EDIT 10/11 4:22 PM: Added screenshots and link to sign up for the waitlist for the update.
What you need to know
- BigBox VR is adding a new Sandbox interface for Population: One.
- The new Sandbox mode will let players build their own worlds and games to share with friends and other players.
- The news about the new Sandbox mode landed during Meta Connect.
BigBox VR's insane virtual battle royale Population: One is about to get a whole lot crazier thanks to a new Sandbox mode.
The Oculus Quest 2's answer to open-world shooters like Fortnite announced at Meta Connect that it will add a new Sandbox mode that will allow players to create "brand new games" for their friends and opponents.
The new user-generator content creator will allow Population: One players to build their own maps and game modes and set them loose and allow for "open-ended possibilities you can create and share," according to the Meta Connect announcement. You can sign up to preview it and join the waitlist right now!
There's not a whole lot of information about how this new mode might work and maybe that's because there aren't many or any limitations the Sandbox addition will offer to Population: One players. The announcement suggests that players can build maps that allow for deathmatches on the moon, cooperative modes that let players "lay siege to a Viking village," "fight on a Moon base," or special matches where players can only "fight in zero gravity with nothing but swords."
The Population: One Sandbox mode will allow players to share their newly constructed worlds with friends or post them on public catalogs where other players can access them and vote for their favorites. The game's developer, BigBox VR, provided the screenshot collage below to show the possibilities and they look quite impressive, to say the least.
This may just be the craziest add-on to the game's colorful history of expansions and themes over its two years on the Meta Quest 2. The studio has added things like a wild west theme, a medieval Kingdom Age expansion and even seasonal themed maps, special loot, weapons, skins and more. It was already one of the best Quest 2 shooters before this, and this merely cements its position.
BigBox VR is basically handing the keys of its top-selling virtual, open-world title to the players and saying, "Have fun." Thanks to the collective creativity and randomness of the Internet, we're bound to get something akin to Fortnite meets Saints Row for the Oculus Quest 2, similar to how Contractors allowed gamers to mod in Halo levels and Star Wars: Battlefront onto the Quest 2. Classic levels from Goldeneye and other fan favorites will almost certainly make an appearance thanks to Population: One Sandbox mode.
The Meta Quest 2 is the easiest and most affordable way to get into the world of VR. Play hundreds of games right in the headset with no need for a phone or computer to run the show. It's just like a console, except you won't need a TV.
