NFL Pro Era lets you be QB of your favorite team in VR this fall

What you need to know

• NFL Pro Era is a first-person VR football game announced during the Meta Gaming Showcase today.
• The officially licensed NFL game places players in the quarterback position for any of the NFL teams and run plays in front of thousands of fans or in practice.
• The game will be coming to Quest and PlayStation VR headsets in fall 2022.

The National Football League has dipped its toes into virtual reality gaming with the reveal of NFL Pro Era during the Meta Gaming Showcase today. It will be the first fully licensed VR game by the organization, and will be coming to Quest and PlayStation VR platforms in the fall later this year.

The simulation game lets players assume the point of view of the quarterback from any of the NFL teams to compete on the field using real-time NFL game data. A trailer showed off some pre-alpha gameplay from the perspective of Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. 

Players will be able to experience all facets of an NFL game through Quest and PS VR starting with the pre-game locker room, traveling though the tunnel onto the stadium field, and quickly surveying the field for potential receivers or risk getting sacked. The game will also allow players to potentially lead their team to the Super Bowl, improve QB skills through drills, or simply play virtual catch with friends in an NFL stadium.

NFL Pro Era is being developed and published by StatusPRO, Inc., a company co-founded by Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns wide receiver Andrew Hawkins and former college quarterback Troy Jones. The company announced last month it had signed an agreement with the NFL to create a first-person VR football game that would be annualized.

While there a few football games in VR, they are mostly arcade experiences or feature simplistic graphics that are not strong enough to be one of the best Quest 2 games. If done right, NFL Pro Era could be the Madden NFL for VR users.