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Pavlov

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Pavlov
Information
VR/AR VR
Developer Vankrupt Games (originally davevillz)
Publisher Vankrupt Games
Platform SteamVR, Oculus Rift (Platform), PlayStation VR2
Device HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Valve Index, Windows Mixed Reality Headsets, PlayStation VR2
Operating System Windows, PlayStation 5
Type Full Game
Genre Violent, Gore, Action, Indie, VR
Input Device Tracked Motion Controllers
Play Area Standing, Room-scale
Game Mode Online Multiplayer, Co-op
Language English
Rating ESRB Mature
Release Date Steam Early Access: February 27, 2017; PlayStation VR2: February 22, 2023; Steam full release: December 4, 2024
Price US$24.99 (Steam and PlayStation Store)
App Store Steam, PlayStation Store
Website https://www.vankrupt.com/
Infobox Updated 09/29/2026
See also: VR Apps and VR Games

Pavlov, also known as Pavlov VR, is a multiplayer virtual reality first-person shooter developed and published by Vankrupt Games for PC VR headsets and PlayStation VR2. It was created by David Villarreal, who develops under the handle "davevillz", and entered Steam Early Access on February 27, 2017. The game left Early Access on December 4, 2024, and its Steam store page now lists it under the name Pavlov.[1][2]

The game combines team-based, Counter-Strike-style rounds with manual weapon handling and realistic reloading using tracked motion controllers.[1] In 2017 UploadVR called it "CS:GO in VR".[3] A PlayStation VR2 version launched with the headset on February 22, 2023 and plays with the PC version through cross-play.[4][5] A separate standalone version for Meta Quest headsets is sold as Pavlov Shack.[2]

Reviewed 29 September 2026. Steam store data, the cited Steam patch notes, PlayStation Store listing, UploadVR, Road to VR, MIXED, OpenCritic, Metacritic and Vankrupt Games sources checked against every date, number, quote and infobox value About review dates.

Description

Pavlov is a VR App that began as a multiplayer shooter for the HTC Vive. Its early description said it was inspired by the historic Pavlov's House siege in World War II and featured tactical attack and defend gameplay in a modern scenario. Vankrupt's notes for Update 24 name the Battle of Stalingrad, where Sergeant Yakov Pavlov held a fortified defense against the German Wehrmacht in the fall of 1942, as the game's namesake.[6]

The current Steam description calls Pavlov "a multiplayer shooter in VR with heavy focus on community", set in both modern and World War II eras.[1] The PlayStation Store listing says the game has more than 65 interactable weapons and attachments, and supports up to 10 online players, with 5 versus 5 team matches and asymmetrical 1 versus 9 modes.[7]

Features

The Early Access version listed dedicated servers, bots, matchmaking, an offline/practice mode, voice chat, and touchpad and OOB locomotion among its features. As of 2026 the Steam page lists community-hosted dedicated servers, a quick-starting developer-hosted lobby system, Search and Destroy, Deathmatch, King of the Hill and Gun Game modes, multi-crew tanks, bots, an offline mode, a practice range, a Killhouse course, proximity voice chat and radio communication, and custom map and game mode support through a modkit.[1] Pavlov is an online multiplayer game; Steam lists online PvP and online co-op.[1]

OOB Locomotion

OOB stands for "out of body". It is a variation of teleport locomotion without an actual teleport: the player's avatar moves to the target location while the player's view snaps to it every half second. The option is meant for people who are prone to motion sickness, and because the avatar still moves through the level, those players can share matches with players who use other movement options. OOB locomotion was present from the 2016 alpha builds and was re-added in Update 19 in September 2018, alongside artificial turning for SteamVR controllers.[8][9] Room-scale locomotion was added in February 2017, shortly before the Early Access launch.[10]

