What is X8 about?Thirdverse Vice President of US Studios Dax Berg:
X8 is an immersive and action-packed, team-based, 5v5 tactical hero shooter that offers a Seek and Destroy-style game mode at launch, with additional modes to follow. The game is designed with an arsenal of weapons, hand-gestured abilities, and a vast array of skills, combos, and intel gathering tactics. You can employ various strategic maneuvers: locking down corridors or entire rooms with turrets; creating an array of smoke spheres with varying effects; and utilizing powerful hero items to ensure the successful planting or defusing of the “Syphon,” which is our unique take on the classic bomb scenario.
X8‘s advanced abilities also allow for tactical intelligence gathering to track the movements of opponents and best position yourself for optimal offensive and defensive strategies. With its exciting gameplay and plethora of features, X8 offers an engaging and thrilling experience for players looking to test their tactical skills.
What inspired the team to create X8?
Berg: We love the hero shooter genre—Overwatch 2, VALORANT, and Apex Legends—and we wanted to bring players an experience that would be similar in nature to those games, but designed around our own strategic VR twist. We wanted players to feel that they’re invoking abilities rather than just pushing a button, actually throwing objects at people, physically aiming knives and weapons, and swinging swords or knives to takedown opponents.
Your previous virtual reality games were SWORDS of GARGANTUA and ALTAIR BREAKER, which are both focused around sword fighting. Why did it make sense to make X8 a hero-based shooter?
Thirdverse Co-Founder and X8 Executive Producer Masaru “Nogi” Ohnogi: SWORDS of GARGANTUA and ALTAIR BREAKER, both developed by our esteemed Japan Studio, have earned their places as popular titles in the gaming world. However, X8 is a different kind of beast. Developed by our US Studio, our core team members come with extensive experience in crafting successful shooter games. In addition, to pay homage to our previous games, we’ve included exciting melee combat in X8!
That said, we felt that venturing into the realm of hero shooters would allow us to create a more competitive and engaging PvP experience. Although the development process presented many challenges, we’re proud of the results and thrilled to share it with the growing community we’re building.
Did you have any goals coming into the project?
Berg: For X8 to become the most popular VR multiplayer shooter in the world! Ultimately, we would like the game to be fully esports-ready, and also accessible enough for the casual player to enjoy. We’re aiming to find that “golden balance” between easy-to-learn and hard-to-master.
Source: Unreal Engine Blog