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nDreams

From VR & AR Wiki
NDreams
Information
Type Subsidiary
Industry Virtual Reality, Video games
Founded 2006
Founder Patrick O'Luanaigh, Tamsin O'Luanaigh
Headquarters Farnborough, England, United Kingdom
Notable Personnel Tom Gillo (CEO), Patrick O'Luanaigh (Chairman)
Products The Assembly, Phantom: Covert Ops, Fracked, Synapse, Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord
Parent Aonic
Website https://ndreams.com


nDreams is a British Virtual Reality game developer and publisher based in Farnborough, England. The company was founded in 2006 by Patrick O'Luanaigh and Tamsin O'Luanaigh, and since 2013 it has worked exclusively on virtual reality.[1][2] nDreams describes itself as the largest VR game developer and publisher outside of Meta and Sony, and it has released titles for headsets including Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, PlayStation VR, Meta Quest, and PlayStation VR2.[2][1]

The studio's games include the narrative adventure The Assembly (2016), the stealth game Phantom: Covert Ops (2020), the cover shooter Fracked (2021), the telekinetic shooter Synapse (2023), and the cooperative title Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord (2023). nDreams also runs a third-party publishing label that has released games such as Little Cities and Vendetta Forever.[3][4] In November 2023 nDreams was acquired by the Swedish gaming group Aonic for a total enterprise value of about 110 million US dollars.[5][6]

History

Founding and early years

nDreams was established in 2006 by Patrick O'Luanaigh and his wife Tamsin O'Luanaigh, who left jobs at Eidos and IBM respectively to start the company in a small office in Farnborough.[2][7] Before founding the company, Patrick O'Luanaigh held roles at Eidos, SCi Games, and Codemasters, with credits on titles including Micro Machines V3, Conflict: Desert Storm, Tomb Raider: Legend, and Hitman: Blood Money.[7][2] In its first years the studio worked on alternate reality games and downloadable content, including the alternate reality game Xi built for Sony's PlayStation Home platform.[2]

Pivot to virtual reality

The studio turned to virtual reality in 2013 after its leadership saw early hardware first-hand: an Oculus Rift Development Kit 1 and a meeting with Palmer Luckey, along with a demonstration of Sony's Project Morpheus, the prototype that became PlayStation VR.[2] O'Luanaigh said the team felt VR "wasn't a gimmick" and decided to focus on it fully, treating each new headset as a chance to learn the medium.[2] nDreams released its first VR game, the science-fiction adventure The Assembly, on Oculus Rift and HTC Vive on July 19, 2016, with a PlayStation 4 and PlayStation VR version following as a PlayStation VR launch title on October 13, 2016.[8][9]

Growth and acquisitions

In March 2022 the Stockholm-based gaming group Aonic invested 35 million US dollars in nDreams for a minority stake, providing capital to expand across several internal teams.[5][2] The same year nDreams acquired Near Light, a Brighton-based studio with augmented reality expertise.[2] By 2023 the company had grown from about 65 to 230 employees, with plans to reach 300, and it described itself as the biggest VR developer and publisher outside of Meta and Sony.[2]

On November 20, 2023, Aonic completed a full acquisition of nDreams for a total enterprise value of about 110 million US dollars (reported as 90.3 million pounds), making nDreams a subsidiary of the group.[5][6][10] Aonic, headquartered in Stockholm, owns several gaming companies including OtherSide Entertainment, Milky Tea, and TutoTOONS.[5]

Leadership change

On May 22, 2025, nDreams announced that Tom Gillo would become chief executive officer on June 1, 2025, while co-founder Patrick O'Luanaigh moved to the role of Chairman after leading the company for nearly twenty years.[7] Gillo had previously been nDreams' Chief Development Officer and had spent about a decade at PlayStation's London Studio, where he worked on projects including EyeToy, PlayStation Home, Wonderbook, and PlayStation VR.[7]

2026 restructuring

On March 6, 2026, nDreams announced a restructuring that closed two of its three internal studios and put 78 roles at risk of redundancy. The company said "the VR games market remains challenging, making further changes necessary to ensure a commercially viable and sustainable future."[3][11] Under the change, nDreams Elevation remained as the core development team, while Near Light and Compass were closed.[3] Road to VR reported that the move followed a broader contraction in VR development, including Meta's Reality Labs reorganization and the closure of studios such as Armature Studio, Twisted Pixel, and Sanzaru Games.[3]

Studios

Since 2024 nDreams had operated through three internal development studios before the 2026 restructuring reduced them to one.[3]

Studio Location Status Notes
Elevation Brighton, England Active Core development team of around 120 staff; developed Reach (2025)[3]
Near Light Brighton, England Closed (2026) Acquired in 2022; developed Perfect (2016), Shooty Fruity (2018), and Frenzies[3][2]
Compass United Kingdom Closed (2026) Opened in early 2025 from a merger of Orbital and nDreams Studio staff[3]

Games

nDreams has developed and self-published several VR titles across multiple headset platforms.

