Gorilla Tag
| Gorilla Tag | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| VR/AR | Virtual Reality |
| Developer | Another Axiom |
| Publisher | Another Axiom |
| Platform | SteamVR, Meta Quest, PlayStation VR2 |
| Device | Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 3S, Meta Quest Pro, PlayStation VR2, PC VR headsets |
| Operating System | Windows, Meta Horizon OS, PlayStation 5 |
| Type | Game |
| Genre | Casual, Action, Social, Party |
| Input Device | Tracked motion controllers |
| Play Area | Standing, Room-scale |
| Game Mode | Online multiplayer |
| Release Date | Steam Early Access: February 12, 2021; App Lab: March 2021; Meta Quest Store: December 15, 2022; Steam full release: January 1, 2023; PlayStation VR2: November 7, 2024 |
| Price | Free-to-play (Meta Quest, PlayStation VR2); US $19.99 (Steam) |
| App Store | Steam, Meta Quest Store, PlayStation Store |
| Website | https://www.gorillatagvr.com |
Gorilla Tag is a multiplayer Virtual Reality game developed and published by Another Axiom in which players control half-bodied gorillas and move entirely by swinging their arms. Players run, climb, and jump by physically moving their hands rather than using thumbsticks, buttons, or teleportation, and chase one another across jungle-themed maps in variants of the playground game tag.[1] First released on Steam in February 2021 and on Meta's App Lab the following month, it became one of the most commercially successful titles in VR, passing 10 million lifetime players and over US$100 million in revenue by mid-2024.[2][3]
The game was created by Kerestell Smith, who built the first version as a solo project and later grew Another Axiom into a studio around it.[4] Gorilla Tag is free-to-play on Meta Quest and PlayStation VR2, earning money through cosmetic items, and is sold as a paid title on Steam.[5][6]
Gameplay
Players are represented as gorillas visible only from the torso up, with no legs. All movement comes from the arms: swinging or pushing the hands against the ground and surfaces propels the avatar forward, and the same motions are used to climb walls and leap between platforms. The game uses no artificial locomotion, thumbstick movement, or teleportation, a design the developer summarizes on the store page as needing "only the movement of your hands and arms. No buttons, no sticks, no teleportation."[1]
The core mode is tag, in which one or more "infected" players try to touch others; a tagged player becomes infected in turn. Sessions take place in shared online rooms holding small groups, with separate public and private (friends-only) lobbies.[1] Over time Another Axiom added further modes, including an infection mode for larger groups, a single-target chase called The Hunt, and a team paintball mode called Paintbrawl.[1] The PC versions (Steam and Oculus PC) support cross-platform play with each other.[1]
The arm-based locomotion was the starting point for the whole project: Smith designed the movement system first and added the gorilla theme afterward.[7] He credits the Echo VR series (Echo Arena and Lone Echo) as the direct inspiration, calling it "the foundation for me and my philosophy for what VR can and should be."[4] Because forward motion is produced by the player's own physical effort rather than simulated movement, the locomotion scheme is often cited as reducing the motion sickness that thumbstick locomotion can cause, while making the game physically demanding.[5]
Development
Kerestell Smith, who also goes by the handle "Lemming," began work on Gorilla Tag as an independent passion project while keeping a full-time job, with development starting around the end of 2019.[4][8] Smith had competed in Echo Arena esports, and the experience shaped his view that the most compelling VR came from full-body, physical interaction.[4]
The game first released in early access on Steam and SideQuest on February 12, 2021, and arrived on App Lab (Meta's channel for unlisted Quest apps) the following month, in March 2021.[9][8] It reached roughly 42,000 unique players in its first two weeks.[8] By July 1, 2021 it had about 675,000 unique players, and by December 3, 2021 it had passed 1.5 million unique players with around 13,000 concurrent users.[8] In-app purchases were added on the Quest version in December 2021, giving the free App Lab build a revenue source through cosmetics.[8]
Another Axiom grew alongside the game from a one-person operation into a full studio. By the time of the main Quest Store launch the team had expanded, and by 2024 the company described having over 100 people working on the title as a fully remote team, shipping updates roughly every two weeks.[4][2] The studio has said the game grew with minimal paid marketing, relying on word of mouth, social media, and its community; by 2024 it reported a Discord server of more than 350,000 members and over 10 billion views on TikTok.[2]
Release
Gorilla Tag launched on the main Meta Quest Store on December 15, 2022, after what Another Axiom called "an astoundingly successful run on App Lab."[10] It left Steam early access on January 1, 2023.[1] The game came to PlayStation VR2 on November 7, 2024, where it is also free-to-play; online multiplayer there requires a PlayStation Plus subscription, the launch was US-only, and cross-platform play with other systems was not supported at release.[6]
