Grab Your Caps: Peaky Blinders Is Being Made into a VR Game

Fans of the Peaky Blinders TV series will be happy to hear the popular production is being made into a Virtual Reality (VR) experience. The game will take fans right into post World War 1 Birmingham and allow players to interact with their favorite characters.

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The game is expected to launch next year. The game will be powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) which means the characters will respond to individual players gestures movement, voice, sound and body language in the game so that each game experience is totally unique.

Earn your 'cap'

Peaky Blinders players will be given tasks such as infiltrating street gangs and other secret missions. They will meet and interact with existing characters from the TV show as well as new characters developed especially for the game. Players who can successfully complete their mission, will earn a ‘cap’ and become part of the Peaky Blinders.

“Fans of the cult show have been calling out for this type of experience and we’re honored to be giving it to them,” said Russell Harding, executive producer at Maze Theory.

Some fans may be disappointed that the game will be VR as access to high-quality headsets is still pretty limited and the hardware costs are still quite high.

PC game on its way

A narrative action console and PC “Peaky Blinders” game from Curve Digital has reportedly also been announced. Peaky Blinders was created by Steven Knight and produced by Caryn Mandabach Productions, Screen Yorkshire and Tiger Aspect Productions.

The storyline follows the adventures of the Shelby crime family. Cillian Murphy plays the main character, Tommy Shelby, who is the gang leader while Australian actor Sam Neill plays a detective commissioned with ending the gang's activities.

The story if the series gang is based loosely on the real Peaky Blinders gang who operated in the UK in the 19th century. The youths were believed to sew razor blades into their peaked flat caps.

VR games gaining popularity

Virtual Reality games are on the rise. Online game streaming site Steam released more than a 1000 titles with VR support last year.

High-quality VR games allow the player to be fully immersed in their environment and have a nuanced point of view play designed specifically for the medium. One of the most popular VR games in the last years is Beat Saber.

While simple in its format, the game helped make VR a serious form of gameplay and not just a passing gimmick. The game immerses its players into an environment where they can slash at incoming blocks representing musical beats with a pair of energy blades resembling lightsabers from the Star Wars universe.

Developed in Slovakia it sold more than 100,000 copies in its first month and became the seventh highest-rated game on Steam (including VR and 2D). VR games will continue to grow in popularity especially as high-quality headsets drop in price.

No doubt Peaky Blinders won’t be the only TV show adapted to the medium.