Space Junkies: The non-VR version goes into beta tomorrow

You may not have heard of it, but Space Junkies is a VR shooter developed by Ubisoft Montpellier, released in March 2019 on PS4 and PC. Indeed, even though the number of players embracing virtual reality is growing, the technology doesn’t seem to appeal to everyone—and there are several reasons for this. These include the cost of the equipment—even though it has come down in recent years—the growing but still limited number of games for which VR is truly worth it, and the number of players participating in multiplayer games. That’s right—even though VR can be a real asset for multiplayer gaming, no one wants to play a game with no one else in it.

And it’s perhaps this last point that led Ubisoft to decide to develop a non-VR version of its shooter, * Space Junkies*. As a reminder, *Space Junkies* is a multiplayer VR FPS in which you take part in zero-gravity battles. The action is frenetic, and the game offers several game modes—seven in total for PvP—allowing you to play 1v1, 2v2, and 3v3 matches. Several characters, weapons, and “orbital arenas” are also available, and content is added regularly, as the game features a seasonal system with four episodes per season. If the idea of fighting in space at a breakneck pace appeals to you, but you don’t have VR equipment, you’ll be able to try out * Space Junkies * using just your mouse and keyboard on PC starting tomorrow during the non-VR beta. The beta will be available exclusively on PC via Uplay starting July 25 at 11 a.m. and will end on August 7. The exact content of this non-VR beta hasn’t been specified, but we do know that crossplay will be available between VR and non-VR players. This decision may seem surprising, as it initially appears to give an advantage to players using a keyboard and mouse, but let’s keep in mind that this is a beta, and we imagine this choice will help test whether crossplay is viable for * Space Junkies * in the long term. To participate in the beta, simply visit the dedcated page on the Ubisoft website, log in, and start preloading the Space Junkies beta right now.