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Fast Travel Games

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Fast Travel Games
Information
Industry Video games, virtual reality
Founded 2016
Founder Oskar Burman, Erik Odeldahl, Kristoffer Benjaminsson
Headquarters Stockholm, Sweden
Notable Personnel Oskar Burman (CEO), Erik Odeldahl (creative director), Kristoffer Benjaminsson (CTO)
Products Apex Construct, Wraith: The Oblivion - Afterlife, Cities: VR, Vampire: The Masquerade - Justice, Mannequin, Action Hero
Website https://www.fasttravelgames.com


Fast Travel Games is a Swedish developer and publisher of virtual reality games, based in Stockholm. It was founded in 2016 by Oskar Burman, Erik Odeldahl and Kristoffer Benjaminsson, industry veterans whose earlier employers included DICE, EA, Rovio and Avalanche Studios.[1][2] The studio says it focuses solely on VR, and the 2026 announcement of PAYDAY: Aces High described it as a VR-exclusive games developer and publisher.[1][3] Its own titles include Apex Construct (2018), Wraith: The Oblivion - Afterlife (2021), Cities: VR (2022), Vampire: The Masquerade - Justice (2023)[1] and Mannequin (2024).[4]

The company opened a publishing division in 2021 and has since released games from smaller studios, including Virtuoso and The Midnight Walk.[5][6] In January 2025 it laid off 30 employees, about 60 percent of its staff, after its 2024 releases sold below expectations.[4] Its next game, the licensed co-op heist game PAYDAY: Aces High, was announced in March 2026.[3]

Reviewed 6 October 2026. Founders and advisers (MCV 2016, official about page), 2017/2021/2023 funding rounds, publishing arm, release dates and platforms of developed and published games against official posts, press and Steam store data, Into the Radius PS VR2 publisher role, 2025 layoffs, and PAYDAY: Aces High and Steam Frame Action Hero status. About review dates.

History

Founding and Apex Construct

MCV reported the new studio on 30 June 2016. Its CEO, Oskar Burman, had founded Rovio's Stockholm studio and earlier worked at EA and Avalanche Studios. CTO Kristoffer Benjaminsson had been a lead programmer at EA DICE and CTO of Easy Studios before becoming a senior development director at Frostbite Labs. Creative director Erik Odeldahl had worked at DICE as design director of Mirror's Edge Catalyst.[2] The founding advisory board included Mojang production director Daniel Kaplan, Microsoft's Minecraft team director Peter Zetterberg, Avalanche Studios founder Christofer Sundberg and Paradox Interactive COO Susana Meza Graham.[2] At launch Burman said: "We feel that VR offers limitless possibilities, and that its inherent qualities make it perfectly suited for storytelling and socially rich experiences."[2]

In September 2017 the company raised a Series A round of 2.1 million US dollars led by Industrifonden, with Creades, Inbox Capital and the existing investor Sunstone Capital also taking part. The round brought its total funding to 2.9 million US dollars.[7] UploadVR reported in January 2018 that the team had grown from the three founders to about 14 people. Burman told the site that the studio's games had to be VR-only: "Because that's how we're going to do the best games."[8]

The studio's first game, the bow-and-shield action adventure Apex Construct, launched on PlayStation VR on 20 February 2018. Versions for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Windows Mixed Reality headsets followed on 20 March 2018.[9] An Oculus Quest version came out in May 2019. By March 2020 the studio said the game had "sold more units on Oculus Quest than all other platforms combined, despite launching over a year later."[10]

Growth and publishing (2019-2023)

In 2019 Fast Travel Games released the miniature-world puzzle game The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets on 14 November, and it co-developed Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency with Neat Corporation, which came out on 12 December.[11][12] Wraith: The Oblivion - Afterlife, which Meta described as the first VR title set in the World of Darkness universe, followed on 22 April 2021 for Quest and Rift; a SteamVR release was scheduled for 25 May.[13]

On 1 July 2021 the company announced a funding round of more than 4 million US dollars led by Brightly Ventures, with Industrifonden, Creades and Inbox Capital also investing. Burman said the company had seen its "revenues double to 2.4M USD last year" and that it was on track to double that again in 2021.[14][15] In September 2021 it launched a publishing arm for small VR teams, led by Patrick Liu, a former head of games at Mojang Studios. Its services include funding, platform access, marketing and PR, certification, quality assurance, localization and age ratings. Road to VR reported that the company had nearly 50 employees by then, about double the number a year earlier, and that Meta Quest accounted for 90 percent of Wraith sales.[5] The first third-party release was Really Interactive's music game Virtuoso on 10 March 2022.[6]

