Lone Echo II Still Expected in 2020, Development has Been Impacted by COVID-19
Ready at Dawn has been delivering continual updates for its online multiplayer Echo VR but when its comes to Lone Echo II has continually remained quiet. That silence has been partially broken this week with the studio revealing plans are still underway for the sci-fi adventure to arrive this year if a little later than planned.
Like many studios the world over, Ready at Dawn has seen development affected by the current coronavirus pandemic as staff work from home.
In a statement, Co-Founder, Chief Creative & Executive Officer Ru Weerasuriya wrote: “As work progresses on our games, this new reality and dynamic has caused us to rethink some of our game development methodology. Development on Lone Echo II has been greatly impacted. We know many of you have anxiously been awaiting its launch and, while we do intend to launch in 2020, we’ll have more news on Lone Echo II coming very soon.”
Originally expected in 2019, Lone Echo II was then pushed back to Q1 2020 last summer. There were no further development updates until now. While the title is highly anticipated its definitely not the only one to suffer, the other most notable one being Iron Man VR.
In its preview of Lone Echo II last year VRFocus found that the title was already looking stunning, with the same attention to detail as the original. Several new features were showcased including enemies and menu system.
On a more positive note, Ready at Dawn has confirmed that the open beta for Echo VR on Oculus Quest will begin next week, 5th May, available to everyone until the official launch later this year. Head on over to the Echo Games Discord for more info. Oculus Rift cross-play will also be added soon after.
Echo VR is a team-based competitive experience split into two modes, Echo Arena and Echo Combat. The former is a zero-g sports tournament where two teams of four face-off, scoring goals whilst boosting, gliding and punching opponents out the way. Echo Combat is a bit more violent in the fact that weapons are involved plus there’s an object teams have to attack/defend to win.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Lone Echo II, reporting back with further updates and announcements.
https://www.vrfocus.com/2020/05/lone-echo-ii-still-expected-in-2020-development-has-been-impacted-by-covid-19/
