October 28, 2023
On a cloudless day in mid-October of 2023, we gathered our team and most dedicated fans under the impossibly curving steel waves and windows at the Keep Memory Alive Center in Las Vegas, Nevada to share something very special...
We’re calling it A2 for now, and it’s the kind of game we’ve always dreamed of making. Imagine a social VR game that pushes the boundaries of technology, interaction, and VR sports - that’s A2 in a nutshell. There’s still a long way to go, but we’re happy to share our progress so far and provide a peek behind the curtain for folks who couldn’t make it out to Vegas.
For the full rundown, you can watch the keynote talk from the event down below. If you’re strapped for time, read on for the tl;dr:
A2 is a zero-gravity VR sport game that introduces a revolutionary social element in line with our core values of creating real and meaningful experiences in VR. You’ll play as a robot built for speed in a galaxy of fun where you’ll meet other players from all over the world to build, compete, and socialize among the stars.
That’s right, we said “build.” A2 will feature space stations that players will be able to customize to suit their needs. We’re still exploring how exactly stations will work, but the goal is to give players the tools to build their own arenas, social spaces, and even custom game modes.
One thing we want to make crystal clear is that A2 is not a spiritual successor to anything, it’s a natural evolution of not just our past games, but all of the amazing VR games we’ve loved playing for years.
Our core focuses and philosophies on game development make Another Axiom a different kind of studio. Our philosophy comes down to three key points:
We love the medium of VR and want to see it thrive. Our personal journeys through Gorilla Tag and Echo VR have led to lifelong friends and even new additions here at the studio.
A little bit of studio trivia - Another Axiom’s founder, CEO and Gorilla Tag’s creator, Kerestell, was a pro Echo VR player, which is how he originally met COO David Yee and CTO David Neubelt back when they worked at Meta and Ready at Dawn, respectively. Quite simply, AA wouldn’t exist without a deep and organic love for the medium, because it’s the place where we all first met.
With A2, we’re building out tools to give every player the chance to leave a permanent mark on the game itself.
Whether that’s inventing new game modes, building arenas and stations that become central hubs for the community, or creating your own epic highlight reels with gameplay capture tools, you as the player will have the power to play and create as you see fit.
Community is a word that’s thrown around often in the gaming world, especially in VR. But community to us isn’t a monolith. It isn’t just one thing. It doesn’t think with one brain or speak with one voice, it’s an intricate network of individuals, a matrix woven together from passionate players from all walks of life.
Sticking to our studio’s development philosophy, our communities will be central to how we build and sustain A2. When you talk, we listen, and we’ll take action on what you care about. For us, A2’s community doesn’t stop at Discord; it goes right to the heart of A2 itself. You’ll be able to build stations that belong to you and your friends - a virtual home among the stars - where you’ll play and socialize however you like.
You’ll be able to join public stations and play at your own speed. Not the competitive type? Discover one of the many casual stations, or maybe host your own! Want to run intense scrimmages? There’s a perfect station out there for all skill levels. We want to empower players with as many options as possible so that there’s a home for everyone and not just one single way to play the game.
We’re targeting an open beta release in early 2024 with an eye to fully release in late 2024 or early 2025.
If you can’t wait till then, we’ll be adding waves of players to our early access on a monthly basis. You can find the application in our Discord.
https://discord.com/invite/aa-a2
We’re beyond excited to start sharing our work on A2, so be sure to check out our blog and follow us on our socials for all the latest news. There’s so much we've yet to explore...
