VR Title NFL Pro Era 2025 shifts to live service, adds defensive gameplay

Virtual reality needs football too, and NFL Pro Era means to capture that market. NFL Pro Era 2025 is pivoting to live service and will be $19.99 for players who own of the game's first two versions. For new players, it will be $39.99.

As you would imagine for a VR title, NFL Pro Era is a first-person simulation of an NFL game. That's different enough from a traditional simulation that EA Sports' exclusivity deal with the league does not apply here.

This year's title will add defensive gameplay, allowing the player to be a linebacker and see what havoc they can unleash on the opposing team's quarterback. To celebrate the change, Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons will be one of the game's cover stars. He'll share honors with Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud. Everything's bigger in Texas, especially the endorsement deals.

Pro Era 2025 will boast a single-player mode, a multiplayer offense-vs-defense experience set to arrive in late winter, and updated NFL rosters. Not gonna lie, the head-to-head multiplayer is intriguing to me. There will be packs of additional content throughout the season for $4.99 each.

There's no release date, but the game's creator StatusPro is promising it will arrive during the 2024 NFL season. StatusPro is the brainchild of former NFL players Troy Jones and Andrew "Hawk" Hawkins. They founded the company initially planning to use augmented reality to help athletes train.

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was so impressed he became an investor. He's not alone, as in February StatusPro announced $20 million more in funding. Investors include Minnesota Vikings owners Zigi and Mark Wilf, Drake, and LeBron James.

NFL Pro Era is the first virtual reality football simulator and has reached more than 1 million users, making it a top 10 seller on the Meta Quest platform.