Maestro
More actions
| Maestro | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| VR/AR | VR |
| Developer | Double Jack |
| Publisher | Double Jack, Creature |
| Platform | Meta Horizon OS, SteamVR, PlayStation VR2, Pico |
| Device | Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest Pro, PlayStation VR2 |
| Operating System | Meta Horizon OS, Windows |
| Type | Game |
| Genre | Rhythm, Music, Simulation |
| Input Device | Hand tracking, motion controllers |
| Play Area | Standing, Seated |
| Game Mode | Single-player |
| Release Date | 17 October 2024 (Meta Quest); 22 October 2024 (Steam); 20 June 2025 (PlayStation VR2) |
| Price | US$24.99 (Meta Quest and Steam) |
| App Store | Meta Horizon Store, Steam, PlayStation Store, Pico Store |
| Website | https://maestro-game.com/ |
Maestro is a virtual reality rhythm game in which the player conducts a symphony orchestra, developed by the Paris-based studio Double Jack. It was released for Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest Pro on 17 October 2024 and on Steam on 22 October 2024, and it was ported to PlayStation VR2 on 20 June 2025. It is also sold for Pico headsets.[1][2][3] Players lead the orchestra with conducting gestures, keeping the tempo with a virtual baton, cueing sections of the orchestra and shaping dynamics such as crescendos.[4]
The game was built around hand tracking and grew out of a free demo, Maestro: The Masterclass, which by August 2024 had been available for about two years on App Lab, the Pico Store and Viveport.[1] Meta named Maestro its App of the Year in the Meta Horizon Store's Best of 2024 list.[5] According to UploadVR, the PlayStation VR2 port made it the first game to support controller-free play on Quest, Steam, PS VR2 and Pico.[3] Flat-screen versions for Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, played with Joy-Con motion controls, followed on 17 September 2026.[6]
Gameplay
The player leads a full orchestra in real time on the stage of a historic Paris opera house.[7][4] Instead of hitting targets on a beat, the player uses conducting gestures: in UploadVR's description, raising a palm triggers a crescendo and pointing at part of the orchestra cues it to play.[8] Each piece has several difficulty levels, and players can unlock costumes and decorations for the stage and the performance hall.[4] MIXED's report on the first DLC in December 2024 listed global leaderboards among the game's features.[9]
The game can be played with bare hands or with controllers.[1] On PlayStation VR2 it supports the headset's hand tracking, and the PlayStation Store listing gives a minimum play area of 2 m by 2 m.[3][7]
At launch the game had 15 tracks.[8] The repertoire runs from classical works by composers such as Wagner, Beethoven and Mozart to pieces in modern styles including jazz, electro and hip-hop; Duke Ellington is among the composers in the base game.[1][10] A free update on 20 June 2025 added a stage called Fields of Fate, an "Angels and Demons" orchestra split into two armies, and Sergei Prokofiev's "Battle on the Ice" from Alexander Nevsky to the base track list.[3]
Development
Double Jack is based in Paris. The studio describes its team as industry veterans with 10 to 20 years of experience on AAA titles, and Maestro is its debut game.[6] The full game expanded on Maestro: The Masterclass, a conducting demo for Meta Quest headsets including the Quest Pro.[10][11] UploadVR reported in June 2024 that the full game would be released under Creature, the label run by Doug North Cook,[12] and in July 2024 that Double Jack had received funding from Creature's SideQuest indie fund.[10] Wild Sheep Studio is credited as the game's co-development partner.[3]
In a Meta developer blog post, Double Jack said it first prototyped the game with controllers but found that their weight and grip made the conducting movements feel stiff, so it moved to hand tracking. To cope with tracking loss, the team used dead reckoning to estimate the baton's movement when the hands dropped out of view, and added on-screen hints. Players also began holding everyday objects such as chopsticks and pens as batons, which spread on social media.[13] According to Michael Moyes, chief operating officer of Berklee Online, the Berklee College of Music had been involved in the game's development for two years.[9]
Release
Pre-orders opened on the Quest store in June 2024, after the game appeared at the UploadVR Summer Showcase, and the Steam page opened for wishlists.[12][10] The Steam version launched five days after the Quest version.[10] At launch the game cost US$24.99 on Quest.[8] The PlayStation VR2 port arrived on 20 June 2025 together with a free update and the Star Wars DLC, and a Complete Collection bundle with all earlier DLC launched the same day.[3][14]
The Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 versions were released digitally on 17 September 2026, with a physical edition for the original Switch.[6] The game's press kit lists Double Jack and Suncrest Games, a porting and publishing company, as publishers of these versions.[6][15] Players hold a Joy-Con in each hand, one guiding the baton to keep tempo and the other cueing sections and controlling dynamics; for television play the studio rebuilt the game's dynamic camera and hand-animation system.[6][15] Nintendo's US eShop lists both versions at US$34.99.[16][17]
| Platform | Release date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest Pro | 17 October 2024 | Meta Horizon Store[1] |
| SteamVR (Windows) | 22 October 2024 | Steam[10][2] |
| PlayStation VR2 | 20 June 2025 | Requires PS VR2; supports hand tracking[3] |
| Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 | 17 September 2026 | Non-VR version with Joy-Con motion controls[6] |
Downloadable content
Double Jack has released several themed song packs. Dates in the table are the Steam release dates.