Gameplay

Search and Destroy is a round-based mode in which teams plant and defuse a bomb and buy equipment through an in-round economy.[10][11] It has been played 5 versus 5 since May 2017, when Update 12 raised the player cap to 10 per server.[12] UploadVR noted that the map Sand, added in that update, follows the layout of Counter-Strike's Dust II with two bomb sites, and wrote that winning requires playing as a team, understanding the map and aiming accurately.[3] Road to VR described the game in 2017 as a close-quarters shooter with maps based on Counter-Strike and GoldenEye 007.[13]

Other modes have been added in updates:

Mode Added Description
Gun Game and Deathmatch Update 18 (June 2018) A new weapon is assigned after every kill; the first player through all weapons wins.[14]
Zombies, Killhouse and Hunt Update 22 (November 2019) Zombies can be played offline or in online co-op; Killhouse is a timed course with a global leaderboard.[15]
Tank team deathmatch and King of the Hill Update 24 (January 2021) World War II content with multi-crew tanks on the Stalingrad map.[6]
TTT Update 25 (March 2021) A social deduction mode with Detective, Innocent and Traitor roles, playable on any map.[16]
The Hide Update 27 (October 2021) An asymmetric mode in which a squad hunts a single creature, played on new night versions of official maps.[17]
Push Update 28 (December 2021) A class-based objective mode in which attackers capture points and plant TNT with limited reinforcements.[11]
Co-op Killhouse Update 33 (December 2025) A five-player, five-lane killhouse course in a quarry with a shared global leaderboard.[18]

The World War II update added 18 guns, six grenade variations and three launchers across Soviet, Allied and Axis factions. Its tanks have a three-person crew of driver, gunner and commander, and the commander loads shells into the breech by hand.[6] Update 28 added the Tiger tank and 4x4 vehicles for four players.[11]

Development

Villarreal released an alpha demo on Steam on December 5, 2016, with a scheduled public play test.[19] A December 2016 update previewed a Siege map and mode, which the developer then called "Pavlov's signature game mode".[20] Basic Oculus Rift support with snap turning arrived in February 2017, and dedicated servers were promised around the clock from the Early Access launch on February 27, 2017.[10][1] Official Oculus compatibility was marked on the Steam store in December 2017; Rift owners could already play through OpenVR before that.[13] UploadVR described Pavlov as the work of a one-person team in May 2017.[3]

Custom map support through the Steam Workshop arrived with Update 12 in May 2017, and community maps were available within a day.[12][3] Update 20 in April 2019 moved the game to Unreal Engine 4.21, added Steam Audio and weapon attachments, and introduced community servers that allow more than 10 players.[21] In June 2019 a beta added SteamVR Input with full support for Valve Index Controllers and Windows Mixed Reality controllers, including controller remapping.[22] When Update 22 shipped in November 2019, the developer gave February 27, 2021 as the planned release date and put a price increase into effect.[15]

Vankrupt Games was founded in 2019. Its website describes it as a self-funded independent studio with Villarreal as sole investor and owner.[23] Update 23 in May 2020 expanded the modding tools, added custom item interactions and added RCON administration for community servers.[24] Update 26 in September 2021 added Industry, a remake of a community map made with its original designer.[25]

Unreal Engine 5 and mod.io

Update 29, released on June 12, 2023 after a public beta that began in December 2022, moved Pavlov to Unreal Engine 5.1, the OpenXR input standard and the Chaos physics system. It enabled cross-play with PlayStation VR2 players and added casual matchmaking and a ten-character roster for modern modes.[26][5] The engine upgrade made all older custom content incompatible, so Vankrupt retired the Steam Workshop and moved mod delivery to mod.io; older Workshop content was left accessible through a "Legacy" Steam beta branch.[5] In April 2024, MIXED reported that Update 30 added the maps Autumn and Carnival and a revamped modkit, and that Vankrupt had dropped plans for mod support on PS5, saying it "could not work out a viable pipeline for delivering mods to PS5".[27]

Release

Platform Date Notes
Steam (alpha demo) December 5, 2016 Alpha demo[19]
Steam Early Access February 27, 2017 HTC Vive, with basic Oculus Rift support[1][10]
PlayStation VR2 (PlayStation 5) February 22, 2023 Headset launch title, US$24.99, cross-play with PC from Update 29[7][4][5]
Steam full release December 4, 2024 Left Early Access; Update 31 was released the same day[1][28]

