• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, February 26, 2020

Trying to enhance its VR business, Facebook just bought Sanzaru Games -- maker of the role-playing epic “Asgard’s Wrath.”

“I’m pleased to announce that Sanzaru is joining Facebook to help us pursue a future of rich, immersive, and original VR game content,” stated Mike Verdu, director of content at Facebook’s Oculus unit.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Facebook clearly has the cash to spend on quality VR content.

Launched last year, “Asgard’s Wrath” has been well received by the gaming community. With the title, Sanzaru “knocked the classic action [role player game] style out of the park,” IGN declared. 

In Verdu’s opinion, “Asgard’s Wrath” has “redefined what a full-length, fully-featured VR game looks like.”

Although it will technically be part of Oculus Studios, Sanzaru is expected to operate with a good deal of autonomy.

Sanzaru was the first developer to partner with the Oculus Studios team. Since 2016, the studio has created four titles for Facebook’s Oculus Platform, including VR Sports Challenge, MARVEL Powers United VR, Ripcoil, and “Asgard’s Wrath.”

Late last year, the tech titan reportedly dropped somewhere between $500 million and $1 billion on Beat Games -- the studio behind the VR hit “Beat Saber.”

By 2023, shipments of VR headsets will reach 54 million -- up from an estimated 21 million in 2019 -- according to earlier predictions from Juniper Research. That would amount to 160% growth over four years.

The research firm said it expected Sony’s PlayStation VR to drive the console-based VR market -- which it predicted would outperform all other VR markets over the next four years.

Thinking beyond standard headsets, Facebook recently agreed to buy CTRL-Labs, a software startup that specializes in letting people control computer systems with their minds.