Animal Company
| Animal Company | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| VR/AR | Virtual Reality |
| Developer | Wooster Games |
| Publisher | Wooster Games |
| Platform | Meta Quest, SteamVR |
| Device | Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 3S, Meta Quest Pro, PC VR headsets via SteamVR |
| Type | Game |
| Genre | Adventure, Sandbox, Survival |
| Input Device | Tracked motion controllers |
| Play Area | Seated, Standing |
| Game Mode | Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer, Co-op |
| Release Date | July 2024 (Meta Quest, early access); May 21, 2026 (Steam, early access) |
| Price | Free with in-app purchases (Meta Quest); US $19.99 (Steam) |
| App Store | Meta Horizon Store, Steam |
| Website | https://www.animalcompanyvr.com/ |
Animal Company is a free-to-play multiplayer virtual reality survival and adventure game developed and published by Wooster Games, an in-house studio of the software company Spatial. It launched in early access on Meta Quest headsets in July 2024 and on PC VR through Steam on May 21, 2026, where it is sold rather than free.[1][2][3] Players control low-poly, thick-cheeked animal avatars that move by swinging their arms, explore haunted maps, collect loot and fight monsters together. The design combines the arm-powered locomotion popularized by Gorilla Tag with a cooperative scavenging loop modeled on the flatscreen game Lethal Company.[4][5]
The game grew almost entirely through short-form video and its Discord community rather than paid marketing. It passed one million monthly active users in March 2025, when it also overtook Gorilla Tag as the top-earning title on Meta's weekly Quest chart, and Meta later ranked it fifth among all Quest games for first-year gross revenue.[1][5] On the Meta Horizon Store it is still labeled an early access title, with a 4.8 out of 5 star rating from about 217,000 user ratings as of September 2026.[6]
Gameplay
Animal Company is played from a first-person perspective with tracked motion controllers. Its core "Adventure Mode" is an extraction-style loop: a group of players enters a spooky map, gathers loot and other items, and tries to get back out while avoiding or fighting the creatures that live there.[7][4] The studio describes the premise as playing "thick-cheeked animals" who "explore haunted worlds, fight monsters, uncover secret lab experiments, and turn literal trash into powerful gear".[2] Lobbies can be public or private, and sessions can be played solo or cooperatively.[4]
Movement uses the arm-powered locomotion associated with Gorilla Tag, applied to low-poly animal avatars.[1][5] The studio supports both seated and standing play and recommends a clear space of about 2 m by 2 m (6.5 ft by 6.5 ft).[8] Weekly updates since launch have added a planetarium, a mining update, an inventory management system, seasonal events, a "Tech Tree", new Adventure Mode maps such as The Office, and a Parkour Tower.[4][7] In July 2025 Nguyen and Cartin said a crafting system was in development that would let players build weapons from Adventure Mode loot for use in the arena.[9] Creative director Alan Sherber has described the maps as semi-procedural, rebuilt each week from modular chunks so that regular players keep meeting new layouts.[10]
A second mode, "Arena Mode", was released on May 29, 2025. It is a 6-versus-6 player-versus-player shooter in which each team defends a base and tries to destroy the other team's ore reserve, using pistols, shotguns and pickaxes with unlimited ammunition; Road to VR compared it to the "Bed Wars" mode popular in Minecraft.[7] As of its Steam launch the game contained more than 10 maps, 30 monsters and 300 items, according to the studio's early access description.[2]
The game launched without a formal tutorial, and Meta's developer case study says the team deliberately kept some "jank" in the physics because it adds to the comedy.[11] Character and avatar customization is a large part of the game and of its monetization. On Quest the game is free; its add-ons are cosmetic packs and an in-game currency called Company Coins, which buys seasonal cosmetics.[4][1] Private lobbies are unlocked as a purchase after linking a Discord account.[8]
Development
Wooster Games is a subsidiary of Spatial, a company founded in 2017 that first built AR and VR collaboration software and later moved into games.[12][3] Spatial's chief executive, Jinha Lee, also leads the studio; Alan Sherber is creative director, Tera Nguyen is director of product, Felipe Cartin is an artist and animator on the team, and Waldo Bronchart heads engineering.[13][11][14] Nguyen, who had earlier worked at Schell Games, and Cartin have said the game was the last of about two dozen game experiments Spatial built while looking for a new direction, and that it was aimed at Gen Z and Gen Alpha players.[9]
The game started as an internal hackathon project. Meta's developer case study describes a six-week hackathon prototype built by a five-person founding team; the studio's own site and the Heroic Labs case study describe a five-week prototype.[11][13][14] Sherber has said the team prototyped minigame collections and horror adventures before settling on a survival sandbox mixing horror, chaos and player creativity, with Lethal Company and Gorilla Tag as its reference points; Nguyen and Cartin also cited the flatscreen co-op horror game Content Warning.[10][9] In a 2025 statement to Road to VR the studio said it "took inspiration from viral multiplayer hits like Gorilla Tag, Yeeps, and Among Us VR".[1]
