Spymaster
More actions
| Spymaster | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| VR/AR | Virtual Reality |
| Developer | InnerspaceVR |
| Publisher | InnerspaceVR |
| Platform | Meta Horizon OS, SteamVR |
| Device | Meta Quest, Valve Index, Oculus Rift, Oculus Rift S, Pico 4 |
| Operating System | Meta Horizon OS, Windows |
| Type | Game |
| Genre | Action, Puzzle, Stealth |
| Input Device | Tracked Motion Controllers |
| Game Mode | Single Player |
| Release Date | 7 May 2026 (Early Access); full release scheduled for 15 October 2026 |
| Price | US$11.99 (Early Access) |
| App Store | Meta Horizon Store, Steam |
| Website | https://www.innerspacevr.com/spymaster |
Spymaster is a single-player virtual reality action and puzzle game developed and published by InnerspaceVR, the Paris studio behind A Fisherman's Tale and Maskmaker. The player controls a team of secret agents and uses a wrist-mounted device, the C.A.S.S.E.T.T.E., to rewind and replay a mission so that the agents' separate actions line up. The studio calls this structure "solo co-op".[1][2]
The game was announced on 5 February 2026 and entered Early Access on Meta Quest and SteamVR on 7 May 2026, priced at US$11.99.[3][4] Innerspace described the self-publishing and Early Access route as a first for the studio.[1] As of 6 October 2026 it is still in Early Access; the full release is scheduled for 15 October 2026 and will add three new missions.[5][6]
Setting
The game is set in a world where a technology company called Protocore, led by its chief executive PROTUS, runs a worldwide surveillance system, and state and independent intelligence agencies have been disbanded.[7][2] The player is the newest member of NODE, described as the last independent spy agency, whose command centre is hidden inside a trawler boat. Missions take the agents around the world; the launch announcement named rooftop action in Venice and an infiltration in the Arctic.[1] Innerspace cites the films Mission: Impossible and Ocean's Eleven as inspiration and describes the tone as "tongue-in-cheek humour".[7][1]
Gameplay
The three playable agents are TIC, Mulligan and OSCR, each with their own skills, gadgets and personality.[1][8] According to the Steam page, Tic has a gun for shooting enemies and Mulligan has a taser for disabling electrical objects.[2] In its Early Access review, UploadVR noted that Mulligan's taser has unlimited charges but a short range and a cooldown, while Tic's pistol works better at range but has limited ammunition.[9] UploadVR's coverage of the March 2026 gameplay trailer also listed multiple disguises among the agents' equipment.[10]
The central mechanic is time manipulation through the C.A.S.S.E.T.T.E., which appears as a watch on the player's wrist. The player winds its face clockwise or counter-clockwise to move time forward or back, and the device is also used to swap between agents.[10][11] The game records each agent's run through a mission, so the player can play one agent, rewind, and then play another agent alongside the recorded actions of the first; missions in the Early Access build cannot be completed by a single agent alone.[2][11] In an April 2026 announcement published by XRMust, game director Jeremy Moirano said that the idea began as "a native VR experiment: recording organic avatar actions".[8] When an agent dies, the recording stops and the player can rewind to any earlier point of the run instead of restarting the mission.[11] In the demo UploadVR played, selecting an agent switched the view from an overhead third-person perspective to that agent's first-person view.[11]
Movement is physical: agents run, climb, slide, use ziplines and shoot, and UploadVR's previewer described running by physically pumping their arms.[2][11] Mission objectives range from defusing bombs to poisoning villains.[2] Each mission has side objectives, and the game also has separate challenge levels.[1][5] UploadVR's review listed snap and smooth turning, seated play and an adjustable motion vignette among the comfort settings; the game has no teleport locomotion option.[9]
Development
Innerspace co-founder Balthazar Auxietre said at the announcement that Spymaster had been the studio's most challenging game to produce, because it combines "puzzle and action mechanics in a way that has never been done in VR".[3] The studio showed a demo at the GDC Festival of Gaming in San Francisco in March 2026.[3][11] A gameplay trailer shown at the VR Games Showcase on 24 March 2026 included a sequence in which two agents work through obstacles to defuse a bomb on a train.[10][12]
Explaining the choice of Early Access on Steam, the studio wrote that its previous games had "proceeded straight to release", but that "current market conditions and the way in which the player base has changed" made Early Access more flexible.[2] At the Early Access launch Moirano said: "While the VR market is navigating a transitional period, I'm convinced there is still a dedicated audience for high-quality, premium solo experiences built around unique VR mechanics and compelling narration."[4][1] The game is developed with support from Creative Europe MEDIA, the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC) and the Région Île-de-France.[5][7]
Release
UploadVR reported the 7 May 2026 Early Access date on 31 March 2026.[11] Spymaster was then shown at the Creature Feature & Friends VR showcase on 6 May 2026, the day before launch.[13]
The Early Access build contained five core levels and four challenge levels. Innerspace estimated four to five hours for the core missions, with more time for side missions. The three agents appear across the game, but each Early Access mission uses two of them.[2] The Early Access section of the Steam page gives the studio's earlier plan: a full release in the first quarter of 2027 adding two major levels and a selection of smaller challenge levels. It also states that the price will rise at full release.[2]
