While the rebranding of Facebook’s parent company to Meta was without a doubt the biggest announcement at this year’s Facebook Connect conference, which was streamed virtually on October 28, 2021, it’s not something that would bring smiles to many VR users’ faces.
For that to happen, a completely different kind of announcement is needed, such as the fact that Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is coming exclusively to the Oculus Quest 2 headset.
“Get a new perspective on Los Santos, San Fierro, and Las Venturas as you experience (again or for the first time) one of gaming’s most iconic open worlds,” says Oculus in the official announcement. “This is a project many years in the making, and we can’t wait to show you more of it.”
In July 2020, a hiring advertisement for an AAA open-world VR title for Rockstar Games was posted by Video Games Deluxe on the studio’s LinkedIn page. The studio was looking to fill multiple positions, including Senior Programmers, Engine Programmer, Designer, and Animator.
At the time, many gaming journalists and players alike speculated as to what the upcoming game could be. We now know the answer, but we don’t yet know when the VR version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will arrive. But considering that it’s planned to be an exclusive release for the Oculus Quest 2 headset, it’s likely that it will be sometime next year, before Oculus Quest 3 is released.
In the meantime, you can play Grand Theft Auto IV in VR using a tool called VorpX, which adapts many non-VR games to be played with VR headsets. Besides GTA IV, VorpX works with over 250 DirectX 9-12 games as well as several OpenGL titles.
