Wallace & Gromit to enter VR in The Grand Getaway

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

New narrative-driven adventure starring Aardman's animated duo coming to Meta Quest later this year

Wallace, the human half of Aardman's popular stop-motion series Wallace & Gromit, is an inventor who likes kooky contraptions like the Techno Trousers, Knit-O-Matic, and the BunVac 6000, so it seemed inevitable that the pair would inevitably end up in one of our own newfangled technological innovations: virtual reality. And indeed, that time is coming soon, as the popular claymation man-and-dog duo will be getting their own VR-exclusive adventure later this year called Wallace & Gromit in The Grand Getaway.

It's time for a holiday in the sun and sand – and of course to try out Wallace's new creation, the Auto-Caddy. In fact, it's past time, as a mixup with dates means that Wallace & Gromit are due all the way "on the other side of the country in just half an hour." The only way to make it that fast is to take the Rocket, with help from BERYL, their "beverage and employee-related logistics contraption." Unfortunately, soon after takeoff, a "mishap with the controls sends the team hurtling off course" and into an "otherworldly place" for a holiday experienece like no other.

In the first adventure for Wallace & Gromit since Telltale's episodic Grand Adventures in 2009 (not counting the "augmented story" for mobile devices, The Big Fix up in 2020), The Grand Getaway is a co-production between Aardman and Atlas V, in association with No Ghost and Albyon with the support of series creator Nick Park and creative director Merlin Crossingham. Ben Whitehead reprises his role as the voice of Wallace, and while gameplay details are sparse, the "narrative-led VR experience" will allow players to "walk around, explore and get a hands-on (or paws-on!) experience within the world of Wallace & Gromit, and truly be a part of the pair's adventures" unlike ever before.

No firm target release date has been announced just yet, but Wallace & Gromit in The Grand Getaway is scheduled to launch for Meta Quest headsets sometime this year, ahead of the next animated film due out in 2024.

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