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Apollo 11 VR

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Apollo 11 VR
Information
VR/AR VR
Developer Immersive VR Education Ltd.
Publisher Immersive VR Education Ltd.
Platform SteamVR, Oculus Rift (Platform), PlayStation 4
Device HTC Vive, Oculus Rift CV1, PlayStation VR
Operating System Windows
Type Full Game
Genre Adventure, Simulation, VR, Space, Educational
Input Device Tracked motion controllers, Gamepad, Keyboard / Mouse
Play Area Seated
Game Mode Single Player
Language English
Rating Everyone
Review Very Positive
Release Date Apr 1, 2016
Price $9.69
App Store Steam, PlayStation Store, Oculus Share (2015 prototype)
Website http://www.immersivevreducation.com
Infobox Updated 10/12/2026

Apollo 11 VR is a virtual reality documentary and simulation about the July 1969 Apollo 11 lunar landing mission, developed and published by Immersive VR Education. It was released on Steam for Windows on 1 April 2016 and supports the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.[1] The developer, based in Ireland, later also released the experience for PlayStation VR, and it is still sold on Steam.[2][1]

The project started in early 2015 as a prototype for Oculus Rift development kits, published on Oculus Share as The Apollo 11 Experience and funded through a Kickstarter campaign that raised 36,623 euros.[3][4] It was the company's first product, and it won the Best Film/Interactive Story award at Unity's Vision Summit 2016.[5][6] The studio later remade it as Apollo 11 VR HD for PC VR in 2018 and as Apollo 11 for the Oculus Quest in 2019.[7][8]

Reviewed 12 October 2026. Steam apps 457860, 953840, 1115660 and 1120410 (dates, developers, prices, features, requirements, reviews); the archived 2015 Oculus Share listing and credits; the Silicon Republic, Design World, Road to VR, UploadVR, Sixth Axis, NASA, Fora, ESRB, Enterprise Ireland, Metacritic and Meta Horizon Store pages; and the 2020 and 2026 company RNS announcements About review dates.

Overview

The experience recreates the Apollo 11 mission from launch to re-entry, combining original archive audio and video with recreations of the spacecraft and locations, set to music.[1] Players view events from the perspective of the crew, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, and can take control of parts of the mission: flying the command module, landing the lunar lander, exploring the Moon's surface and setting up the lunar experiments before the return to Earth.[9] The Steam listing describes it as a documentary and lists tracked controller support, partial gamepad support and captions. The Oculus Rift version requires choosing the "Launch Apollo 11 VR in Other VR Mode" option and then Rift from the Steam library.[1] The Steam listing also states that the experience is available for arcades through SpringboardVR.[1]

According to NASA, the developers used the agency's online archives, including the Apollo Flight Journal and the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal, for detailed design plans of the spacecraft, and Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke tested an early version and gave feedback on the accuracy of the control panels. NASA also reported that the app sold more than 40,000 copies in its first year and was offered free to educators.[2] The project began as a prototype demo for the Oculus Rift, and in February 2015 the studio was seeking 30,000 euros on Kickstarter to expand it into a standalone app.[10] The developers also used a photo mosaic of the initial landing site, assembled from photographs taken on earlier Apollo flights, and the NASA article quotes chief executive David Whelan as saying the aim was "to show the general public that virtual reality isn't just for video games and entertainment."[2]

Development

The Apollo 11 Experience prototype (2015)

Immersive VR Education was founded by David Whelan, then editor of the Dublin-based site Virtual Reality Reviewer, and the Apollo 11 project was its first product. Design World reported in February 2015 that the experience was being built by David Whelan, Sandra Whelan and the VR developer Drash, who programmed it in the Unity engine while David Whelan handled sound design, video editing and scripting.[5] Drash was known for the solar system experience Titans of Space.[11]