| Pack | Steam release | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Secret Sorcery | 20 December 2024 | "Hedwig's Theme" by John Williams from Harry Potter and "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" from Disney's Fantasia; released on Quest on 16 December 2024 for US$8.99[9][18] |
| Doom Bound | 11 April 2025 | Five tracks including Ramin Djawadi's Game of Thrones main theme and Howard Shore's "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm" from The Lord of the Rings, with a new environment and themed cosmetics; US$9 on Quest[19][20] |
| Duel of the Fates | 20 June 2025 | John Williams' "Duel of the Fates" from Star Wars: Episode I and a mini lightsaber baton[3][21] |
| La Crème de la Crème | 2 October 2025 | Free[22] |
| All Aboard! | 17 December 2025 | Pirate-themed pack[23] |
| Attack on Titan | 20 August 2026 | Music from Attack on Titan[24] |
Reception
As of October 2026, the Meta Quest version of the game has a score of 93 on Metacritic based on four critic reviews, and the Nintendo Switch 2 version has 78, also from four reviews.[25]
UploadVR gave the Quest 3 version 4.5 out of 5. Reviewer Don Hopper wrote that it was the first time he preferred hand tracking to motion controllers in a game of this kind and called the game "a breath of fresh air compared to every other VR rhythm game I've played over the years." He also noted that gesture recognition sometimes missed inputs at high speeds and that the track list was short for players not drawn to classical music.[8] Gaming Nexus scored it 8.5 out of 10, saying it "puts the hand tracking of the Meta Quest 3 to the test, and nails it."[26] Reviewing the PlayStation VR2 version, FingerGuns gave it 7 out of 10; it found the hand tracking worked well during songs but criticized the menus and the game's limited replay incentives.[27]
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Meta Horizon Store Best of 2024 | App of the Year | Won[5] |
| 2024 | The Steam Awards | VR Game of the Year | Nominated[28] |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Tomislav Bezmalinovic (2024-08-01). "This upcoming Meta Quest game will make you feel like Mozart". MIXED. https://mixed-news.com/en/maestro-release-date/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Maestro". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2701700/Maestro/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Henry Stockdale (2025-05-19). "Maestro Is Coming To PS VR2 And Getting A John Williams Star Wars DLC". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/maestro-star-wars-dlc-playstation-vr2-launch/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Cue the Crescendo as the Conductor in 'Maestro,' Out Now for Meta Quest". Meta. Meta Platforms. 2024-10-17. https://www.meta.com/blog/maestro-quest-launch/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Liu Yuxin (2025-01-03). "Meta公布Horizon Store的2024年最佳榜单". Nweon. https://news.nweon.com/126821. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 "Maestro Launches on Nintendo Switch 1 & 2 on September 17". Game Developer. 2026-07-22. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/press-release/maestro-launches-on-nintendo-switch-1-2-on-september-17. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Maestro". PlayStation Store. Sony Interactive Entertainment. https://store.playstation.com/en-my/concept/10014333. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Don Hopper (2024-10-16). "Maestro Review: Hitting A High Note With Hand Tracking On Quest". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/maestro-vr-review/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Josef Erl (2024-12-16). "Maestro brings the magic of Harry Potter to virtual reality on Meta Quest". MIXED. https://mixed-news.com/en/vr-game-maestro-gets-harry-potter-dlc-on-meta-quest/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Henry Stockdale (2024-07-31). "Maestro Orchestrates An October Launch On Quest & Steam". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/maestro-vr-release-date/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ Gloria Levine (2022-11-11). "Maestro - The Masterclass: Become an Orchestra Conductor in Virtual Reality". 80 Level. https://80.lv/articles/maestro-the-masterclass-become-an-orchestra-conductor-in-virtual-reality. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Ian Hamilton (2024-06-26). "Maestro Conducts Pre-Orders On Quest, Wishlists On Steam". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/maestro-conducts-pre-orders-on-quest/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ "How Hand Interactions Are Opening New Possibilities for VR Developers". Meta for Developers. Meta Platforms. 2025-10-16. https://developers.meta.com/horizon/blog/how-hand-interactions-are-opening-new-possibilities-vr-developers/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ Scott Hayden (2025-05-20). "VR Rhythm Game 'Maestro' is Getting a 'Star Wars' Music Pack Next Month, PSVR 2 Launch Confirmed". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/vr-rhythm-game-maestro-star-wars-music-psvr-2-release/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Media kit for Maestro". Stash. ICO Partners. https://stash.icopartners.com/mediakit/maestro. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ "Maestro for Nintendo Switch". Nintendo. https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/maestro-switch/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ "Maestro for Nintendo Switch 2". Nintendo. https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/maestro-switch-2/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ "Maestro: Secret Sorcery". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/3352570/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ Scott Hayden (2025-04-10). "Conductor Rhythm Game 'Maestro' Adds Tracks From 'Lord of the Rings' & 'Game of Thrones' in New DLC". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/maestro-new-tracks-lord-of-the-rings-game-of-thrones-dlc/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ "Maestro: Doom Bound". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/3645630/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ "Maestro: Duel Of The Fates". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/3762030/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ "Maestro - La Crème de la Crème". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4024720/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ "Maestro: All Aboard!". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4197260/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ "Maestro : Attack On Titan". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/5058630/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ "Maestro". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/maestro-2024/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ Joseph Moorer (2024-10-18). "Maestro". Gaming Nexus. https://www.gamingnexus.com/Article/14117/Maestro/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ Joshua Thompson (2025-07-23). "Maestro Review (PSVR2) - Were You Rushing Or Dragging?". FingerGuns. https://fingerguns.net/reviews/2025/07/23/maestro-review-psvr2-were-you-rushing-or-dragging/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ Shane Moosa (2024-12-18). "Valve Unveils the 2024 Steam Awards Nominees". GINX TV. https://www.ginx.tv/en/2024-steam-awards-nominees. Retrieved 2026-10-07.