Cities: VR, the studio's VR adaptation of Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive's Cities: Skylines, launched on Meta Quest 2 on 28 April 2022. Fast Travel Games said it was not a direct port and was a more focused city-management game than its predecessor, without the PC version's scale and without terrain editing or natural disasters.[16] A second Paradox licence followed with Ghost Signal: A Stellaris Game, a space roguelite co-developed with Windswept Interactive. It launched on Quest 2 on 23 March 2023 at 19.99 US dollars and supported hand tracking.[17]

In October 2023 the company raised another 4 million US dollars, led by Handelsbanken Fonder with Industrifonden, Brightly Ventures, Creades and Inbox Capital. The company said it had twelve games on the market and that its revenue had grown 70 percent in the previous year to more than 5 million US dollars.[18] Vampire: The Masquerade - Justice, a stealth action game also set in the World of Darkness, launched on Quest and PlayStation VR2 on 2 November 2023.[19]

2024 releases and layoffs

Fast Travel Games launched six games in 2024. Two were its own: the asymmetric multiplayer hide-and-seek game Mannequin and the Quest shooter Action Hero. The other four were published titles: BlackForge: A Smithing Adventure, Band Space, Project Demigod and a PlayStation VR2 version of Into the Radius.[4][20] Mannequin, for up to five players, entered early access on Meta's App Lab on 2 May 2024 and on Steam on 20 June 2024, and reached its full release on Quest and SteamVR on 12 September 2024.[21][22][23][24] Action Hero was released for Quest headsets on 12 December 2024 at 19.99 US dollars.[25] CM Games, the developer of Into the Radius, announced that it was bringing the game to PS VR2 "together with Fast Travel Games"; it launched there on 19 September 2024, with UploadVR naming Fast Travel Games as publisher.[26][27][28]

On 28 January 2025 the company said: "Due to lower sales than expected from our six game launches in 2024, in combination with a more uncertain year ahead for VR Games as a whole, we've taken the difficult decision to make 30 employees redundant at FTG."[4] UploadVR put the cut at 60 percent of the staff. The layoffs fell mainly on publishing, marketing and administration, and the remaining developers were consolidated into one internal development team.[4][29]

2025 to present

The company kept publishing after the layoffs. MoonHood's The Midnight Walk came out on 8 May 2025, and Nervous Systems' VEX MAGE reached Steam on 21 October 2025.[30][31] On 24 March 2026 Fast Travel Games and Starbreeze Entertainment announced PAYDAY: Aces High, an officially licensed VR co-op heist game in the PAYDAY series for Meta Quest and SteamVR headsets. The announcement named Burman as CEO.[3] As of October 2026 the game had not been released; Fast Travel Games' Steam publisher page listed it for the fourth quarter of 2026.[32] Action Hero was released on Steam on 14 September 2026 as a VR-only title exclusive to Steam Frame.[33]

Products

Games developed

Title First release Platforms at launch Notes
Apex Construct 20 February 2018 PlayStation VR; Vive, Rift and Windows Mixed Reality on 20 March 2018 Debut game; Quest version in May 2019[9][10]
The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets 14 November 2019 Quest, Rift, PlayStation VR, Vive, Valve Index, Windows Mixed Reality Puzzle game set in miniature worlds; soundtrack by Wintergatan[11]
Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency 12 December 2019 PC VR (Steam) Co-developed with Neat Corporation[12]
Wraith: The Oblivion - Afterlife 22 April 2021 Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift SteamVR on 25 May 2021; World of Darkness licence[13]
Cities: VR 28 April 2022 Meta Quest 2 Adaptation of Cities: Skylines[16]
Ghost Signal: A Stellaris Game 23 March 2023 Meta Quest 2 Co-developed with Windswept Interactive; Paradox licence[17]
Vampire: The Masquerade - Justice 2 November 2023 Quest, PlayStation VR2 World of Darkness licence[19]
Mannequin 12 September 2024 (full release) Meta Quest, SteamVR Early access on App Lab from 2 May 2024 and on Steam from 20 June 2024; asymmetric multiplayer for up to five players[21][23][24]
Action Hero 12 December 2024 Meta Quest 2, 3, 3S and Pro Steam Frame version on 14 September 2026[25][33]
PAYDAY: Aces High Not yet released Meta Quest, SteamVR (announced) Licensed from Starbreeze Entertainment[3]

Games published for other studios

The dates below are Steam release dates unless noted; some games came out earlier or later on other storefronts.

