Survios
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Survios is a video game studio that develops and publishes immersive VR and action games, including licensed titles set in the Alien universe and Rocky/Creed boxing franchises. Its games span action-horror, shooter, and sports genres for VR platforms and console players.
Also known as Survios, Inc
Founders & leadership
Investors Β· 11
Also in the syndicate Β· 4
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Survios, Inc is an American virtual reality game developer and software publisher headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 2013 by University of Southern California graduates Nathan Burba, James Iliff, Alexander Silkin and Graham Matuszewski, the studio grew out of Project Holodeck at USC's Mixed Reality Lab, where the founders built an early full-body, portable VR system and the co-op tech demo Wild Skies.
The company builds and publishes VR and, more recently, cross-reality and non-VR titles. Its catalogue includes the shooter Raw Data, the movement-based racing game Sprint Vector, the music-creation title Electronauts, the pirate naval combat game Battlewake, and licensed titles including Creed: Rise to Glory and Creed: Rise to Glory Championship Edition (MGM's Creed/Rocky franchise), The Walking Dead: Onslaught (AMC), Westworld: Awakening (HBO), Puzzle Bobble (with Square Enix and Taito) and Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions. Its current flagship release is Alien: Rogue Incursion, a single-player action-horror game set in the Alien universe in which players control Colonial Marine Zula Hendricks; the title has an Evolved Edition receiving ongoing patches for PC, PS5 and Xbox alongside Meta Quest 3/3S versions, and is described as the first chapter of a two-part saga.
In October 2021 Survios launched 2124 Publishing, a division led by TQ Jefferson offering independent developers financing, live services and platform relations, with Romancelvania: BATchelor's Curse by The Deep End Games as its first title.
Founding story
In March 2012, University of Southern California students Nathan Burba, James Iliff, Graham Matuszewski and Alex Silkin launched Project Holodeck at the university's Mixed Reality Lab, building an early full-body and portable VR system and the co-op tech demo Wild Skies. The team formally founded Survios in 2013 after securing seed funding, and began demoing its first VR project, Zombies on the Holodeck, a horde-based survival shooter shown on a prototype Oculus Rift using PlayStation Move and Razer Hydra tracking devices; the project won three Proto Awards.
Business model
Survios develops and publishes interactive entertainment, selling games directly to consumers through digital storefronts and retail (Oculus, Steam VR, PlayStation VR, GameStop, Amazon). It licenses major entertainment IP (Alien, Creed/Rocky, The Walking Dead, Westworld, Bubble Bobble) for its titles, operates a publishing arm, 2124 Publishing, that provides financing, live services and platform relations to third-party developers, and has extended into out-of-home venues via arcade versions and VR pods.
Revenue comes from sales of VR, console and PC game titles across platform storefronts and retail partners, with additional lines from arcade/location-based versions of its games and from third-party publishing through 2124 Publishing.
Traction
Raw Data became the first VR game to reach $1 million in sales one month after its July 2016 Early Access release and the first to top Steam's global sales chart. Survios reported reaching one million units sold in 2020, stating that at least one of its games could be found on one in eight VR devices. The company reported more than 100 employees in 2021, and its site lists Alien: Rogue Incursion as a top-10 bestseller.
Latest developments
Survios is shipping ongoing updates for Alien: Rogue Incursion, including Evolved Edition Patch 1.1.0 and Hotfixes 1.0.2 and 1.0.1 for PC, PS5 and Xbox, and Meta Patch 1.02 for Quest 3 and Quest 3S. The company markets Alien: Rogue Incursion as the first chapter of a planned two-part saga and continues to sell Creed: Rise to Glory Championship Edition and Raw Data.
βΈFull profile β market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Survios describes itself as a leading global gaming studio, and at the time of its 2016 raise it was reported as the most funded pure VR development studio, with more than $54 million in venture capital. It has won industry awards in game design, sound design and technical achievement, including three Proto Awards for Zombies on the Holodeck, "Developer of the Year," and D.I.C.E. Award recognition for Westworld: Awakening.
The studio combines in-house VR locomotion, melee and music-interaction technologies with access to well-known licensed franchises from MGM, AMC, HBO and Taito/Square Enix, and has expanded from VR-only development into console, PC and cross-reality titles as well as third-party publishing.
Technology
Survios builds proprietary VR technology, including Phantom Melee Technology in Creed: Rise to Glory, which uses strategic desynchronization of player avatars and virtual stamina to simulate the impact and fatigue of boxing; "Fluid Locomotion" in Sprint Vector, which lets players run, climb, leap and fly by swinging their arms as an alternative to teleport-based movement; and the Music Reality Engine in Electronauts, which converts song elements into interactive components. Earlier work included full-body positional tracking and avatar embodiment derived from the founders' Project Holodeck system.