The prototype was listed on Oculus Share as The Apollo 11 Experience, with "Drash / Immersive VR Education" as developer, Immersive VR Education as publisher and a release date of 8 February 2015. The listing gave its category as Experience, its genres as Exploration and Educational, its supported Rift versions as DK1 and DK2, its controls as keyboard and other, and its mode as single-player. Downloads were offered for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux with the DK2, along with an older desktop build; the minimum hardware listed was an i5 or better processor, 8 GB of RAM and an HD7870 or better graphics card, with Oculus runtime 0.4.2 or later.[3] The credits on the listing name David Whelan (producer, audio editing and video editing), Drash (development lead), Tony Davidson (astronaut model editor), Michael Armstrong (astronaut rigger), Sandra Whelan (research and media) and Ben Wainwright (audio voice cleanup), with music by Tyler McKay of Secession Studios. The listing also states that NASA did not endorse the experience.[3]

Content planned for the full version included digital models of the Saturn V, command module, lunar lander, astronauts and launch tower, original audio from NASA mission control, the command module and the lunar lander, and interviews with the astronauts, with a choice between a guided tour and an interactive mode.[11] Design World described the planned sequence as running from a briefing room to the Moon landing and the splashdown back on Earth.[5]

Kickstarter campaign

The Kickstarter campaign opened in February 2015 with a goal of 30,000 euros; Silicon Republic reported 3,500 euros raised on 9 February, and Design World reported 6,860 euros on 12 February.[10][5] Backers could get full access for 10 euros, and the studio planned a release in July 2015 if the goal was reached.[11] The campaign closed on 14 March 2015 with 36,623 euros raised, and Road to VR reported that the studio had released an updated demo for the DK2 on Windows, Mac and Linux.[12] Silicon Republic gave the final total as 36,623 euros from 1,407 backers, and reported that the company had four VR developers at that point and was supported by the TSSG research group at Waterford Institute of Technology, Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Office Waterford.[4]

Later builds

In July 2015, UploadVR described a build with six scenes, from a John F. Kennedy speech to a moonwalk, produced by David Whelan in partnership with Nick Pittom and Drash. Charlie Duke, whose voice as part of the mission control radio traffic is heard in the experience, previewed that build.[13] A further demo released in October 2015 opened in lunar orbit and showed the lunar module separating for its descent; UploadVR reported that Whelan hoped to have the app ready for the consumer launches of the Rift, Vive and PlayStation VR.[14]

According to Enterprise Ireland, Apollo 11 VR cost about US$100,000 to build, and Facebook used it in conjunction with the release of its Oculus headset, a partnership that gave the company the remaining funds needed to finish the application.[15]

Release

Version Platform Release Notes
The Apollo 11 Experience (prototype) Oculus Share (DK1, DK2) 8 February 2015 Windows, Mac OS X and Linux builds[3]
Apollo 11 VR Steam (HTC Vive, Oculus Rift) 1 April 2016 US$9.69 on Steam as of October 2026[1]
Apollo 11 VR PlayStation Store (PlayStation VR) Week of 26 February 2017 (Europe) £9.49, listed as EU only at release[16]
Apollo 11 VR HD (remake) Steam (Vive, Rift, Windows Mixed Reality) 23 November 2018 US$9.99 on Steam[17]
Apollo 11 (remake) Oculus Store (Oculus Quest) 21 May 2019 US$9.99 at launch[8]

In December 2016, Immersive VR Education announced a PlayStation VR version for January 2017 at the same 10 euro or US$10 price as on the Rift and Vive.[9] UploadVR listed it among the PS VR releases for the week of 26 February 2017, in Europe only, and recommended it as "definitely worth a look."[16] The ESRB rates the PlayStation 4 version E for Everyone, with no content descriptors.[18]

Remakes

In October 2018, Road to VR reported that a remake, Apollo 11 VR HD, would come to Steam for the Rift, Vive and Windows VR headsets, with new assets, textures, animation and lighting, revamped audio, Windows Mixed Reality support and a chapter selector for skipping between sections.[7] It went on sale on Steam on 23 November 2018, and its store page describes it as "a complete remake of the very popular Apollo 11 VR".[17] For the 50th anniversary of the landing, the studio also released a free Steam title, Apollo 11 VR HD: First Steps, on 25 July 2019.[19]

