Google Buys Owlchemy Labs, VR Developer Behind 'Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality,' 'Job Simulator'

Google’s latest virtual reality acquisition is a studio well known to VR gamers. In a post Wednesday, Google announced it has acquired developer Owlchemy Labs.

Google’s official announcement said:

"We care a lot about building and investing in compelling, high-quality and interactive virtual reality experiences, and have created many of our own — from YouTube, Street View and Photos on Daydream to Google Earth VR and Tilt Brush. And, we work with partners and support developers and creators outside of Google to help bring their ideas to VR.

"Today, we're thrilled to welcome Owlchemy Labs to Google. They've created award-winning games like 'Job Simulator' and 'Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality,' which have really thoughtful interactive experiences that are responsive, intuitive and feel natural. They’ve helped set a high bar for what engagement can be like in virtual worlds, and do it all with a great sense of humor!"

Read: Rick And Morty: Virtual Rick-ality Release Date Announced

Owlchemy Labs is best known for titles including 2016’s Job Simulator, in which players explore several exaggerated versions of real-life jobs, and Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality, an adventure title based on the animated show Rick and Morty. The studio also has been one of the biggest success stories among early VR developers, clearing more than $3 million in sales for Job Simulator earlier this year.

Owlchemy Labs will continue to work as a multiplatform developer and produce VR games for platforms, including the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR, but it’ll now have the support and backing of Google.

Read: Google Hires SoundStage Developer For Virtual Reality Team

In its own announcement, Owlchemy Labs said the studio is looking forward to working alongside Google to help produce and innovate in the VR games space.

"This means Owlchemy will continue building high quality VR content for platforms like the HTC Vive, Oculus Touch, and PlayStation VR. This means continuing to focus on hand interactions and high quality user experiences, like with 'Job Simulator.' This means continuing our mission to build VR for everyone, and doing all of this as the same silly Owlchemy Labs you know and love. We are continuing to do all of this with even more support and focus on building awesome stuff. It’s incredibly exciting that Google and Owlchemy are so well aligned on our goals and vision for the future of VR."

For Google, the Owlchemy move is its latest acquisition as the company looks to further bolster its roster of VR companies. Within the past few years, the search company has acquired individual developers like the teams behind titles Tilt Brush and SoundStage. It’s also made substantial developments in higher-end VR camera hardware and technology that’s aimed at the professional and creative community.