| Platform | Release date | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| SideQuest | February 12, 2021 (early access) | Free |
| App Lab | March 2021 (early access) | Free |
| Steam (PC VR) | February 12, 2021 (early access); January 1, 2023 (full release) | Free in early access; US $19.99 from full release |
| Meta Quest Store | December 15, 2022 | Free-to-play |
| PlayStation VR2 | November 7, 2024 | Free-to-play (PS Plus for multiplayer) |
Reception
Gorilla Tag became one of the most successful VR games by player base and revenue. Before its main Quest Store launch it had already earned about US$26 million as an App Lab title.[3] At the Augmented World Expo (AWE) in June 2024, Another Axiom reported that the game had surpassed US$100 million in total revenue since its 2021 launch, with more than 10 million lifetime players, over 3 million monthly active users, and over 1 million daily active users.[2][3] The studio said players spent an average of nearly 60 minutes per session, and that revenue came primarily from in-game cosmetics.[5][3]
The title also set records on the Meta Quest Store. Around its main-store launch in late 2022 the game had reached about 46,000 reviews on Quest, more than any other Quest app at the time, including Beat Saber's roughly 45,000, making it the most-rated game on the platform.[11][9] In February 2024 it became the first Quest Store title to pass 100,000 reviews, and the count later exceeded 110,000.[12][2] On Steam, the game holds a "Very Positive" user review rating.[1]
Gorilla Tag is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB, with a content descriptor for Mild Fantasy Violence and interactive-elements notices for in-game purchases and user interaction (in-game voice chat).[13] The game drew a large audience of younger players, and its proximity-based voice chat prompted guidance for parents about moderation; Another Axiom uses age-verification (via k-ID on Meta accounts) to gate communication and certain purchase features for younger users.[13]
Successor
Another Axiom's next VR title, Orion Drift, is built on the same arm-based locomotion that Gorilla Tag pioneered, with players inhabiting robot bodies in a zero-gravity social space station. Orion Drift entered open early access on the Meta Quest platform, and received its first major content update, a capture-the-flag mode called Capture the Beacon, in late March 2025.[14][15]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Gorilla Tag on Steam". Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1533390/Gorilla_Tag/.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Gorilla Tag crosses 10M VR players and 100M in revenue". 2024-06-20. https://gamesbeat.com/gorilla-tag-crosses-10m-vr-players-and-100m-in-revenue/.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Gorilla Tag Has 1 Million Daily and 3 Million Monthly Active Players, 100 Million Revenue". 2024-06-19. https://www.uploadvr.com/gorilla-tag-daily-monthly-users/.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Behind the Build: Another Axiom Talks Gorilla Tag". https://www.anotheraxiom.com/news-posts/behind-the-build-another-axiom-talks-gorilla-tag.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Gorilla Tag Has Topped 100M in Revenue, Making it One of the Most Successful VR Games Ever". 2024-06-20. https://www.roadtovr.com/gorilla-tag-revenue-vr-success-another-axiom/.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Gorilla Tag Swings Onto PlayStation VR2 Next Week". 2024-11-01. https://www.uploadvr.com/gorilla-tag-playstation-vr2-release-date/.
- ↑ "Gorilla Tag Design Philosophy and Embodied Gameplay Deep Dive with Kerestell Smith". http://voicesofvr.com/1489-gorilla-tag-design-philosophy-embodied-gameplay-deep-dive-with-kerestell-smith/.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 "Gorilla Tag Dev After 1.5M Player Milestone and Quest IAP". https://roadtovr.com/unassuming-one-man-vr-project-gorilla-tag-sees-42k-players-in-first-two-weeks/.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Gorilla Tag VR is the Most-Rated Quest Game Ever". 2023-04-21. https://www.anotheraxiom.com/news-posts/gorilla-tag-vr-is-the-most-rated-quest-game-ever.
- ↑ "Behind the Build: Another Axiom Talks Gorilla Tag". 2022-12-15. https://developers.meta.com/horizon/blog/gorilla-tag/.
- ↑ "Indie VR Hit 'Gorilla Tag' is the Most-rated Quest Game Ever and It Just Landed on the Main Store". 2022-11-30. https://roadtovr.com/gorilla-tag-release-date-quest-main-store/.
- ↑ "Indie VR Hit 'Gorilla Tag' Becomes First Quest Title to Top 100K Reviews". 2024-03-08. https://www.roadtovr.com/gorilla-tag-100k-reviews-quest-2-3-pro/.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "A Parent's Guide to Gorilla Tag". https://www.esrb.org/blog/a-parents-guide-to-gorilla-tag/.
- ↑ "The Next Game from Gorilla Tag Developer Another Axiom, Orion Drift, is Now in Open Early Access". https://www.meta.com/blog/orion-drift-open-early-access/.
- ↑ "Gorilla Tag Successor Orion Drift Gets First Big Update Tomorrow with New Mini-game". 2025-03. https://www.roadtovr.com/gorilla-tag-successor-orion-drift-is-getting-its-first-big-update-tomorrow-including-new-mini-game/.