Behind every great VR fitness game is an innovative studio. Whether it’s a major team of hundreds or an indie startup of just a few or even one person doing it all, the virtual reality fitness industry is seeing some amazing VR fitness releases that are truly helping people of all walks of life to get in shape and have a blast doing it.
FitXR
After winning VR Fitness Insider’s – Best VR Fitness Game of the Year in 2017 for their fat scorching boxing game, BOX VR, FitXR has risen to a top leader in VR fitness games. Fully released in January 2018, BOXVR’s high-intensity VR rhythm boxing workout allows for personal playlists to be inputted into their system and has evolving game stages to keep players coming back for more as they punch orbs and watch the game’s calorie tracker soar. BOXVR is a great cardio meets upper body conditioning game that doesn’t currently have a VR Institute of Health and Exercise rating, but is rated by Oculus as an “Intense” game.
Ian Fitz
As a solo developer, Ian Fitz has created a hugely successful boxing simulator with his September 2016 release The Thrill of the Fight. Players punch the game’s boxers in round after round of intense sparring. Straight jabs and combo shots at Luis or any of the boxers is going to be a great upper body workout, while people who want more freestyle practice can go take some anger out on a training dummy. This isn’t like other VR boxing sims with a health meter or stamina bar, The Thrill of the Fight relies on punch accuracy and the intensity behind those punches to get contenders punching to glory or a better bod. For a Steam Early Access game, The Thrill of the Fight is the only fitness game rated by the VR Institute of Health and Exercise as equal to sprinting, yes sprinting, and burning 15 or more calories per minute of exercise!
Video Credit to: Node via YouTube
Survios
Best known for their first-person shooter Raw Data, Survios just released their heart pumping racing game Sprint Vector in February 2018. The studio didn’t make just one high-quality game and call it a day, they kept on going! Their creation of the arm swinging, competitive game known as Sprint Vector not only gives players an arm, shoulder, and chest workout, the game has so much replay value with 12 race tracks and 9 challenge courses, with boosts and power-ups to keep players excited to learn the game’s mechanics and compete against each other online. Fit gamers who play Raw Data will be happy to see that the VR Institute of Health and Exercise compares it to walking and burning 2-4 calories per minute, while Sprint Vector has an Oculus rating of “Intense”.
Grab Games
After the movie John Wick, Grab Games created John Wick Chronicles, a first-person action shooter. Their next creation, Knockout League hit early access in Steam and players have been raving about how great it is for exercise ever since. Released in February 2018, Knockout League is a boxing workout that will have you combo punching, training with a virtual ex-boxing star, and getting a workout that Rocky Balboa would approve of. This popular VR fitness boxing game was designed to get progressively more challenging (torch those calories!) with 9 different opponents. Knockout League has been rated by the VR Institute of Health and Exercise as being just as intense as rowing at the gym and burns 8-10 calories per minute!
Maxint LLC
Box to the beat and become a Soundboxing beatmap creator with the Maxint LLC, September 2016 release. Soundboxing players that want to box beat orbs to their favorite music videos are going to have a blast making playlists that are fast or slow enough for their own fitness needs and get a workout that they’ll keep coming back to over and over again. Maxint LLC has done a great job at amplifying their own replay value by opening up beatmap creation to their members and by supporting YouTube videos on their platform. This electrifying VR rhythm boxing game doesn’t have a fitness rating, but has helped numerous people including Job Stauffer, David Scott, and Dusty Fohs lose weight and get fit!
Video Credit to: Eric Florenzano via YouTube
Bean Boy Games
There are a lot of upper body VR games out there, but Bean Boy Games is aiming to target those glutes, quads and hamstrings with their extreme boot-y camp called Hot Squat. With unique VR titles like Turner, SYU, and Untitled, Bean Boy Games took a different turn with their November 2016 release Hot Squat. This fitness VR game takes place in an 80s meets 90s gym called Flynn Fitness, where players squat through obstacles to climb the leaderboard and earn that badonk they’ve always wanted. This studio keeps their players coming back for more when they earn achievements like “Rockhard Bottom” and the envious “Guardian Of The Gym”, including some seasonal design updates. The VR Institute of Health and Exercise rates the deep burn of Hot Squat as comparable to playing tennis, burning 6-8 calories a minute!
