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Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond

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Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond
Information
VR/AR Virtual Reality
Developer Respawn Entertainment
Publisher Electronic Arts, Oculus Studios
Platform Oculus Rift (Platform), SteamVR, Meta Quest
Device Oculus Rift, Oculus Rift S, Meta Quest 2, Valve Index
Operating System Windows 10 (PC version)
Type Game
Genre First-person shooter, Action
Input Device Tracked motion controllers
Game Mode Single-player, Multiplayer
Release Date December 11, 2020 (Oculus Rift, SteamVR); November 15, 2021 (Quest 2)
Price US $59.99 at PC launch; US $39.99 on Quest 2
App Store Oculus Store, Steam, Meta Horizon Store
Website https://www.meta.com/experiences/medal-of-honor-above-and-beyond/3647259232032222/
See also: VR Apps and VR Games

Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond is a World War II first-person shooter built for virtual reality, developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts in collaboration with Oculus Studios. It released on December 11, 2020 for the Oculus Rift and SteamVR at US $59.99, and a native Meta Quest 2 version followed on November 15, 2021 at US $39.99.[1][2] The game was Respawn's first VR title. It was directed by Peter Hirschmann, a writer on the original Medal of Honor for PlayStation.[3][4]

The game has a single-player campaign that follows a recruit of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) from Tunisia across occupied Europe, a multiplayer component with five modes, and a "Gallery" of live-action documentary material with World War II veterans.[1][5] One of the Gallery films, Colette, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject at the 93rd Academy Awards on April 25, 2021; Electronic Arts described it as the first Oscar nomination and win for a video game company.[6][7]

Reviews were mixed. The PC version holds a Metacritic score of 66 from 31 critic reviews. The PC version occupies 170 GB of disk space and Respawn recommended a GeForce RTX 2080-class GPU, figures that were widely reported before launch.[8][9] Multiplayer was shut down on December 1, 2023 on every platform; the single-player campaign and the Gallery remain playable, and the game is still sold on the Meta Horizon Store and Steam as of September 2026.[10][11][12]

Reviewed 20 September 2026. Release dates, prices, platforms, PC requirements and install size, multiplayer modes and shutdown, development timeline, review scores and quotes, and the Colette Academy Award, checked against every cited source. About review dates.

Gameplay

Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond is played from a first-person perspective with tracked motion controllers. The player takes the role of an OSS agent who sabotages German bases and aids the French Resistance, and the campaign moves from Tunisia across Europe, including the D-Day landings at Normandy, the streets of occupied France, a ski chase in Norway and the U-boat pens.[1][12][13][14] Meta's launch post describes physical interactions such as throwing grenades and peeking around corners as the core of the design.[2] The campaign is divided into many short segments: UploadVR counted 54 loosely connected scenes in its review, and the same outlet reported "over 50 missions" before release.[15][16] The campaign length is given as more than 10 hours by the publisher and about 8 hours by Road to VR.[2][17] Beyond ground combat, the campaign includes flight sequences.[13]

Movement uses smooth (stick-driven) locomotion only; there is no teleport option.[17] Hirschmann told Game Developer in 2019 that "the idea of stick movement was totally alien" when the project started, and that the team adopted direct stick control after Oculus Studios' Marvel Powers United VR showed it working.[3] Road to VR estimated that roughly "10-20% of the game" ignores common VR comfort conventions, with tilting horizons and roller-coaster style motion in some sequences.[17]

Multiplayer

The multiplayer component has five modes: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Domination, Blast Radius (a King of the Hill variant) and Mad Bomber (players place bombs anywhere they can physically reach, or hunt for them by sight and 3D positional sound).[1] Electronic Arts and Meta list 12 maps; UploadVR's pre-release hands-on described ten large maps set in European locations and eight primary weapons, including the MP40 and the M1A1, with no sidearms, no rank system and no weapon customization.[1][2][18] Multiplayer supported crossplay between the Steam and Oculus Store versions of the PC game.[19] Solo play against bots and private matches were available, and a wave-based Survival mode was included in the Quest 2 release.[15][2] The Quest 2 version has cross-buy with the Rift version but not cross-play.[14] Multiplayer servers were switched off on December 1, 2023 (see below).[10]

The Gallery

The Gallery is a collection of live-action documentary material presented inside the game. It contains 360-degree interviews with World War II veterans, footage shot at historical sites including the Normandy beaches and Peenemünde, and the short film Colette.[1][2] Both Road to VR and UploadVR praised the Gallery; UploadVR called it "one of the best and most authentic digital resources of information regarding WWII", and Road to VR described the shorts as high-quality flat video shown within a virtual theater space.[15][17]