Update 31, released on the same day as the full Steam release, added purchasable weapon cosmetics paid for with "Jared Coins", brought six Pavlov Shack maps to the Steam and PlayStation VR2 versions and turned the Pavlov TV replay and spectator tool into a free standalone Steam app.[28] Pavlov TV had first appeared in Update 19 in 2018 as a non-VR replay viewer for content creators and competitive players.[9] Update 33 in December 2025 added player statistics, unlockable weapon camouflage and a Search and Destroy map set in Japan.[18]

In August 2026, Update 34 announced that Pavlov Shack would be available on the Steam Frame and that existing Steam owners of Pavlov could redeem Pavlov Shack for free. The same update added bot support to community servers.[29] Pavlov Shack itself was released on the Meta Quest Store on November 14, 2023 after about two years on App Lab.[30] In January 2023 the developer said the PlayStation VR2 version was "the same version as PC with crossplay", while Shack would not cross-play at that time.[4]

System Requirements

The Steam page lists the following requirements for the PC version. Both configurations require a 64-bit processor and operating system and a broadband connection, and the game uses Easy Anti-Cheat.[1]

Minimum Recommended
OS Windows 10 64-bit Windows 10 64-bit
Processor Quad Core 3 GHz+ Six Core 4 GHz+
Memory 8 GB RAM 16 GB RAM
Graphics GTX 1070 RTX 2080
Storage 60 GB 60 GB
VR support SteamVR or Oculus PC; standing or room scale SteamVR or Oculus PC; standing or room scale

On PlayStation 5 the game requires the PlayStation VR2 headset and Sense controllers and PlayStation Plus for online play. It supports standing and room-scale play with a minimum play area of 2 m by 2 m.[7]

Reception

In May 2017, UploadVR's Joe Durbin wrote that Pavlov had "essentially become CS:GO in VR" and called it "an absolute blast".[3] Reviewing the PlayStation VR2 version, UploadVR's James Bentley gave it a "Recommended" verdict. He praised the gun customization, the weapon physics, the sound and the use of the headset's haptics, and said it "performs near perfectly on PS VR2". He criticized the lack of a single-player campaign and progression systems, the missing mod support and the absence of alternative control bindings for seated play.[31]

Outlet Platform Score
Push Square PlayStation VR2 8/10[32]
GamingTrend PlayStation VR2 90/100[32]
WayTooManyGames PlayStation VR2 8.5/10[32]
The Loadout PlayStation VR2 90/100[33]