On 17 September 2026, after five months in Early Access, Innerspace set the full release for 15 October 2026, earlier than the first-quarter 2027 plan given on the Steam page. The 1.0 version adds three new missions, among them a final mission that brings all three operatives together, plus Italian language support.[5][6]
| Platform | Early Access | Full release | Store |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meta Quest (Meta Horizon OS) | 7 May 2026[4] | 15 October 2026 (scheduled)[5] | Meta Horizon Store[14] |
| PC VR (SteamVR) | 7 May 2026[2] | 15 October 2026 (scheduled)[5] | Steam[2] |
On Steam, the PC version lists support for Quest, Quest 2, Quest 3, Valve Index (Knuckles and Wands controllers), Rift, Rift S and Pico 4, with tracked motion controllers. It requires a 64-bit Windows 10 or newer system with at least an Intel i5-4590 or AMD FX 8350 processor and an NVIDIA GeForce 970 or AMD Radeon R9 290 graphics card.[2] At the Early Access stage the Steam version has English interface, audio and subtitles, plus French, German, Simplified Chinese and Latin American Spanish interface and subtitles.[2] The Steam page shows a PEGI 12 rating for mild swearing.[2] The Meta Horizon Store lists the game under the genres Shooter, Platformer, Narrative, Puzzle and Action, with Quest 3 and Quest 3S as supported headsets.[14]
Reception
Press coverage so far concerns the Early Access version. In its Early Access review, UploadVR praised the time mechanic and Innerspace's "flair for eccentric, surreal gameplay", calling the game "a fun romp of an espionage adventure that is not like anything I've played in VR". The review was unscored because the game was in Early Access.[9] The reviewer estimated that a player could finish the content in a couple of hours doing the minimum, or spend more than eight hours completing every objective. The review also noted that the cinematic replay shown after each mission can include stretches where nothing happens on screen.[9] In September 2026 the same UploadVR writer noted rarely replaying puzzle games once the solutions are known, but wrote that Spymaster "managed to circumvent that".[6]
Innerspace stated in September 2026 that Spymaster held a 4.8 out of 5 rating on the Meta Quest Store.[5] On 6 October 2026 the store page showed a 4.8 average from 23 ratings. Steam had six user reviews, too few to produce a score.[14][2]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 InnerspaceVR (2026-05-07). "Step Into the World of Spymaster Today on Meta Quest and SteamVR". Games Press. https://www.gamespress.com/en-US/Step-Into-the-World-of-Spymaster-Today-on-Meta-Quest-and-SteamVR. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 "Spymaster". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/4391420/Spymaster/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 J Brodie Shirey (2026-02-05). "A Fisherman's Tale Developer Announces New VR Spy Title". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/a-fishermans-tale-developer-announces-new-vr-spy-title/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Mike Johnson (2026-05-07). "Espionage Adventure Spymaster Is Out Today On Quest & PC VR". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/espionage-adventure-spymaster-is-out-today-on-metaquest-and-pc-vr/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 InnerspaceVR (2026-09-17). "SPYMASTER LEAVES EARLY ACCESS ON OCTOBER 15". Games Press. https://www.gamespress.com/en-US/SPYMASTER-LEAVES-EARLY-ACCESS-ON-OCTOBER-15. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Mike Johnson (2026-09-18). "Espionage Adventure Spymaster Leaves PC VR & Quest Early Access In October". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/espionage-adventure-spymaster-leaves-pc-vr-quest-early-access-in-october/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Spymaster". Innerspace VR. https://www.innerspacevr.com/spymaster. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "InnerspaceVR Announces SPYMASTER, a Time-Bending Spy Thriller for Meta Quest and SteamVR". XRMust. 2026-04-08. https://xrmust.com/xr-magazine/innerspacevr-spymaster-thriller/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Mike Johnson (2026-06-04). "Spymaster Early Access Review: Equal Parts Charming & Thrilling". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/spymaster-early-access-review-equal-parts-charming-thrilling/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Mike Johnson (2026-03-24). "New Spymaster Trailer Shows Time Warping Gameplay". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/new-spymaster-gameplay-trailer/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 Mike Johnson (2026-03-31). "Spymaster Confirms May Release Date And We Played It Early". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/spymaster-confirms-may-release-date-and-we-played-it-early/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
- ↑ VR Games Showcase (2026-03-24). "Everything Announced at the Spring 2026 VR Games Showcase". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/vr-games-showcase-spring-2026-trailers-roundup-everything-announced/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
- ↑ Scott Hayden (2026-05-06). "Everything Announced at Today's Creature Feature & Friends VR Showcase". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/creature-feature-vr-showcase-2026-games/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "Spymaster on Meta Quest". Meta Horizon Store. Meta Platforms. https://www.meta.com/experiences/spymaster/28613851174895338/. Retrieved 2026-10-06.