By: VR Focus
June 22, 2021
There was quite a bit of furore in the virtual reality (VR) community at the end of last week when Facebook announced it was going to begin early testing of VR ads, starting with Resolution Games’ PvP shooter Blaston. Well, as you’d expect this didn’t go down well and sparked an almighty backlash against the videogame. And Resolution Games most definitely listened, issuing a statement confirming Blaston’s removal from the test.
In a couple of tweets via the Blaston Twitter account the developer said: “After listening to player feedback, we realize that Blaston isn’t the best fit for this type of advertising test. Therefore, we no longer plan to implement the test.” This was then followed up with: “To make it clear, we realize that Blaston isn’t the best fit for this type of advertising test. As an alternative, we are looking to see if it is feasible to move this small, temporary test to our free game, Bait! sometime in the future.”
Blaston launched last year as a relatively cheap and cheerful shooter where two players stood on podiums trying to whittle each other’s health down using guns. The twist is that all the projectiles move in slow motion. It was well-received by critics and players alike for its easy to pick up and play mechanics. Since the ad debacle, you’ll notice on platforms like Steam and Oculus Store that there’s been a deluge of negative reviews purely due to the advertising news.