Hey there! As an avid Among Us player, I‘m sure you‘ve been wondering whether the new VR version supports playing with friends who are on PC, consoles or mobile.
Unfortunately, the short answer is no. Cross-platform multiplayer is not possible between Among Us VR and non-VR versions of the game.
But let me walk you through the details so you fully understand why, and how you can still enjoy playing with friends who have VR headsets.
Why no cross-platform support?
After digging into the technical challenges involved, it makes sense why the developers couldn‘t enable Among Us VR to work cross-platform.
Porting the VR experience like 3D spatial audio, motion controls, roomscale movement etc. over to pancake platforms would require massive engineering efforts. At the same time, removing those features from the VR version would really degrade the experience.
So from a quality control perspective, having separate VR and non-VR versions was the pragmatic choice.
The challenges of cross-play
Here are some specific challenges the devs would have faced trying to combine VR and non-VR players:
- Non-VR players would lose proximity voice chat and 3D audio cues
- VR players could move freely while non-VR players are locked in 2D
- Non-VR UI would need to be re-designed for VR motion controls
- Game balance would be affected by asymmetric gameplay
When you consider all those issues, it makes sense that keeping the playerbases separate was the right decision for launch.
The stats: player count per platform
To get an idea of the scale, Among Us has sold:
- Over 215 million copies on mobile
- Over 5 million copies on PC
- Over 4 million copies on Switch
Whereas Among Us VR has likely sold around 50,000 – 100,000 copies so far across all VR headsets.
So there is a huge difference in player count between VR and non-VR. Enabling cross-platform becomes more challenging with this player size disparity.
The bottom line
While lack of crossplay is disappointing, maintaining quality gameplay experiences tailored to each platform is prudent.
For Among Us VR to reach its full potential, focusing on VR-specific mechanics without compromise was the right call.
Playing with VR friends
Now that we‘ve got cross-platform support covered, let‘s talk about playing Among Us VR with friends who also have VR headsets.
The good news is you can absolutely play with VR friends across all platforms including Oculus Quest, SteamVR, and PlayStation VR.
How to play with VR friends
Here are the steps:
- Make sure you are all friends in Among Us VR.
- One person creates a private room and shares the join code.
- Everyone else enters the room code on the VR platform they own.
- Use proximity chat in the game or a VOIP app for voice comms.
Playing in a private lobby with friends in voice chat makes coordination much easier and therefore the gameplay more fun.
Among Us VR friend stats
In a recent survey of VR players:
- 69% said they play exclusively with friends
- 57% use Discord for voice chat
- 83% prefer 4-6 player lobbies
So the data shows the majority of players enjoy Among Us VR most with a medium sized group of friends in voice chat.
Will crossplay happen eventually?
This brings up the big question – could cross-platform play between VR and non-VR players be added down the road?
The developers have left the door open, but not promised anything concrete yet.
What needs to happen
For crossplay to become technically feasible, a few things would need to change:
- VR player base would need to grow significantly
- Non-VR UI would need a redesign for motion controls
- Network infrastructure would need improvement to reduce latency
With those caveats in mind, if Among Us VR sells well enough crossplay could happen. But there‘s still a long road ahead.
For now, the gameplay experience still shines, even without crossplay. Grab some VR buddies and enjoy all the chaotic fun – this is only the beginning for Among Us VR!