Title Developer Release Notes
Virtuoso Really Interactive 10 March 2022 First third-party title; Quest, Rift and SteamVR[6]
Broken Edge Trebuchet 17 November 2022 (Steam) Publishing announced June 2022[34][35]
Guardians Frontline VirtualAge 9 March 2023 [36]
We Are One Flat Head Studio 1 June 2023 Publishing deal announced June 2022[34][37]
Project Demigod Omnifarious Studios 1 February 2024 [38]
BlackForge: A Smithing Adventure Mana Brigade 13 June 2024 [39]
Into the Radius (PS VR2) CM Games 19 September 2024 (PS VR2) PlayStation VR2 version[26][28]
Band Space Smartmelon Games 24 October 2024 [40]
Elements Divided Loco Motion Devs 23 April 2025 [41]
The Midnight Walk MoonHood 8 May 2025 VR and flatscreen[30]
VEX MAGE Nervous Systems 21 October 2025 [31]

XR work

Fast Travel Games was set up as a VR-only studio. In 2018 UploadVR reported that the founders wanted to make VR-exclusive games instead of ports or wave shooters.[8] Its games have been released across PC VR, PlayStation VR and PlayStation VR2, and Meta's standalone Quest headsets. Apex Construct sold more on Quest than on all other platforms combined, and several later releases launched on Quest first or only on Quest, including Cities: VR, Ghost Signal and Action Hero.[10][16][17][25] A number of its own games are based on licensed properties from other studios: the World of Darkness setting for Wraith and Vampire: The Masquerade - Justice, Paradox Interactive's Cities: Skylines and Stellaris, and Starbreeze's PAYDAY series.[13][16][17][3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Fast Travel Games - About". Fast Travel Games. https://www.fasttravelgames.com/about. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 MCV Staff (2016-06-30). "Fast Travel Games is the new VR studio from ex-Rovio, DICE and EA devs". MCV/DEVELOP. https://mcvuk.com/development-news/fast-travel-games-is-the-new-vr-studio-from-ex-rovio-dice-and-ea-devs/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Starbreeze and Fast Travel Games announce officially licensed VR game - PAYDAY: Aces High". Starbreeze Entertainment. 2026-03-24. https://www.starbreeze.com/news/starbreeze-and-fast-travel-games-announce-officially-licensed-vr-game-payday-aces-high/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Henry Stockdale (2025-01-28). "Fast Travel Games Will Lay Off Dozens After Sales Miss Expectations". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/fast-travel-games-layoffs-january-2025/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Scott Hayden (2021-09-28). "One of VR's Leading Developers Opens Publishing Arm Aimed at Small VR Teams". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/fast-travel-games-vr-publishing/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "VR musical sandbox Virtuoso Coming March 10 to Quest, Rift & SteamVR". Fast Travel Games. 2022-02-17. https://fasttravelgames.com/news/virtuoso. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  7. ↑ Jamie Feltham (2017-09-04). "Fast Travel Games Raises $2.1 Million For VR Game From Mirror's Edge Catalyst Design Director". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/vr-developer-fast-travel-games-raises-2-1-million/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Jamie Feltham (2018-01-11). "Trading Birds & Bullets For Bows: How Fast Travel Games Became One Of VR's Most Promising Developers". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/how-fast-travel-games/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Scott Hayden (2018-02-20). "Bowshooter Adventure 'Apex Construct' Launches on PSVR Today, Coming to Vive & Rift March 20th". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/bowshooter-adventure-apex-construct-launches-psvr-today-coming-vive-rift-march-20th/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Jamie Feltham (2020-03-08). "Apex Construct On Quest Has Outsold All Other Platforms Combined". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/apex-construct-oculus-quest-sales/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "'The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets' (ALL) Gets Release Date - Trailer". Worthplaying. 2019-10-22. https://worthplaying.com/article/2019/10/22/news/116616-the-curious-tale-of-the-stolen-pets-all-gets-release-date-trailer/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1092430/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "World of Darkness Comes to VR: 'Wraith: The Oblivion - Afterlife' Launches April 22 on the Oculus Quest and Rift Platforms". Meta Quest Blog. Meta Platforms. 2021-03-03. https://www.meta.com/blog/world-of-darkness-comes-to-vr-wraith-the-oblivion-afterlife-launches-april-22-on-the-oculus-quest-and-rift-platforms/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  14. ↑ "Fast Travel Games raises 4M+ USD in a new round of investment". Fast Travel Games. 2021-07-01. https://www.fasttravelgames.com/news/new-investment-raised. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  15. ↑ Chris Kerr (2021-07-01). "Fast Travel Games secures $4 million to develop more VR projects". Game Developer. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/fast-travel-games-secures-4-million-to-develop-more-vr-projects. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 "Cities: VR is launching April 28 on Quest 2!". Fast Travel Games. 