Medal Of Honor: Above and Beyond brings the historic battlefields of World War II back to the forefront as you’ll play as an Allied agent of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), tasked with infiltrating, outgunning, and outsmarting the Nazi war machine.

Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond returns to the series’ roots, transporting players to a boots-on-the-ground World War II setting that spans the earth, sea and sky, with players jumping from planes, skiing down mountainsides and sabotaging Nazi bases. Aspiring soldiers won’t be going it alone, however: a veteran sergeant and young British medic will serve as companions throughout the single-player campaign, and the game will feature appearances from other Medal of Honor legends, including Manon Batiste and Dr. Gronek.

The game, which is being built for Oculus Rift from the ground up by a team comprised of veteran developers of the series, will put players in the role of an agent in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Players will go behind enemy lines to sabotage Nazi facilities, subvert enemy plans, and aid the French Resistance. Players will also experience a rich, exciting single-player campaign that takes them through historic events on land, air, and sea, all in virtual reality.

Additionally, Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond will feature a variety of multiplayer modes, some of which are only possible in VR and with the addition of Steam support, players will benefit from cross-platform play across multiple different devices. Keep an eye out for more information on these modes in the months ahead.

In addition to both a full narrative campaign and multiplayer modes, Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond includes a unique story gallery, letting you sit with WWII veterans and survivors to hear their stories while witnessing first-hand the events and locations that have shaped our history. The game will lean into the franchise’s history of education through entertainment, bringing the stories of WWII veterans to life for players in emotionally powerful ways.

Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond is an action-packed, immersive VR experience set in World War II, where you step into the boots of an agent of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in war-torn Europe. A deep single-player campaign takes you through historic events on land, air, and sea, sabotaging Nazi bases, subverting enemy plans, aiding the French Resistance, and much, much more. In this blog series, we’re taking you inside the development process, exploring everything from the development of innovative new multiplayer modes to the ambitious location scouting for the documentary series inside The Gallery. In this installment, we spoke with game director Peter Hirschmann and the Facebook/Oculus team about bringing Medal of Honor into virtual reality.

In terms of tone and authenticity, Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond is a return to the WWII roots that made the original games such a hit. But the experience will provide an entirely new kind of challenge for fans of the series. “It always starts with the controller,” said game director Peter Hirschmann, “your motion is so integrated to the experience, you have to build around that.” In Above and Beyond, your head is the camera; wherever you want to look, you look. You aim down the sights by literally doing just that -- holding the weapon up to your eye. It sounds simple enough, but it fundamentally changes the way you play.

Peter spent many years of his career figuring out the most accessible ways to map body movements onto controllers, “how do you lean around a corner? How do you duck?” In building Above and Beyond for Oculus, he was finally able to escape all those inherent button-mapping limitations. “With the Rift, you lean by leaning, duck by ducking… the intuitiveness, the accessibility, makes it as authentic an experience as you could possibly imagine,” he said. There’s no “reload” button in Above and Beyond, you actually have to go through the physical motions of reloading. “It adds such a new level of tactical decision making that totally changes the experience” said Peter. And with all the weapons authentically rendered, you’ll finally truly appreciate historical details like the M1 Garand’s automatic clip ejecting. In the heat of a firefight, saving those precious seconds can be a lifesaver. It’s going to be an entirely new experience. “PC VR is the first time we’ve had true 1-to-1 motion control… It’s night and day from playing on a HD screen,” Peter said. The future is here, and so is the past.

The Respawn team has spent the last few years building out an incredibly detailed, authentic representation of the European theater in 1942-1945. “Whether you’re in occupied France, behind enemy lines in a German bunker, or above the beach in Normandy, we built out every single nook and cranny,” said Peter. And for players who want to immerse themselves in the history, it’s suffused into every element of the experience; from the stitching on the uniforms to the authentic weapons sounds. “We recorded thousands of lines in German of soldiers talking about life on the front, the quality of the food… we built out as much of a breathing world as possible,” said the game director. And if stepping back into war-torn Europe sounds intimidating, don’t worry, the game is built to ease you into it.

The immersiveness of VR takes some getting used to. “All your senses are being used by the platform,” said Peter, “your brain processes it on an emotional level.” Add to that the unfamiliar mechanics of reloading, jamming in a medpack, or pulling out a grenade pin with your teeth, and you may need some time to find your VR legs. But the more time you spend on the platform, the more comfortable you’ll become. Plus you’ll be able to customize your experience with multiple comfort options, and skip any scenes with intense motion. You can always revisit them later. With incredible sequences like jumping off the stern of a sinking ship or skiing down a mountain being chased by Nazi alpine troops, you’re in for a wild ride. And if you run out of ammo, don’t forget that there are hundreds of items in the environment - from statues to frying pans - that can be used as a weapon in a pinch. No one said this would be easy, but you’ll have plenty of time in the field to get into the swing of things.

To Mike Verdu, VP of Content for Facebook Reality Labs, Medal of Honor was the perfect franchise to bring to Oculus. “Medal of Honor is a beloved IP, he said, “we love the combination of action, adventure and the exploration of history.” It helps that everything fans love about the MOH franchise is perfectly suited to an amplified VR experience. “You’re on a train, in a submarine, a tank, playing a piano, all these very skill driven, tactile experiences that wouldn’t have the same effect with a gamepad... we’re able to have the player experience the world in a new and more visceral way, bringing deeper understanding to historic moments,” said Mike. Bringing WWII to life in such an immersive way is a different prospect from building other first person shooters.

Like the Respawn team, Oculus wanted to build a deeper experience. “We wanted to create something that’s respectful and faithful to the men and women who fought.... It’s our hope that players come out of this with a more vivid appreciation of this era than ever before,” said Mike.

Soon, you’ll be able to put on your headset and see for yourself. Try to pay as much attention to the authentic details and environmental storytelling that surround you as do to the firefights and big explosive set pieces. According to Peter, “that’s really the fulfillment of what this series is about, putting you in the boots of someone fighting in the european theater.” So don’t forget to look around you, and take everything in. The action will be exhilarating, but there’s so much more to explore, after you’ve found your VR legs.

Leading up to release, we’ll keep giving you a deeper look inside the making of the game. Next up, we’re exploring the deeply affecting short documentary film series that fans will be able watch within the game. Thanks for your interest and support!

 

Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond is developed by longtime series developers and in partnership with Oculus from Facebook, and explores the theatre of war in an entirely new cinematic and immersive way. Respawn worked directly with WWII veterans to capture their riveting stories to add context around the historical set pieces players will engage with in the game’s powerful story and unique VR gameplay. 

Medal Of Honor: Above and Beyond is coming Oculus Store for Oculus Rift and Steam with OpenVR support and cross-platform play on Dec. 11, 2020.