Developer Beat Games has announced that its VR rhythm phenomenon Beat Saber will officially leave early access on PC next week, 21st May.
Beat Saber first emerged on the VR scene back in May last year, meaning it will have remained in Steam and Oculus early access development for just over 12 months – somewhat longer than originally intended by its developer. A PSVR version launched as “complete” (given Sony’s lack of an early access programme) last November.
According to a new Steam post from Beat Games, Beat Saber’s full version 1.0 launch on PC next week is “simply a formality for us”. The studio says it’s decided to transition out of early access as “all features we wanted to have in the game when we first launched are now there” – but insists this doesn’t mean an end to Beat Saber’s development.
“We have so much in store for the game,” it wrote, “and this milestone only shows we are right at the beginning.” The developer says to expect new features and improvements in the future, and notes that it will also continue to release free new tracks and paid Music Packs, with its 2019 roadmap including “big name artists coming from across all genres”.
There’s at least one major new feature to look forward to on the immediate horizon too: when Beat Saber’s PC version fully launches on 21st May, it will include its long-promised level editor. “It’s 2D and it’s very simple,” Beat Games explained, “as we have always planned it since its original inception.” Unsurprisingly, the level editor will enable players to map patterns to their own audio tracks – although the developer’s post doesn’t indicate whether sharing features will be provided, or any restrictions that might apply.
Beat Saber has, of course, become something of a poster child for the VR scene since its launch last year, with its gleefully satisfying stick-wielding rhythm action proving popular enough to shift over 1 million copies as of March 2019. If you’ve been tempted, but haven’t yet taken the plunge, Beat Games notes that you might want to get in there sharpish. Come 21st May, Beat Saber’s price will increase to 29.99 USD (around £23) from its current cost of around £15.