Title Year Platforms Notes
The Assembly 2016 Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, PlayStation VR First-person narrative adventure; the studio's first VR game, and a PlayStation VR launch title[8][9]
Phantom: Covert Ops 2020 Oculus Rift, Meta Quest Stealth game set entirely in a kayak[12]
Fracked 2021 PlayStation VR, PC VR, Meta Quest Cover-based action shooter; released on PSVR in 2021, PC VR in 2022, and Meta Quest in 2024[13]
Synapse 2023 PlayStation VR2 Telekinetic action shooter built exclusively for PSVR 2, using its eye tracking to aim telekinesis[14]
Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord 2023 Meta Quest, PlayStation VR2 Cooperative VR game published by Sony Pictures Virtual Reality[3]
Reach 2025 Quest, PC VR Debut title from the Elevation studio[3]

The company has also produced Far Cry VR: Dive Into Insanity, a location-based multiplayer experience based on Ubisoft's Far Cry series, developed in partnership with Ubisoft and the location-based VR operator Zero Latency.[1][15]

nDreams Publishing

nDreams expanded into third-party publishing in 2021, backing games made by outside studios. Its first published title was the city-building game Little Cities, developed by Purple Yonder, and later releases include the puzzle-shooter Vendetta Forever, developed by MeatSpace Interactive and released on Meta Quest and PlayStation VR2.[4][3] nDreams has stated that no publisher has greater virtual reality experience and specialism than the company.[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "About nDreams". https://ndreams.com/about/.
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 "How nDreams became one of the biggest VR game developers in the world". https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/how-ndreams-became-one-of-the-biggest-vr-game-developers-in-the-world.
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 "VR Pioneer nDreams Announces Studio Closures & Layoffs Amid "challenging" Games Market". March 6, 2026. https://www.roadtovr.com/ndreams-studio-closures-layoffs-2026/.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Acclaimed Frenetic Puzzle-Shooter, Vendetta Forever, Out Now on Meta Quest and PlayStation VR2". https://press.ndreams.com/acclaimed-frenetic-puzzle-shooter-vendetta-forever-launches-today-on-meta-quest-and-playstationr-vr2.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 "Aonic Completes Acquisition of nDreams for $110 million". November 20, 2023. https://press.ndreams.com/aonic-completes-acquisition-of-ndreams-for-110-million.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Aonic acquires VR game developer nDreams in $110M deal". November 20, 2023. https://tech.eu/2023/11/20/aonic-acquires-vr-game-developer-ndreams-in-110m-deal/.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "Tom Gillo Appointed nDreams CEO, as Co-Founder Patrick O'Luanaigh Becomes Chairman". May 22, 2025. https://press.ndreams.com/tom-gillo-appointed-ndreams-ceo-as-co-founder-patrick-oluanaigh-becomes-chairman.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "'The Assembly' Review: Nothing Is What It Seems". July 19, 2016. https://www.uploadvr.com/the-assembly-ndreams-review/.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Explore The Assembly, launching on PlayStation VR later this year". June 30, 2016. https://blog.playstation.com/archive/2016/06/30/explore-the-assembly-launching-on-playstation-vr-later-this-year/.
  10. ↑ "Aonic has acquired nDreams for £90.3 million". November 20, 2023. https://mcvuk.com/business-news/aonic-has-acquired-ndreams-for-90-3-million/.
  11. ↑ "VR Studio nDreams Announces "Significant" Layoffs, Shuts Down Two Internal Studios as the "VR Games Market Remains Challenging"". March 5, 2026. https://wccftech.com/vr-studio-ndreams-announces-significant-layoffs-shuts-down-two-internal-studios/.
  12. ↑ "Phantom: Covert Ops Review - Solid Footing For A VR Stealth Franchise". 2020. https://www.uploadvr.com/phantom-covert-ops-review/.
  13. ↑ "PSVR Shooter 'Fracked' is Coming to PC VR in May". April 2022. https://www.roadtovr.com/psvr-shooter-fracked-steam-vr/.
  14. ↑ "Telekinetic Shooter 'Synapse' Coming to PSVR 2 in July, New Gameplay Trailer Here". 2023. https://www.roadtovr.com/synapse-shooter-psvr-2-eye-tracking-trailer-release/.
  15. ↑ "Hands-On: Far Cry VR Offers Satisfying Location-Based Multiplayer". July 16, 2022. https://www.uploadvr.com/hands-on-far-cry-vr/.
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