Developer Diary: Cosmic Events + Loki Anomalies Bring Live Ops to ‘Asgard’s Wrath 2’

If you’re tuned into The Game Awards, you just saw the epic launch trailer for Asgard’s Wrath 2. And here it is again, so you can catch every detail, nuance, and smash cut.

Just over a week to go until Loki’s chaos reigns. Do you have what it takes to set things right?

T-minus nine days until the launch of Asgard’s Wrath 2—the epic follow up to the hit VR title Asgard’s Wrath from Sanzaru Games. On the road to the sequel’s release, Oculus Studios Senior Producer Mari Kyle has been taking the community behind the scenes for deep dive looks at the Cosmic Guardian, the Uncharted Rifts, Mortal Heroes and Animal Warrior Followers, and the RPG systems and mini-games found in the Hideout. And today, she’s back with a new dev diary focused on some otherworldly disturbances in the game: Cosmic Events and Loki Anomalies.

But first, some news: Clocking in at over 60 hours for the narrative campaign alone (over 100 hours for completionists), Asgard’s Wrath 2 is arguably VR’s most ambitious game to date. And with that amount of gameplay, you’re gonna need a solid cast of voice actors to bring things to life. So today, we’re revealing the cast list, which includes the likes of Tessa Thompson, Forest Whitaker, Jacob Anderson, Sonequa Martin-Green, Matthew Mercer, Darin De Paul, and many more. Scroll down for the full list.

And tune into The Game Awards December 7 at 5:00pm PT for a first look at the Asgard’s Wrath 2 launch trailer!

Now, back to the dev diary and Asgard’s Wrath 2 live ops!

First up, Kyle dives deep on Loki Anomalies, which can appear at any time and anywhere in your game.

“Loki, in his escape across the Norse realms to the realm of Ancient Egypt and beyond, has torn apart the fabric of time and space,” she explains. “Throughout the realms, you’ll see these mind-bending disturbances in otherwise normal environments that you can jump into and conquer for rewards. The difficulty of these anomalies will scale based on the player’s progression in the game, so depending on your level, you’ll see different Anomalies spawn in the worlds around you.”

There are several types of Loki Anomalies you might encounter in the game:

• Scavenger hunt-style missions in which you must travel to a specific location to retrieve unique treasure from faraway lands.
• Combat-based challenges where you enter a portal to an ethereal space to clear out the invading enemies within.
• MR Anomalies, exclusive to Meta Quest 3, where you’re transported back to your own physical space and must defend it from waves of enemies that invade from portals that spawn on your ceiling, your walls, under furniture—virtually anywhere in the room.

“Players will have a hefty amount of Loki Anomalies to conquer in the base game, but Loki has more up his sleeves,” Kyle notes. “As the tears of reality spread even further, you can expect new types of Loki Anomalies to cause chaos in the realms in the near future.”

Next, we enter the world of Cosmic Events: limited-time challenges in which players earn points for completing certain objectives. Earn enough points and you’ll unlock exclusive in-game rewards. Players can expect Cosmic Events (and their corresponding rewards) to follow themes, from seasonal holidays to those with an enemy faction focus and more.

“For example, a Cosmic Event could have goals like crafting an item, successfully parrying 50 times without taking damage, or even some really difficult challenges like getting to floor 25 of an Uncharted Rift dungeon without the use of revelations, just to name a few,” says Kyle. “There’s difficulty levels associated with each of these objectives, and the harder objectives give you more points. The best reward for a given Cosmic Event typically requires you to complete all of the objectives for that Event period.”

Asgard Wrath 2’s first Cosmic Event runs from launch through the end of January 2024. Players who complete all of the objectives will unlock a full set of Krampus armor to spread some holiday fear, er, cheer.

Players will also have the opportunity to participate in Cosmic Community Conquests, which are Cosmic Events during which players choose to align themselves with either Chaos or Order for an Event’s duration.

“The first Cosmic Community Conquest objective is to see who can close the most Loki Anomalies,” Kyle says. “When the Cosmic Event ends, the result will be announced, and the winning team will receive an extra-special reward plus some epic bragging rights. The reward for the first Conquest is a Samurai-themed armor named Mamorigami. But don’t worry—even the losing side of a Cosmic Community Conquest gets some fun goodies, too! So no matter the outcome, you won’t walk away empty-handed.”

As you might have guessed from the Krampus and Samurai-themed armor, Cosmic Guardian customization is a key feature of Asgard’s Wrath 2. Armor, emotes, body dyes, titles, nameplate backgrounds, medals, and even adornments like wings or wisps of power. The more Cosmic Events and Cosmic Community Conquests you complete, the more weaponry and armor you can unlock.

Of course, that begs the question: Once you’ve built out your epic player character, how can you show it off?