A remake for the Oculus Quest, titled Apollo 11, was a launch title for the headset on 21 May 2019 at US$9.99. Fora reported that Facebook had approached the company a few months earlier, that the user plays as Neil Armstrong for 45 minutes, and quoted Whelan as saying the Quest version "looks very similar to the HD version available on PC".[8] The Meta Horizon Store listing calls it a complete remake of Apollo 11 VR with new assets, textures, animation, lighting and revamped audio, and sells it for US$9.99.[20]

A separate application also titled Apollo 11 VR, a model of the command module interior made by the Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts (IDIA Lab) at Ball State University, was released on Steam on 1 August 2019; it is unrelated to the Immersive VR Education title.[21]

Reception

Apollo 11 VR won the Best Film/Interactive Story category at the VR/AR awards of Unity's Vision Summit 2016, where the judges chose from nearly 250 applicants across all categories.[6] Road to VR's summary of a Kent Bye Voices of VR interview with Whelan, recorded at the summit, says the project also won awards at the Future of Storytelling and at the Festival of International Virtual & Augmented Reality Stories.[22] In UploadVR's coverage of the October 2015 demo, Ian Hamilton wrote that it gave him chills and made his eyes "well up in tears", and predicted that it would become "a must-download for practically all owners" of consumer VR headsets.[14]

Steam user reviews were rated Very Positive as of October 2026, based on 565 reviews.[23] The Quest remake had an average user rating of 3.8 out of 5 from 268 ratings on the Meta Horizon Store as of October 2026.[20] Metacritic lists the Quest remake but shows no critic score.[24]

Sales and later use

NASA reported in July 2018 that the app had sold more than 40,000 copies in its first year.[2] In its results for 2019, VR Education Holdings said the title had generated more than 1.6 million euros in revenue from launch to the end of that year, had won multiple awards including a Time Warner award, and had been selected as a launch title for the Oculus Quest. The same report said that in May 2019 the company signed a deal with "the US Rocket and Space Centre in Alabama" to install Apollo 11 VR as a ticketed exhibit.[25] Enterprise Ireland later wrote that the application had generated more than US$2 million.[15] In July 2019, Road to VR listed the experience on Steam, the Oculus Store and the PlayStation Store, at US$10 on PC VR and US$12 on PS VR.[26] In 2021 the developer's parent company, VR Education Holdings, proposed changing its name to ENGAGE XR Holdings.[27] As ENGAGE XR Holdings (see ENGAGE XR), it announced on 1 September 2026 that it had requested a suspension of its shares on AIM and would proceed with a court-approved liquidation under Irish law; a liquidator, Colin Gaynor of Resolute Advisory, was appointed on 15 September 2026.[28][29] Apollo 11 VR was still listed for sale on Steam in October 2026.[1]