The multiplayer backend runs on Nakama, the open-source server from Heroic Labs, which handles accounts, the in-game economy, friends and groups, and storage. The studio ran the first six weeks after launch without a backend, then integrated Nakama within four weeks.[14] Nguyen and Cartin said the team targeted 70 frames per second on Quest and chose a deliberately low-resolution look, drawing on its experience modifying older games.[9] Updates ship every Tuesday, with larger monthly releases; the studio says the weekly cadence lets it react quickly to feedback from its Discord community, which is its main channel for talking to players.[8][11][9]
Wooster Games waited about three months after the early access launch before adding any paid content, and Bronchart has said the team judged the game ready for monetization when players were asking for it. Monetization began in September 2024.[5][1][11] Meta's case study reports that the share of active users who pay rose from 2% to 12% and cites a limited-time "G.O.A.T." bundle sold at US $29.99 for four weeks as an example of its cosmetic offers.[11] Jinha Lee presented the game's growth at Meta Connect 2025 as a case study in reaching one million monthly users with almost no marketing budget.[12]
Release
| Platform | Date | Status | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meta Quest (Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 3S, Meta Quest Pro) | July 2024 | Early access | Free with in-app purchases | Launched on Meta's early access channel; paid content added September 2024 |
| Steam (SteamVR headsets) | May 21, 2026 | Early access | US $19.99 | Includes 5,000 Company Coins and a Steam-exclusive "valve hat" cosmetic; no cross-play with the Quest version |
The Quest version launched in early access in July 2024 and was available on Quest 2 and later headsets.[1][7] The studio lists Quest 2, Quest 3S, Quest 3 and Quest Pro as supported headsets.[8]
A PC VR port was announced in May 2026 and released on Steam on May 21, 2026, also in early access. The Steam listing says the game is not expected to leave early access "until 2027 or beyond" and that the studio has no current plan to change the price afterwards.[15][2] Unlike the Quest release, the Steam version costs US $19.99; the studio says the price includes 5,000 Company Coins, which it values at US $20, plus a Steam-exclusive hat cosmetic. The studio's site says there is no cross-platform play between the Quest and SteamVR versions, and lists Pico 4, Valve Index, HTC Vive headsets, Quest headsets over Link or Air Link, Oculus Rift S, Pimax, Bigscreen Beyond and PlayStation VR2 as compatible on Steam.[8] The Steam version requires SteamVR and has no non-VR mode; the listed minimum specification is Windows 10, an Intel Core i5-7500 or AMD Ryzen 5 1600, 8 GB of RAM and a GeForce GTX 1060 with 6 GB.[2]
Reception and player numbers
Metacritic listed no critic reviews for the game as of September 2026, and its reputation rests on store ratings and usage figures.[16] On the Meta Horizon Store it holds 4.8 out of 5 stars from about 217,000 user ratings as of September 2026, up from about 59,000 in March 2025 and 134,000 in July 2025.[6][4][17] It passed 100,000 Quest reviews in early April 2025, having gained roughly 48,000 in a single month; Gorilla Tag had been the first Quest game to reach that mark, in March 2024.[18] On Steam, 86% of about 755 user reviews were positive as of September 2026.[2]
| Metric | Figure | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly active users | more than 1 million | Studio statement, March 2025[1] |
| Daily active users | 145,000 in December 2024, rising to a peak above 500,000 between late December 2024 and March 2025 | Studio figures reported July 2025[5][17] |
| Quest weekly top-earner chart | Number one, ahead of Gorilla Tag and Beat Saber | Meta weekly chart, week of March 5, 2025[4] |
| First-year gross revenue on Quest | Fifth highest of any Quest game | Meta, July 2025[5][17] |
| Paying share of active users | 2% rising to 12% | Meta developer case study[11] |
| Average daily playtime | more than 100 minutes per user | Meta developer case study[11] |
| TikTok views on game hashtags | 410 million (March 2025); 1 billion (Meta Connect 2025 talk) | Studio statements[1][12] |
| Discord members | about 300,000 (mid 2025) | Studio interview and Meta case study[9][11] |
In March 2025 the studio told Road to VR that revenue had grown every month since monetization began and had more than doubled since December 2024, and that the player base had grown fourfold in the same period.[1] Retention figures vary between accounts: Meta's case study cites 56% seven-day and 45% 28-day retention, while Nguyen and Cartin gave The Ghost Howls figures of about 60% on day one, 30% on day seven and 12% on day 30.[11][9] Even at its 2025 peak the game remained behind Gorilla Tag in active players; Another Axiom had reported one million daily and three million monthly players for its game in 2024.[18][17]