“In story mode levels, the player can leave a projection of their customized godly avatar for other players to discover,” explains Kyle. “These avatars can be used to share hints by placing them next to secret items, breakable walls, or other hidden activities we place in the game. They could also be placed for fun in hard to reach areas! Sometimes I’ll try to climb up to a random high cliff and just leave my avatar there for folks to discover. And every time you visit the Inbetween, you’ll see a variety of Cosmic Guardian avatars representing other players. Flash them a thumbs up and they might even return the favor with a high five or first bump.”

This is just the beginning. The dev team has even bigger content updates planned with all-new quests and characters, new realms to explore, fearsome new enemies, and epic rewards. Visit AsgardsWrath2.com for all the latest news, and join the Sanzaru Discord for exclusive teasers and to chat with fellow fans.

Meet the Asgard’s Wrath 2 Vocal Cast

Without further ado, here are the fine folks lending their vocal talents to the game:

• Ozioma Akagha (Spider-Man 2, Deathloop)
• Anthony Alabi (Dead Space, Guilty Gear: Strive)
• Jacob Anderson (Interview with the Vampire, Doctor Who)
• Laila Berzins (Diablo IV, WWE 2K23)
• Kimberly Brooks (The Simpsons, Spider-Man 2)
• Bob Carter (Resident Evil: Death Island, MultiVersus)
• Rebecca Davis (The Callisto Protocol, The Last of Us: Part II)
• Darin De Paul (Spider-Man 2, Starfield)
• Afi Ekulona (Street Fighter 6, Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond)
• Cassie Ewulu (Scars Above, Fire Emblem: Engage)
• Dave Fennoy (Remnant II, The Callisto Protocol)
• Chris Gardner (Reign of the Seven Spellblades, My Hero One’s Justice 2)
• Barbara Goodson (Street Fighter 6, God of War: Ragnarök)
• Michael Gough (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, Diablo Immortal)
• Gavin Hammon (Diablo IV, Return to Monkey Island)
• Marieve Herington (Final Fantasy VII Remake, God Eater 3)
• Kane Jungbluth-Murry (Remnant II, Resident Evil Village)
• Evan Michael Lee (Spider-Man 2, Street Fighter 6)
• Misty Lee (Starfield, Remnant II)
• Sonequa Martin-Green (Star Trek: Discovery, The Walking Dead)
• Brandon McInnis (Silent Hope, Return to Monkey Island)
• Matthew Mercer (Critical Role, Baldur’s Gate III)
• Piotr Michael (Spider-Man 2, Starfield)
• Andrew Morgado (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, Spider-Man 2)
• Elle Newlands (Hogwarts Legacy, Asgard’s Wrath)
• Arnie Pantoja (Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion, Saints Row)
• Laura Post (Starfield, Street Fighter 6)
• Zeno Robinson (Spider-Man 2, Starfield)
• David Shaughnessy (Diablo IV, Destiny 2: Lightfall)
• Keith Silverstein (Starfield, Remnant II)
• Ryan Stephenson (Asgard’s Wrath, God of War)
• Nazeeh Tarsha (Diablo IV, Street Fighter 6)
• Fred Tatasciore (Family Guy, Lego Marvel Avengers: Code Red)
• Armen Taylor (Diablo IV, Octopath Traveler II)
• Craig Lee Thomas (Starfield, The Signifier)
• Tessa Thompson (Thor: Love and Thunder, Westworld)
• Matthew Waterson (Diablo IV, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor)
• Forest Whitaker (Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Black Panther)
• Imari Williams (Starfield, MultiVersus)
• Zakiya Young (Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, Final Fantasy VII Remake)

Asgard’s Wrath 2 launches December 15—and it’s included with every new purchase of Meta Quest 3.*

Pre-order Asgard’s Wrath 2 now to secure the following benefits:

• An exclusive Asgard’s Wrath 2-themed character skin and the title of “Cosmic Guardian” able to be equipped immediately in POPULATION: ONE
• A free digital copy of the original Asgard’s Wrath for PC VR, which you can play with a VR-ready PC either on the Rift Platform or wirelessly on your Meta Quest headset via Air Link
• The Great Sand Sea environment for your Meta Horizon Home
• Epic in-game gear for Asgard’s Wrath 2: the Sword of Ra and the Sun God’s battle armor

Click here for details on how to claim your pre-order benefits.

The Meta Horizon Worlds team is also crafting a custom Asgard’s Wrath 2 world. In Asgard’s Wrath 2 Oasis, fans can explore a game environment created just for Worlds, unlock rewards like Avatar outfits, and meet other players to coordinate future leaderboard runs in the Uncharted Rifts. Stay tuned for more details on Asgard’s Wrath 2 Oasis coming to Worlds soon.

*See child safety guidance online at meta.com/quest/parent-info; Accounts for 10+. Asgard’s Wrath 2 (“Game”) is intended for mature audiences. Game offer ends 1/27/24.