Development

At Oculus Connect 4 on October 11, 2017, Oculus Studios announced that it would publish an unnamed Rift-exclusive game from Respawn Entertainment, the studio behind Titanfall, with a 2019 target; Hirschmann said at the time only that it was not a Titanfall or Star Wars title.[20] In August 2018 job listings on EA's careers site described the project as a "AAA VR shooter game".[21] In July 2019 Oculus said the game would get a full reveal and a playable demo at Oculus Connect 6.[22]

The title was announced as Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond at the Oculus Connect 6 keynote on September 25, 2019, for release on the Oculus Rift in 2020.[4][3] Hirschmann told Game Developer the project had been in development for about two years, that the team reached 180 people at its largest, and that many of them had no prior VR experience.[3] According to Hirschmann, the game did not begin as a VR project: Respawn was already conceptualizing a new Medal of Honor when Facebook approached the studio, and because the project was still early it was rebuilt from the ground up for VR.[16] Respawn interviewed World War II veterans during production, and Hirschmann said at the reveal that VR "can actually put a player in the boots of a WWII soldier".[4]

The score was written by Michael Giacchino, who had composed the original 1999 Medal of Honor, together with Nami Melumad; Respawn said the aim was "to create something that would feel new, and still be distinctly Medal of Honor".[23]

On September 16, 2020, Oculus Studios and Respawn set the release date for December 11, 2020 and confirmed a simultaneous SteamVR release with crossplay, ending the original Rift exclusivity.[19] Days before launch, Respawn published its PC requirements: an Intel Core i7-9700K, 16 GB of DDR4 RAM and a GeForce RTX 2080 (or comparable AMD parts) were recommended, an SSD was advised, and the download initially needed 340 GB of free space, which Oculus reduced to 180 GB after optimizing the installation; the installed game is 170 GB.[9] The Steam listing gives a GTX 1080 as the minimum GPU and 180 GB of storage for both minimum and recommended configurations, on Windows 10.[12] A patch (v1.21.0) on December 17, 2020 added texture streaming, anisotropic filtering and anti-aliasing options, a controller-oriented movement option, improved multiplayer server performance, lowered grip sensitivity on Valve Index Controllers, and removed the trigger pulls between campaign segments.[24]

Quest 2 version

Meta announced a native Quest 2 version on September 29, 2021, with the full campaign, multiplayer and Gallery, "no PC, no tether" required.[5] Road to VR reported an expected footprint of around 40-45 GB, and Oculus Studios executive producer Michael Doran confirmed cross-buy: owners of the Oculus Store PC version would get the Quest 2 version at no extra cost, while Steam purchases did not qualify.[25] On November 8, 2021 Meta set the date for November 15 at US $39.99, and the version launched that day.[14][2] UploadVR's Quest 2 review found simplified character models, removed smoke, glass and dynamic-lighting effects and thinned foliage, but judged the port "an incredible job" and noted that cutscenes had become skippable through a post-launch patch.[13]

Release

Platform Release date Price (launch) Notes
Oculus Rift / Oculus Rift S (Oculus Store) December 11, 2020 US $59.99 Cross-buy with the later Quest 2 version[1][25]
SteamVR (Steam) December 11, 2020 US $59.99 Crossplay with the Oculus Store version in multiplayer; no cross-buy[1][19][25]
Meta Quest 2 (Meta Horizon Store) November 15, 2021 US $39.99 Standalone port with reduced graphics; cross-buy with the Oculus Store PC version[2][13]

In January 2021 UploadVR reported that the game appeared on Valve's list of the top-selling new releases on Steam for December 2020, a list of the 20 releases with the most revenue in their first two weeks, alongside Cyberpunk 2077; at that time the Steam version had just under 1,000 user reviews with a "Mixed" rating.[26]

Multiplayer shutdown

In August 2023 a notice on the game's Quest store page stated that "Multiplayer will be unavailable starting on December 1, 2023." Road to VR reported that the shutdown covered the Oculus PC, SteamVR and Quest 2 versions and that the game's last update had come in late 2021.[10] MIXED noted that no reason was given and that the notice appeared on the US Rift and Quest store pages but not on Steam; the shutdown followed Meta's closure of Echo VR earlier that month.[27] As of September 2026 the Meta Horizon Store still lists the game at US $39.99 with the multiplayer notice, a 3.8-star average from about 4,500 ratings and a 16+ rating for strong violence; the Steam page still sells it, with 62% of 1,826 user reviews positive.[11][12]

