9] In June 2020, Square Enix, Taito, and Survios announced a brand new game set in the Bubble Bobble universe.[25][9]
On October 27, 2021, the Company announced the launch of 2124 Publishing. The new publishing division intends to offer independent game developers services such as financing, live services, and platform relations. The new division will be run by TQ Jefferson.[26] The first game to be published by 2124 will be RPG Romancelvania: BATchelor’s Curse developed by The Deep End Games. The title is scheduled for release in 2022.
Film and television
In recent years, Survios established itself as a home for licensed VR games and experiences, starting in March 2018 when the studio secured the license for MGM's Creed film, a spin-off of the Rocky franchise. Creed: Rise to Glory is a VR boxing game that allows players to box as titular character Adonis Creed and his journey to become a world champion fighter.[27][9]
The company also developed a VR experience for HBO’s highly successful Westworld TV series. Westworld: Awakening, a five-chapter arc set during the show’s second season, uses themes and beats from the show to immerse players further into its universe using VR technology. Survios later released the game in the same year on August 20, 2019 for Viveport and SteamVR.[29][9]
Crossing Realities: Cross-Platform, Cross-Reality Play
After developing virtual reality games and experiences, Survios began exploring ways to expand their games to a wider swath of players around the world. The initiative began first with the announcement of Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions, a boxing game set in the Creed and Rocky franchise, playable on traditional consoles and platforms outside of VR, including Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.[30][9]
In October 2020, the company raised $16.7 million to continue development on virtual reality and cross-reality-based experiences. This third round of funding included and was led by Irongrey, Woori Technology, KNET Venture Fund, Seoul Investment Partners, Shasta Ventures, Lux Capital, and Samsung Next.[31][9]
