Stay: Forever Home is the upcoming game from indie studio Windup Minds, recently featured in the March 2025 VR Games Showcase.
Stay links you up with Ember, a colourful dog-like companion whose AI allows her to interact with you, and you with her, the same way you might with a real-life pet. The game is designed to ‘foster genuine connection, combat isolation, and promote emotional well-being’. Players will be able to pet, feed and play with Ember through Mixed Reality technology, showcased in the trailer, highlighting how Ember can snuggle up with you on the couch or you can join her for walks in her own world. Adventure into the Otherlands, and explore alongside Ember as you build your bond. Players will be able to earn accessories for Ember, as well as learning her story over time.
The team at Windup Minds stated that the idea for Stay came to them while several of their members were working at Meta on the project Bogo, a similar VR pet experience that shut down in March last year. The team is comprised of some very experienced developers, with their CEO and CTO having nearly five decades of game development experience between them. It appears Ember should be in good hands.
Described by the team as ‘The first game to love its players back’, they go on to state that Ember’s responsiveness and interactions will change and evolve over time through consistent engagement, meaning the more time you spend with her the closer you’ll become.
Stay: Forever Home is set to launch onto Meta Quest 2,3 and 3S headsets on the 3rd of April.
About the Author
Hayley Louise
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Hayley spends most of her time gaming, but when she's not doing that you can find her doing all kinds of nerd-adjacent things like playing board games, building Lego, reading books and talking nerdy to everyone who will listen.