Reception

Outlet Platform Score
Metacritic (aggregate) PC 66/100 from 31 critic reviews; user score 6.7 from 60 ratings[8]
OpenCritic (aggregate) PC Top Critic Average 65, 35% of 20 critics recommend ("Weak")[28]
Road to VR PC VR (reviewed on Quest 2 and Rift S) 5/10 (gameplay 5, immersion 5, comfort 6)[17]
UploadVR PC VR 3/5[15]
UploadVR Quest 2 "Good"[13]
IGN PC 6/10[28]
Shacknews PC 8/10[28]
GameSpot PC 5/10[28]
The Games Machine PC 92[8]
DualShockers PC 80[8]
Jeuxvideo.com PC 75[8]
Eurogamer Italy PC 70[8]
VG247 PC 60[8]
Screen Rant PC 60[8]
Gameblog.fr PC 40[8]

Critics generally praised the weapon handling, the set pieces and the Gallery while criticizing the pacing, the story and the technical demands. Road to VR's Ben Lang scored the game 5 out of 10, calling the campaign a "shooting gallery" with repetitive encounters ("After you've killed one soldier, you've killed them all"), inconsistent enemy accuracy, writing he found "cheesy and at times cringeworthy", and objects that could be handled in one place but not another; he called the multiplayer "competent" and the Gallery exceptional.[17] UploadVR's David Jagneaux gave 3 out of 5, praising the weapon mechanics, the set pieces and a multiplayer mode that is "just a blast to play", but faulting the frequent loading screens between short segments, a campaign that felt like a "montage of moments", "ugly floating rectangle menus", unreliable enemy AI and poor optimization for the hardware required; his summary was "The talent is here, just not the execution."[15] OpenCritic quotes IGN calling it "a pretty but average-at-best VR shooter" and GameSpot writing that it "has a good foundation for its WWII action, but poor pacing and a poorer story hold it back", while Shacknews wrote that Respawn had shown "that the Medal of Honor franchise still has meaningful life left in it".[28]

For the Quest 2 port, UploadVR's Jamie Feltham wrote that the game "sets a bar for performance on Quest 2, but there are a lot of other games that simply play better", judging the multiplayer easier to pick up than Onward and less arcade-like than Population: One but lacking reward systems, and the campaign's short levels and cutscene interruptions unchanged.[13] In 2023 Road to VR summarized the game as a "well-funded and much hyped" AAA VR shooter whose launch problems "essentially rendered it a costly flop".[10]

Colette and the Academy Award

Colette, directed by Anthony Giacchino and produced by Respawn Entertainment and Oculus Studios for the game's Gallery, follows Colette Marin-Catherine, a former member of the French Resistance then aged 90, as she travels to Germany for the first time since the war (74 years by Electronic Arts' count, 75 by Meta's) to visit the site of the camp where her brother was killed.[7][29][6] Giacchino said the team wanted to go beyond archival footage because "we're running out of time to preserve these oral histories".[29] The film premiered at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in February 2020, where it won Best Documentary Short, also won at the St. Louis International Film Festival, and was distributed online by The Guardian and on Oculus TV in addition to the in-game Gallery.[7][29]