As of September 2026, OpenCritic lists three critic reviews but shows no Top Critic Average.[32] Metacritic lists three critic reviews of the PlayStation 5 version (The Loadout, GamingTrend and Push Square), too few for a Metascore, and a user score of 7.2 out of 10.[33] On Steam, Pavlov has a "Very Positive" rating from more than 31,000 English-language user reviews (88 percent positive).[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 "Pavlov on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/555160/Pavlov/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 David Jagneaux (2021-03-31). "Pavlov Shack Beta Is Out Now For Free On Oculus App Lab For Quest". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/pavlov-shack-beta-oculus-app-lab-quest/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Joe Durbin (2017-05-10). "Counter-Strike VR Is (Basically) Here And Its Name Is Pavlov". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/counter-strike-vr-pavlov/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Henry Stockdale (2023-01-19). "Pavlov Confirmed For PSVR 2 As A Launch Game". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/pavlov-psvr-2-announcement/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Update 29". Steam News. Vankrupt Games. 2023-06-12. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/555160/view/5129083846354038886. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Update 24 - WWII". Steam News. Vankrupt Games. 2021-01-07. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/555160/view/3942305442246424730. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Pavlov". PlayStation. Sony Interactive Entertainment. https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/pavlov/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  8. ↑ "Update 1 - Two hand handling improved!". Steam News. Vankrupt Games. 2016-12-10. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/555160/view/91592690497693201. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 davevillz (2018-09-03). "Update 19 - Killfeed, Spectator, New Recoil & Damage Model". Steam News. Vankrupt Games. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/555160/view/2447032361202877477. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 "Update 6 - Multiplayer Lobby, Room Scale and Oculus Support". Steam News. Vankrupt Games. 2017-02-12. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/555160/view/75835955397738571. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Update 28 - Push". Steam News. Vankrupt Games. 2021-12-15. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/555160/view/4224937392749212981. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 davevillz (2017-05-09). "Update 12 - New Map, Workshop (Custom Maps) & 5vs5!". Steam News. Vankrupt Games. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/555160/view/1869401952312984457. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Scott Hayden (2017-12-19). "'Pavlov VR' Update Includes Official Oculus Compatibility, Battle Royale Mode Slated for 2018". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/pavlov-vr-update-includes-official-oculus-compatibility-battle-royale-mode-slated-2018/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  14. ↑ davevillz (2018-06-22). "Update 18 - Gun Game, New Weapons & Server Settings". Steam News. Vankrupt Games. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/555160/view/2499943313634096639. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 davevillz (2019-11-05). "Update 22 - Zombies, New Maps & Offline Modes". Steam News. Vankrupt Games. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/555160/view/2451574645874477478. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  16. ↑ "Update 25 - TTT Update". Steam News. Vankrupt Games. 2021-03-31. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/555160/view/4023377846269631842. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  17. ↑ "Update 27 - The Hide". Steam News. Vankrupt Games. 2021-10-26. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/555160/view/4103335143125137295. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Update 33 (December 2025) - Japan, Stats, Co-op Killhouse". Steam News. Vankrupt Games. 2025-12-19. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/555160/view/1819386365093540. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Alpha Demo is out!". Steam News. Vankrupt Games. 2016-12-05. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/555160/view/91592053120621071. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  20. ↑ "Update 3 - Dynamic Recoil, New Weapons & Siege Preview". Steam News. Vankrupt Games. 2016-12-30. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/555160/view/91593954421428418. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  21. ↑ davevillz (2019-04-08). "Update 20 - Steam Audio, Attachments & New Workshop API". Steam News. Vankrupt Games. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/555160/view/2508976515658195217. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  22. ↑ davevillz (2019-06-28). "SteamVR Input with WMR and Index Support in beta testing". Steam News. Vankrupt Games. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/555160/view/2436926440571050410. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  23. ↑ "Vankrupt Games". Vankrupt Games. https://www.vankrupt.com/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  24. ↑ "Update 23 - Modding Tools". Steam News. Vankrupt Games. 2020-05-25. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/555160/view/3112496281306403676. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  25. ↑ "Update 26 - Industry". Steam News. Vankrupt Games. 2021-09-27. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/555160/view/3936699406886046269. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  26. ↑ "Update 29 Beta". Steam News. Vankrupt Games. 2022-12-17. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/555160/view/5623338145756356972. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  27. ↑ Tomislav Bezmalinovic (2024-04-17). "Pavlov gets two beautiful new maps and a revamped modkit". MIXED. https://mixed-news.com/en/pavlov-update-30/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 "Update 31 - Pavlov TV, New Maps, Weapon Cosmetics". Steam News. Vankrupt Games. 2024-12-04. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/555160/view/1784506359221365. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  29. ↑ "Update 34 (August 2026) - Steam Frame, Refinements, Gloves & Watches". Steam News. Vankrupt Games. 2026-08-12. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/555160/view/1840944183775145. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  30. ↑ Henry Stockdale (2023-11-15). "Pavlov Shack Full Release Is Available Now On Quest". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/pavlov-shack-full-quest-release/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  31. ↑ James Bentley (2023-03-18). "Pavlov VR Review - Straight Shooter On PSVR 2". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/pavlov-vr-review-straight-shooter-on-psvr-2/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 "Pavlov VR". OpenCritic. https://opencritic.com/game/14391/pavlov-vr. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 "Pavlov". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/pavlov/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
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