This article is more than 1 year old

Google buys developers of VR goof-around Job Simulator

For when the robots have taken yours

Google has acquired VR games company Owlchemy Labs, makers of Job Simulator. The witty cross-platform VR role-playing game is set in 2050. You're invited to strap on your goggles and engage in now-forgotten activities such as booking a meeting room, finding the office stapler, or other drudgeries associated with early 21st century lifestyles.

In the world of Job Simulator all the real-life jobs are performed by robots. Fitting, perhaps, as by 2050 Google may have destroyed all the worthwhile jobs going in the creative industries or news.

Youtube Video

Either way, the Austin-based studio looks like a canny investment. Although the parallel fads have been heavily hyped, the only real traction in VR and AR to date has been a game: Pokémon Go. It isn't enough to simply dump a headset on the market and invite punters to strap one on and then stumble about the living room, tripping over the cat. They need killer content, too.

Owlchemy was founded in 2010 and earned around $3m from Job Simulator. ®

More about

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like