Bandai Namco has announced Gundam: Silver Phantom (or Mobile Suit Gundam: Silver Phantom, to give it its full title), an interactive anime VR movie heading to Meta Quest sometime in the future.
The project is being created in collaboration with “immersive studio” Atlas V, whose name you might know from VR titles like Wallace & Gromit in The Grand Getaway.
According to Bandai Namco, Silver Phantom will be an opportunity to “immerse [yourself] like never before in the Gundam universe”.
Bandai Namco and Atlas V describe Silver Phantom as an “immersive anime”; it’s essentially an interactive movie project with “immersive visuals and interactive elements”.
Atlas V co-founder Pierre Zandrowicz says Gundam: Silver Phantom is “not a game, nor is it just a narrative experience”.
Instead, it’s a hybrid that leverages the strengths of both approaches, creating what Zandrowicz calls “the future of interactive anime in VR”.
Bandai Namco’s deputy general manager Kiichiro Inoue, meanwhile, says Gundam: Silver Phantom will be a “narrative journey” that brings Gundam to life in an “unparalleled way”.
A very, very brief reveal trailer was also released alongside the VR title’s announcement. You can check that trailer out here, although it’s essentially just a demonstration of the game’s logo.
Per that trailer’s description, Silver Phantom will be a “revolutionary virtual reality interactive movie” rather than a fully-fledged game.
The two studios call the collaboration “unprecedented” and promise to set a new benchmark within interactive storytelling in the Gundam universe.
We’ll have to wait and see whether that ambition is successful; the project will be featured at the Gundam Fan e-Festival, which begins on November 23rd and runs through December 10th.
There, you can look forward to a “special unveiling”, according to Bandai Namco and Atlas V. We’ll likely learn more about exactly what Gundam: Silver Phantom is then, so stay tuned for more.
Elsewhere in the world of Gundam and gaming, online shooter Gundam Evolution is due to shut down later this month, so hopefully, Gundam: Silver Phantom will give Gundam fans what they want.
