Gorilla Tag, one of the standout successes in the VR world, is making waves again by permanently incorporating a previously tested level creation mode, dubbed ‘Monke Blocks’. This feature lets players team up with friends to build and then dive into their own imaginative spaces. In other exciting VR news, the studio behind the promising new social VR game Digigods has just secured a $2.6 million boost from investors. These developments highlight an increasing trend where user-generated content (UGC) is becoming a key aspect of successful social VR games.
Games like VRChat, Rec Room, Roblox, and Horizon Worlds have all captured players’ attention by leveraging the power of UGC. It seems that friends who create together, indeed, stick together.
At first glance, Gorilla Tag might seem like a simple multiplayer game rather than a social VR experience. Yet, its smooth multiplayer setup, allowing players to freely move between lobbies, and its unstructured gameplay, position it as both a hangout spot and a fun playground. With ‘Monke Blocks’ now a mainstay, Gorilla Tag steps further into social VR territory, enabling players to build and enjoy their own game worlds.
Through a clever block system, players can collaboratively craft exciting new levels, all while other players might shrink themselves to explore these evolving creations. While some construct, others can be miniaturized participants, zipping through the work-in-progress builds.
To monetize this inventive feature, players can buy different sets of blocks to enhance their creations, using Gorilla Tag’s premium currency, ‘Shiny Rocks’. The first set features medieval castle themes, priced at 6,000 SR (approximately $30).
This ‘build and play’ model firmly anchors itself in user-generated content, underscoring its significance in the realm of social VR, evident in both longstanding and emerging games. Looking ahead, Another Axiom, the creators of Gorilla Tag, are working on Orion Drift. This new game promises a vast virtual playground where player creativity dictates adventures, including the ability to craft custom mini-games and unique rules.
Earlier in the year, we noted that UGC-driven Yeeps had reached a remarkable 360,000 monthly active users. In recent developments, Squido Studio, the team behind another UGC-centric game, Digigods, raised $3 million in a seed round led by Triptyq Capital, supported by Grishin Robotics, FJ Labs, Hartmann Capital, Fairway Capital, Earthling VC, and Canada Media Fund (CMF), as highlighted by VentureBeat.
Despite launching in April 2024, Digigods’ UGC-focused design has already attracted 100,000 unique users, collecting an impressive 10,600 user reviews averaging a near-perfect 4.8 stars out of 5 on the Quest platform. Although still in Early Access, its full release could significantly boost its user base.
UGC undoubtedly runs through the vein of top social VR games, yet a clear distinction exists between older and newer titles: user movement. Older games like Rec Room, VRChat, and Horizon Worlds stick to traditional thumbstick or teleport movement. Meanwhile, recent games like Orion Drift, Yeeps, and Digigods, inspired by Gorilla Tag, opt for innovative arm-based motion, marking a shift towards this dynamic form of navigation.
This split in movement styles might also hint at a shift in audience demographics. Newer games with their active arm-based motion seem to resonate more with Gen Z, contrasting the millennial-oriented appeal of older VR titles.