Go-to-market
Titles are distributed through major VR and console storefronts and retailers, supported by licensed IP tie-ins with film and television rights holders, event demos and trade-show reveals (GDC, CES, E3, EDC), a joint venture with NetEase for distribution in China, and location-based arcade deployments.
Consumer players on VR headsets (Oculus/Meta Quest, HTC Vive, PlayStation VR, SteamVR) and, increasingly, console and PC gamers; fans of licensed entertainment franchises; and, through 2124 Publishing, independent game developers seeking financing and publishing services.
Geography
Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with a VR arcade opened in Torrance, California, and international distribution including a China-focused joint venture (Netvios) with NetEase.
History
Survios was founded in 2013 out of USC's Project Holodeck and demoed Zombies on the Holodeck in 2014, the year it also raised $4 million from Shasta Ventures and others. Its first game, Raw Data, was announced in December 2015 and released on Steam Early Access for HTC Vive in July 2016, followed by an Oculus Rift+Touch version with cross-platform co-op; it became the first VR game to reach $1 million in sales within a month and the first VR title to be a #1 Top Seller on Steam. In December 2016 the company announced $50 million across two rounds. It announced Raw Data Arcade in January 2017, Sprint Vector at GDC 2017 (launched February 2018), Electronauts in December 2017, and a Torrance, California VR arcade plus "Tesseract" VR pods at CES 2018. Licensed work followed with Creed: Rise to Glory (2018), Westworld: Awakening (August 2019), and The Walking Dead: Onslaught after securing the AMC license in 2019; Battlewake was unveiled in May 2019. In 2018 the company established Netvios, a joint venture with NetEase for VR game distribution in China. In 2020 it reported one million units sold, and in 2021 shipped Puzzle Bobble and its first non-VR title, Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions. 2124 Publishing launched in October 2021.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources β announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed β not independently audited.
Timeline Β· 18
launches, deals, and filingsSurvios announced 2124 Publishing to offer independent developers financing, live services and platform relations, run by TQ Jefferson; its first title is Romancelvania: BATchelor's Curse by The Deep End Games.
Survios shipped Puzzle Bobble, described as its first cross-reality title based on a major game franchise, and Big Rumble Boxing: Creed Champions, its first non-VR game.
Square Enix, Taito and Survios announced a new game set in the Bubble Bobble universe.
VR game set in the AMC series universe, starring Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon.
A five-chapter VR experience based on HBO's Westworld, released for Viveport and SteamVR; later a D.I.C.E. Award finalist and nominee for 'Immersive Reality Technical Achievement'.
Survios secured the license to AMC's The Walking Dead, resulting in The Walking Dead: Onslaught.
Survios obtained the license for MGM's Creed film franchise, leading to the VR boxing game Creed: Rise to Glory.
The company-owned VR racing game introduced Survios' 'Fluid Locomotion' movement system.
Following the releases of Sprint Vector, Electronauts and Creed: Rise to Glory, Survios won awards for 'Developer of the Year', 'Best Character Design', 'Best Sound Design' and 'Best Use of Music for Games', and received a 'Best VR Game of the Year' nomination.
Survios announced its own VR arcade in Torrance, California and partnerships with theaters and retailers to host VR pods codenamed 'Tesseract'.
Survios established Netvios, a joint venture with NetEase to distribute VR games in China.
Survios revealed Electronauts, a VR music-creation experience powered by its Music Reality Engine, alongside Apple's iMac Pro.
An arcade-specific version of Raw Data designed for out-of-home venues.
Two combined rounds totaling $50 million, with the more recent Series C led by MGM; MGM Chairman and CEO Gary Barber joined the board. Total capital raised reached about $54 million.
$50M source β
Raw Data launched in Early Access for HTC Vive, with an Oculus Rift+Touch version added shortly after supporting cross-platform co-op; it became the first VR game to reach $1M in sales in a month and the first VR title to be a #1 Top Seller on Steam.
Survios' first VR project won Proto Awards for 'Best Overall Experience', 'Most Transportive' and 'Best Interaction Design'.
Survios was officially founded by USC students Nathan Burba, James Iliff, Graham Matuszewski and Alex Silkin after acquiring seed funding.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
βΈResearch sources Β· 8
primary sources listed
- Surviossurvios.com Β· web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Survios do?
- Los Angeles-based VR game developer and publisher behind Raw Data, Creed: Rise to Glory and Alien: Rogue Incursion.
- Who founded Survios?
- Survios was founded by James Iliff.
- Who are Survios's investors?
- Survios's investors include Dentsu Ventures, Eastward Capital Partners, Lux Capital, Prime Partners, Qualcomm Ventures, Samsung Next, Shasta Ventures.