Features

System Requirements

Windows

Minimum

  • OS: Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7 64-bit
  • Processor: Intel i5-4590 or greater
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: GTX 970 or greater
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 6 GB available space
  • VR support: SteamVR or Oculus PC[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 "Apollo 11 VR on Steam". Steam. https://store.steampowered.com/app/457860/Apollo_11_VR/. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Now You Can Follow in Neil Armstrong's Footsteps". NASA. 2018-07-20. https://www.nasa.gov/?p=94590. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "The Apollo 11 Experience". Oculus Share (archived 20 September 2015). Oculus VR. https://web.archive.org/web/20150920160609/https://share.oculus.com/app/the-apollo-11-experience. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 John Kennedy (2015-03-16). "Start-up of the week: Immersive VR Education". Silicon Republic. https://www.siliconrepublic.com/start-ups/start-up-of-the-week-immersive-vr-education. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Virtual Reality Takes You to the Moon in the Apollo 11 Experience". Design World. 2015-02-13. https://www.designworldonline.com/virtual-reality-takes-you-to-the-moon-in-the-apollo-11-experience/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Scott Hayden (2016-02-11). "Here are the Winners of the Vision VR/AR Summit 2016 Awards". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/winners-vision-vrar-summit-2016-awards/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Scott Hayden (2018-10-19). "HD Remaster of 'Apollo 11 VR' Coming to Vive, Rift & Windows VR Next Month". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/hd-remaster-apollo-11-vr-coming-vive-rift-windows-vr-next-month/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Laura Roddy (2019-05-21). "Facebook is using VR Education's moon-landing experience as a launch title for the Oculus Quest". Fora. https://fora.ie/vr-education-oculus-quest-4644767-May2019/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Immersive VR Education Announces Apollo 11 VR Will Be Out For PSVR In January". The Sixth Axis. 2016-12-16. https://www.thesixthaxis.com/?p=280110. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Irish start-up wants to crowdfund Apollo 11 VR experience". Silicon Republic. 2015-02-09. https://www.siliconrepublic.com/?p=270275. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Scott Hayden (2015-03-11). "Apollo 11 Educational Experience Nears Kickstarter Goal With 3 Days Remaining". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/apollo-11-educational-experience-nears-kickstarter-goal-3-days-remaining/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  12. ↑ Ben Lang (2015-03-14). "'Nuren' and 'Apollo 11' VR Experiences Successfully Funded on Kickstarter". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/nuren-and-apollo-11-vr-experiences-successfully-funded-on-kickstarter/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  13. ↑ Ian Hamilton (2015-07-22). "Apollo 11 experience updated (Video)". UploadVR. https://uploadvr.com/apollo-11-experience-updated-video. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Ian Hamilton (2015-10-02). "Latest 'Apollo 11' demo induces chills and tears". UploadVR. https://uploadvr.com/latest-apollo-11-demo-induces-chills-and-tears/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 "From tech enthusiast to industry innovator: How Immersive VR is revolutionising education". Enterprise Ireland. 2023-11-20. https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/success-stories/from-tech-enthusiast-to-industry-innovator-how-immersive-vr-is-revolutionising-education. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Jamie Feltham (2017-03-03). "New PSVR Releases For Week Of 02/26/17". UploadVR. https://uploadvr.com/new-psvr-releases-week-260217/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Apollo 11 VR HD on Steam". Steam. https://store.steampowered.com/app/953840/Apollo_11_VR_HD/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  18. ↑ "Apollo 11 VR". ESRB. https://www.esrb.org/ratings/10033424/apollo-11-vr/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  19. ↑ "Apollo 11 VR HD: First Steps on Steam". Steam. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1115660/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Apollo 11". Meta Horizon Store. Meta Platforms. https://www.meta.com/experiences/2164469606967296/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  21. ↑ "Apollo 11 VR (IDIA Lab) on Steam". Steam. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1120410/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  22. ↑ Kent Bye (2016-03-11). "The Future of Immersive Education with Apollo 11 VR & Lecture VR". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/future-immersive-education-apollo-11-vr-lecture-vr/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  23. ↑ "Apollo 11 VR user reviews". Steam. https://store.steampowered.com/appreviews/457860?json=1&language=all&num_per_page=0. Retrieved 2026-10-09.
  24. ↑ "Apollo 11". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/apollo-11/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  25. ↑ "Final Results (VR Education Holdings PLC, year ended 31 December 2019)". Investegate (RNS). 2020-06-16. https://www.investegate.co.uk/announcement/rns/engage-xr-holdings-cdi---exr/final-results/6337092. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  26. ↑ Scott Hayden (2019-07-16). "5 Great Ways to Celebrate the Moon Landing's 50th Anniversary in VR". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/moon-landing-vr-50th-anniversary/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  27. ↑ "Posting of Circular and Notice of EGM". Investegate (RNS). VR Education Holdings. 2021-09-24. https://www.investegate.co.uk/announcement/rns/engage-xr-holdings-cdi---exr/posting-of-circular-and-notice-of-egm/6560547. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  28. ↑ "Suspension of Shares". ENGAGE XR Holdings. 2026-09-01. https://www.engagevr-ir.com/content/news/archive/2026/010926.asp. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
  29. ↑ "Appointment of Liquidator". Investegate (RNS). ENGAGE XR Holdings. 2026-09-15. https://www.investegate.co.uk/announcement/rns/engage-xr-holdings-cdi---exr/appointment-of-liquidator/9771616. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
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