Throwback Studios

Throwback Studios is an independent immersive game and entertainment studio developing social multiplayer virtual-reality experiences alongside short-form animated content created within its own game worlds. Its work combines real-time game development, social sandbox design and community-driven digital media.

The studio’s flagship release, Derby Baseball, launched for Meta Quest and Meta Horizon in January 2023. The physics-based, room-scale social baseball experience lets players pitch, hit home runs, customize equipment and interact in an open stadium setting. Throwback Studios also lists MapChat, an experimental interactive VR social and communication experience, among its projects.

Interactive worlds and social content

Throwback Studios’ operating model connects game production with in-engine storytelling. The team captures gameplay, player interactions and comedic skits inside its virtual environments, using this material for social video content that helps introduce new audiences to its games.

Its capabilities include:

• Multiplayer VR game design and Unity development
• Mixed-reality and spatial-computing experiences
• Social sandbox environments and physics-driven sports simulation
• In-engine cinematics and short-form social content
• Cross-platform user-generated-content tooling
• Creator-program and digital-community engagement

Community-led game development

The studio runs the Throwback Creator program, through which community video creators can apply for access to in-game assets and opportunities for promotional recognition. This approach extends the studio’s social-game ecosystem beyond the development team and supports player-created content around its experiences.

Throwback Studios is venture-backed by Boost VC and Earthling VC. It has also worked with Olio Apps on backend infrastructure intended to support concurrent multiplayer activity for Derby Baseball. The company operates as a distributed, fully remote team with its corporate base in Bend, Oregon.