Colette received the Oscar nomination in March 2021 and won Best Documentary (Short Subject) at the 93rd Academy Awards on April 25, 2021, credited to Anthony Giacchino and Alice Doyard, over A Concerto Is a Conversation, Do Not Split, Hunger Ward and A Love Song for Latasha.[6][7] Electronic Arts described the win as the first time a video game company had been nominated for and awarded an Oscar; Meta's post on the nomination had already called it the first Oscar-nominated documentary produced by a gaming company.[7][29]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "Experience World War II Like Never Before in Immersive VR Today in Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond". EA News. Electronic Arts. 2020-12-11. https://news.ea.com/press-releases/press-releases-details/2020/Experience-World-War-II-Like-Never-Before-in-Immersive-VR-Today-in-Medal-of-Honor-Above-and-Beyond/default.aspx. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 "Charge into History in 'Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond,' Out Now on Quest 2". Meta Quest Blog. Meta Platforms. 2021-11-15. https://www.meta.com/blog/medal-of-honor-above-and-beyond-out-now-quest-2/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Alex Wawro (2019-09-25). "Respawn's first VR game is Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond". Game Developer. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/respawn-s-first-vr-game-is-i-medal-of-honor-above-and-beyond-i-. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Josh Hawkins (2019-09-25). "Respawn and Oculus reveal Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond". Shacknews. https://www.shacknews.com/article/114156/respawn-and-oculus-reveal-medal-of-honor-above-and-beyond. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Announcing 'Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond' for the Oculus Quest 2". Meta Quest Blog. Meta Platforms. 2021-09-29. https://www.meta.com/blog/announcing-medal-of-honor-above-and-beyond-for-oculus-quest-2/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "The 93rd Academy Awards, 2021". Oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/2021. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 "Respawn Entertainment, a Studio of Electronic Arts, and Oculus Studios Win an Oscar for Best Documentary Short, Colette at the 93rd Academy Awards". EA News. Electronic Arts. 2021-04-26. https://news.ea.com/press-releases/press-releases-details/2021/Respawn-Entertainment-a-Studio-of-Electronic-Arts-and-Oculus-Studios-Win-an-Oscar-for-Best-Documentary-Short-Colette-at-the-93rd-Academy-Awards/default.aspx. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 "Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond Reviews". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/medal-of-honor-above-and-beyond/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Ben Lang (2020-12-10). "[Update Make Way: 'Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond' Needs 180GB and Recommends Demanding Specs"]. Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/medal-of-honor-above-beyond-recommended-specs-minimum-file-download-size/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Scott Hayden (2023-08-21). "One of Meta's Most Well-funded VR Games is Shuttering Multiplayer This Year". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/meta-medal-honor-vr-multiplayer-shutdown/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond on Meta Quest". Meta Horizon Store. Meta Platforms. https://www.meta.com/experiences/medal-of-honor-above-and-beyond/3647259232032222/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 "Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1402320/Medal_of_Honor_Above_and_Beyond/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 Jamie Feltham (2021-11-16). "Medal of Honor: Above And Beyond Oculus Quest 2 Review - A Great Port Of A Flawed Game". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/medal-of-honor-above-and-beyond-oculus-quest-review/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "Prepare to Charge Into History With 'Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond,' Launching November 15 for Quest 2". Meta Quest Blog. Meta Platforms. 2021-11-08. https://www.meta.com/blog/prepare-to-charge-into-history-with-medal-of-honor-above-and-beyond-launching-november-15-for-quest-2/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 David Jagneaux (2020-12-10). "Medal of Honor: Above And Beyond Review - Exciting Gameplay But Inconsistent Pacing". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/medal-of-honor-vr-above-and-beyond-review/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Jamie Feltham (2019-10-10). "Medal Of Honor: Above And Beyond Didn't Start Life As A VR Game". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/medal-of-honor-above-beyond-vr/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 Ben Lang (2020-12-10). "Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond VR Review: War Never Felt so Bland". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/medal-of-honor-above-and-beyond-review-war-never-felt-so-bland/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  18. ↑ David Jagneaux (2020-12-07). "Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond Multiplayer Hands-On First Impressions - Fast, Fun, And Simple". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/medal-of-honor-above-and-beyond-multiplayer/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Scott Hayden (2020-09-16). "'Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond' to Release in December, Crossplay with Steam & Oculus Store". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/medal-honor-beyond-release-date-steam-rift/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  20. ↑ Ben Lang (2017-10-11). "Oculus Connect 4: 'Titanfall' Studio Respawn Entertainment Building Rift VR Game for 2019". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/titanfall-developer-respawn-entertainment-oculus-rift-exclusive-vr-game-oculus-connect-4/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  21. ↑ Ben Lang (2018-08-20). "EA Respawn's Unannounced Oculus Exclusive Characterized as a "AAA VR Shooter"". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/ea-respawn-entertainment-oculus-exclusive-game-aaa-vr-shooter/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  22. ↑ Ben Lang (2019-07-31). "Full Reveal of Respawn's 'AAA VR shooter' Coming to Oculus Connect with Playable Demo". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/respawn-vr-game-reveal-demo-oculus-connect-6/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  23. ↑ "Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond Brings Michael Giacchino Back to Score the Music". OpenCritic. 2020-11-20. https://opencritic.com/news/1946/medal-of-honor-above-and-beyond-brings-michael-giacchino-back-to-score-the-music. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  24. ↑ David Jagneaux (2020-12-17). "Latest Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond Patch Adds New Video Quality Settings And Improves Performance". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/new-medal-of-honor-above-and-beyond-patch-performance/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Scott Hayden (2021-10-01). "'Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond' to Take up Around 45GB on Quest 2, Cross-buy Confirmed". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/medal-honor-quest-2-vr-release/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  26. ↑ Jamie Feltham (2021-01-25). "Medal of Honor VR Was One Of Steam's Top-Selling New Games In December". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/medal-of-honor-sales/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  27. ↑ Tomislav Bezmalinovic (2023-08-22). "Medal of Honor: Above And Beyond is shutting down multiplayer". MIXED. https://mixed-news.com/en/medal-of-honor-above-and-beyond-multiplayer-shutdown/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 28.4 "Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond Reviews". OpenCritic. https://opencritic.com/game/10672/medal-of-honor-above-and-beyond. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 "'Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond' Gallery Film 'Colette' Receives Oscar Nomination for Best Documentary Short Subject". Meta Quest Blog. Meta Platforms. 2021-03-19. https://www.meta.com/blog/medal-of-honor-above-and-beyond-gallery-film-colette-receives-oscar-nomination-for-best-documentary-short-subject/. Retrieved 2026-09-20.
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