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Press release:
Giebelstadt, Germany, January 24th, 2023 .
“Townsmen” is HandyGames’ longest-running IP spanning well over a decade and dozens of versions across countless devices. Needless to say, we love our Townies, so it was an easy decision to give them a home within the virtual reality realm.

And what better way to bring them to life than with the upcoming PlayStation®VR2 headset? Leveraging the power of the PlayStation®5 (PS5™) console and the unique haptic capabilities of the PlayStation VR2 Sense controller, our builders, farmers, hunters, and soldiers feel more lifelike than ever before.

”Townsmen VR” will be available on February 22nd, 2023, for PS VR2 on your PS5 system and will be sold as both a digital and, thanks to THQ Nordic, a physical version.

Pre-order today via the PlayStation™Store
Or via Amazon: USA, UK, Germany, France, Italy

About Townsmen VR:

Townsmen VR uses the exciting possibilities of virtual reality to further enhance the classic city-building genre through an entirely new gameplay experience and interactive mechanics. The game combines elements of a God-game simulation and a classic building game with the interactive possibilities of VR controls. Whether from a bird’s eye view or zoomed-in close, you will always experience the action from the proper perspective.

Start with a small settlement and expand your might over a world of 13 different islands and archipelagos. Filled to the brim with exciting features, gizmos, and things to lay your virtual hands on. Build more than 20 unique buildings and upgrade them. Immerse yourself in a thrilling story with many exciting quests, or play without restrictions in the sandbox mode with goals set by you. Hours of fun are guaranteed!

As the population of your empire grows, so does the demand for food and goods. Production chains help you meet this need. When you build farms, you can grind the grain harvested there at the mill and bake delicious bread for your Townies using the flour.

Your windmill won’t operate when the winds are calm? No worries, give the mechanism a push. Slap that lazy dude with a fish, or help your citizens collect about 20 different raw materials. Do you want to see the world you helped create from the view of a townsman? Use your godly powers and scale yourself to experience your town at eye level with your townies.

Farm animals such as cows, sheep, and chickens provide you with essential resources to produce food. Your hunters will find rabbits and deer to stalk. You have to be careful of wild animals like wolves or bears that you encounter! Seagulls are eager to steal your catch, while the crows caw above the battlefields and eagles fly freely high up in the sky.

In time you should also begin to hire soldiers to defend your realm against intruders and enemy forces! Besides different types of soldiers, you can use heavy artillery: A catapult can punch devastating gaps in the enemies’ ranks! And should you run out of boulders, remember: everything you can lay your hands on can be used as ammo! But the enemy kingdom is not the only problem your soldiers will have to face. Some islands are occupied by sinister pirates who are after your precious resources!

Intuitive control of the environment helps you move about – you can literally crawl over the island or move your viewpoint as you would position your images on your smartphone. You’ll get accustomed to ruling your empire very fast.

Most of the islands you visit during the campaign can be unlocked for open sessions in sandbox mode. You’ll be able to choose whether you want to play entirely without constraints or give yourself a bit of excitement and accept the challenges of your choice. Determine the number of townies you start the game with, defeat all opponents or fight against thieving pirates – the various settings offer you enough freedom for your personal gaming experience!

Features:

A fully-voiced campaign and story arching over 13 islands
Upgrades and add-ons for buildings
Research for further upgrades
Animals like cows, sheep, chickens and wild animals roam the islands
Build a harbor to have a trader’s ship and begin treasuring up riches
Buy things at the market instead of harvesting (if you have the gold, of course)
Reach out and build some bows and crossbows for your soldiers
Deal with pirates and shady merchants
Get creative: Sandbox mode for unlimited god action

PlayStation®VR2 Exclusive:

Haptic feedback for PS VR2 Sense controller lets you feel the environment, weather, pets, the ocean, and more firsthand
Dive in (literally) head first and experience earthquakes with haptic feedback for the PS VR2 headset
Finger touch detection allows you to push around your Townies with unmatched precision
Feel what you’re holding in your hands with Adaptive Triggers

Townsmen VR will be available for PS VR 2 on February 22nd, 2023

About HandyGames
HandyGames™ is a THQ Nordic Company and part of the Embracer Group Family. We operate as an international indie games publisher and developer for small and medium-sized projects for a global community of gamers.

Games are our passion. Since our founding at the turn of the millennium, we have been steadily evolving our company and portfolio to publish and produce award-winning titles for cutting-edge consoles, PC, and VR, as well as premium mobile games from great teams around the world.

We are proud of our ever-growing and colorful portfolio – from hilarious games for the whole family to deep and sometimes dark topics presented in an interactive format. Games are and always will be entertainment media, but we firmly believe they are capable of much more.

HandyGames is at home in beautiful Giebelstadt in Northern Bavaria, close to the Franconian university and city of Würzburg and a proud part of the German and European gaming scene. Always on track towards lasting growth, we have significantly expanded our office space to create room for up to 120 colleagues and look forward to continuing to successfully shape the future of the international games industry as a sustainable employer.

As a team, we stand united against any form of discrimination. Regardless of sexual, cultural, or ethnic identity, we try to ensure that everyone feels welcome at HandyGames. It is very important to us to help new colleagues who move to our beautiful Franconian home to find like-minded interest groups, even outside their work environment. No matter who you are, you’re part of the family and we got your back.