Pandemic Creating a New World of Dating

Global Pandemic Creating a New World of Dating!

VR App developer FireFlare Games is creating the world’s first virtual reality dating app, Planet Theta, coming this Winter. Planet Theta makes it easy to date without many of the risks typically involved. There is no pandemic on Planet Theta – giving dates the freedom to enjoy beautiful virtual dance clubs, themed bars, enchanted forest walks, tropical beaches, and more.

September 21, 2021 (Press Release) — Fear of face-to-face meetings has skyrocketed since the onset of the global pandemic – seriously frustrating the dating lives of most people. This seismic change in American culture has been recognized by an upstart VR Development business, FireFlare Games. They are developing the world’s first VR Dating app, Planet Theta, which is set to be an entire new world of virtual spaces to explore. Planet Theta has customizable avatars and apartments, multiple themed bars, dance clubs, cafés, game room/arcades, theaters, tropical beaches, a magical enchanted forest and more.

Dating on Planet Theta is incredibly convenient. First dates are only a few minutes long and are done from the privacy of your own home. FireFlare Games CEO Chris Crew points out that on Planet Theta, “you can go on four or five first dates in the time it takes the average person to just get ready for one in-person date.” Fire Games CMO Aurora Townsend explains, “there is no time spent deciding what to wear, how to do your hair, or driving to and from the date.”

All this sounds great, but you may be thinking, “what’s the catch?” The catch is that Planet Theta is only going to be available on Steam or Oculus and you will have to own a VR headset to visit Planet Theta. Fireflare Games is betting that the low starting price of the stand-alone Oculus Quest II of $299 will help to mainstream the VR market and VR apps like Planet Theta. Crew says, “although Planet Theta can be used on most VR devices, our team is optimizing it for the Oculus.” Townsend says that based on her market research, “around 60 million Americans will use a VR device at least once a month in 2021”. “Because those 60 million trends younger and more interested in dating than the general population, it’s likely to be predictive of a tremendous growth market in the metaverse,” says Townsend. Townsend believes this growth will translate into millions of Planet Theta users as people learn how well VR dating works.

One of the biggest advantages to VR Dating is being able to avoid what Townsend calls “first date cringe.” COO Aaron Kizer explains that, “there is no more being forced to sit through a long first date after deciding that you were not interested within the first few minutes.” Townsend explains, “much like when in-person, on a VR date, you can quickly tell if you like the other person’s company – the best part is that you can do so without investing much time or energy and can avoid most of the rejection associated with going in first dates.” Townsend suggests these factors combine to make “first dates on Planet Theta have a lot less anxiety and go better because of it.”