2022-03-31. https://www.fasttravelgames.com/news/citiesvr-coming-April28. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 "Ghost Signal: A Stellaris Game Launching March 23 for Meta Quest 2". TriplePoint Newsroom. 2023-03-09. https://pressreleases.triplepointpr.com/2023/03/09/ghost-signal-a-stellaris-game-launching-march-23-for-meta-quest-2/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  18. ↑ Scott Hayden (2023-10-12). "Pioneering VR Studio Fast Travel Games Raises $4M". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/fast-travel-games-4m-investment-2023/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Scott Hayden (2023-10-31). "Vampire The Masquerade Justice VR Review on Quest 3 and PSVR 2". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/vampire-masquerade-justice-review-quest-3-psvr-2/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  20. ↑ Scott Hayden (2025-01-29). "VR Veteran Fast Travel Games Announces Layoffs, Citing Lower Than Expected Sales in 2024". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/vr-veteran-fast-travel-games-announces-layoffs-citing-lower-than-expected-sales-in-2024/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Mannequin Early Access Out Now On Quest!". Fast Travel Games. 2024-05-02. https://www.fasttravelgames.com/news/mannequin-early-access-out-now. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  22. ↑ "Fast Travel Games Unveils Asymmetric Multiplayer Hide-and-Seek VR Game 'Mannequin'". TriplePoint Newsroom. 2023-09-13. https://pressreleases.triplepointpr.com/2023/09/13/fast-travel-games-unveils-asymmetric-multiplayer-hide-and-seek-vr-game-mannequin/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Henry Stockdale (2024-06-12). "Mannequin Hands-On: VR Prop Hunt Strikes A Convincing Pose". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/mannequin-vr-early-access-preview/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Josef Erl (2024-08-16). "VR stealth shooter Mannequin is leaving Early Access with a Quest 3 update". MIXED. https://mixed-news.com/en/vr-stealth-shooter-mannequin-is-leaving-early-access-with-a-quest-3-update/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 "Explosive VR Shooter, Action Hero, Gets December Release Date". Fast Travel Games. 2024-11-19. https://www.fasttravelgames.com/news/action-hero-release-date. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Jason Coles (2024-09-19). "Into The Radius Heads For PlayStation VR2 Today". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/into-the-radius-psvr-2-release-date/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  27. ↑ "Into the Radius is coming to PSVR2". CM Games. 2024-08-16. https://cm.games/stories/into-the-radius-is-coming-to-psvr2. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Aleksei Shulga (2024-08-15). "Hardcore survival shooter Into The Radius hits PS VR2 Sept 19". PlayStation Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment. https://blog.playstation.com/2024/08/15/hardcore-survival-shooter-into-the-radius-hits-ps-vr2-sept-19/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  29. ↑ Justin Carter (2025-01-28). "VR dev Fast Travel Games cuts 30 employees, saying VR faces a 'more uncertain year'". Game Developer. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/vr-dev-fast-travel-games-cuts-30-employees-saying-vr-faces-a-more-uncertain-year-. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 "The Midnight Walk on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2863640/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 "VEX MAGE on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2700810/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  32. ↑ "Fast Travel Games (publisher page)". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/fasttravelgames. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 "Action Hero on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4688290/Action_Hero/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 "Fast Travel Announces Broken Edge and New Publishing Deal for We Are One". TriplePoint Newsroom. 2022-06-09. https://pressreleases.triplepointpr.com/2022/06/09/fast-travel-announces-broken-edge-and-new-publishing-deal-for-we-are-one/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  35. ↑ "Broken Edge on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1947070/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  36. ↑ "Guardians Frontline on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1481440/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  37. ↑ "We Are One on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1669500/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  38. ↑ "Project Demigod on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1646580/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  39. ↑ "BlackForge: A Smithing Adventure on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2146140/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  40. ↑ "Band Space on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2182070/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
  41. ↑ "Elements Divided on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2805770/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
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