Is Onward dead?

If I got any of the information incorrect in the video, feel free to let me know in the comments- I always read them. If this video stimulates significant interest, I would be open to making more videos on the topic. I tried to make this video simultaneously informative and funny, so I just hope I didn't fail at both. I also think it would be fun to make a video about how I have met so many friends on VR, shout out to my best friend- I would have put you in this video but your company sent you to the field- enjoy the cold. Anyway, SEO word time!!! Is Onward virtual reality dead? Onward was the first game I’ve ever played on VR, it’s also where I met my husband, my best friend, and my Canadian best friend. My husband even landed a job through two friends he met on Onward. Before I get into a brief history of Onward, Disclaimer, I am getting all my info from the internet and my own memory, so there may be some discrepancies. If anything is inaccurate, please let me know in the comments, as I am sure you will anyway. Onward was created by Dante Buckley to fill the lack of tactical shooters in VR, releasing it on Steam Early Access in August 2016 for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. To reach a wider audience, Downpour Interactive brought Onward to the Oculus Quest in 2020. This required significant graphical downgrades to the PC version to ensure cross-play, causing a divide in the player base. Meta acquired Downpour Interactive in April 2021, bringing the studio into the Oculus Studios family. Following the departure of creator Dante Buckley and subsequent layoffs within Meta's VR studios in 2023, the development team faced restructuring. In 2025, Downpour officially dissolved, with many employees permanently joining their sister studio, Camouflaj. Onward (Update 2.0) will still be available on all current platforms for current and new players, but it will no longer be getting developer support for things such as new content or non-critical bug fixes. While the history of the game is somewhat easy to track, the history and impact of VRML (Virtual Reality Master League) Onward is more difficult to summarize. So here are some stats, and you can draw your own conclusions. Season 5 prize pool was an unbelievable $60,000, but that was a once in a lifetime competition because Season 6’s prize pool was merch and or protubes valued at around $1,000. Season 7 through 9 was about the same, but Season 10 ramped the prizes back up with a pool of $15,000. Season 11 prize pool was $14,000 with many sponsors, Season 12 prize pool was $10,000, Season 13 was $7, 640, Season 14 was $3,240, Season 15 was around $530. As you can see, quite the downward trend. Season 16 and 17 is blank on the website, but the current Season 18’s prize pool is… a discord role. Also, at some point they let their marketing employee go because there’s no more cool posters. Even though I am making this video for free, I am for some reason putting time into it, so here is a chart I made in excel. Since the beginning of Onward VMRL, ProTube had been giving out prizes and products, essentially being that friend that was always there for Onward VRML. Even Downpour didn’t give out cash prizes until Season 10, and stopped giving prizes after being acquired by Meta. However, this last season’s only prize is a discord role, so it’s safe to say VRML Onward is dead. Here is what some people were saying… A side note for season 16- the prize was supposed to be going to VRML Con in person to play, but Meta did not sponsor Onward VRML and they had to try to raise the money themselves. Unfortunately, they did not reach their fundraising goal and players had to pay their own way. In conclusion, the question remains, is Onward dead? Is Onward VRML dead? That facts seem to indicate it is, even though players can still play the game.