Press coverage has concentrated on the game's growth. UploadVR described it as taking "clear inspiration" from Gorilla Tag with "horror elements reminiscent" of Lethal Company, and Road to VR called it a "viral hit" whose community-driven growth had let it challenge the platform's most popular title.[4][5]
Current status
As of September 2026 the game remains in early access on both the Meta Horizon Store and Steam, with weekly updates continuing.[6][2][8] In June 2026 Spatial announced it would shut down the free and pro tiers of its 3D creator platform on July 27, 2026, keeping only enterprise customers and redirecting the company toward original games through Wooster Games; UploadVR reported the decision alongside Animal Company's user figures, and Lee attributed it to the rising cost of hosting open multiplayer worlds.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 Scott Hayden (2025-03-06). "'Animal Company' Breaks 1 Million Monthly Users, Passes 'Gorilla Tag' as Quest's Top-earner This Week". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/animal-company-1-million-users-beats-gorilla-tag/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 "Animal Company on Steam". Steam. Valve Corporation. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4551040/Animal_Company/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Mike Johnson (2026-06-02). "Spatial Is Discontinuing Its Creator Platform In July". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/spatial-is-discontinuing-its-creator-platform-in-july/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Henry Stockdale (2025-03-05). "Animal Company Shoots Past Gorilla Tag To Become Top-Earning Game On Quest". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/animal-company-shoots-past-gorilla-tag-to-become-top-earning-game-on-quest/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Scott Hayden (2025-07-23). "Viral Hit 'Animal Company' Rockets to Top 5 in Quest First-Year Earnings". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/animal-company-quest-rank-active-user-stats/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Animal Company on Meta Quest". Meta Horizon Store. Meta Platforms. https://www.meta.com/experiences/animal-company/7190422614401072/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Scott Hayden (2025-05-29). "One of Quest's Most Popular Multiplayer Games 'Animal Company' Gets PvP Shooter Update". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/animal-company-quest-pvp-shooter-update-release/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 "Animal Company VR: Free Multiplayer Adventure Game on Meta Quest". Animal Company. Wooster Games. https://www.animalcompanyvr.com/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 "An insightful interview with the Animal Company team". The Ghost Howls. 2025-07-16. https://skarredghost.com/2025/07/16/animal-company-interview-success/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Inside the Mind Behind Animal Company: How Creative Director Alan Sherber Built One of VR's Most Talked-About Games". Animal Company. Wooster Games. https://www.animalcompanyvr.com/press/inside-the-mind-behind-animal-company-how-creative-director-alan-sherber-built-one-of-vrs-most-talked-about-games. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 11.00 11.01 11.02 11.03 11.04 11.05 11.06 11.07 11.08 11.09 "Animal Company: Horizon Success Stories". Meta Horizon Developers. Meta Platforms. https://developers.meta.com/horizon/discover/success-stories/animal-company-wooster-games/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "Building Marketable, Sustainable VR: Lessons from Animal Company's Breakout Growth at Meta Connect 2025". Animal Company. Wooster Games. https://www.animalcompanyvr.com/press/building-marketable-sustainable-vr-lessons-from-animal-companys-breakout-growth-at-meta-connect-2025. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "About". Animal Company. Wooster Games. https://www.animalcompanyvr.com/about. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "Animal Company: From Prototype to VR Breakout with Half-a-Million Daily Players". Heroic Labs. https://heroiclabs.com/blog/spatial-case-study/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ Peter Graham (2026-05-17). "One of Meta Quest's Most Popular Social Games is Coming to PCVR". XR Source. https://xrsource.net/11999/one-of-meta-quests-most-popular-social-games-is-coming-to-pcvr/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ "Animal Company". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/animal-company/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 Henry Stockdale (2025-07-23). "Animal Company Now Has 1 Million Monthly & 500K Daily Active Players". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/animal-company-daily-monthly-users-july-2025/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Scott Hayden (2025-04-02). "'Animal Company' Tops 100K Reviews on Quest, Striving to Beat 'Gorilla Tag' as Most Popular Game". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/animal-company-100k-user-reviews-quest-gorilla-tag/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.