‘NFL PRO ERA’ to Launch as an All-New Live Service VR NFL Game, Overhauled Experience Launching This Fall

NFL PRO ERA is coming back with a new look this year. The first two entries in the popular VR football franchise won over players with their attention to detail, fast-paced gameplay, and realistic representations of every NFL stadium. Later this year, NFL PRO ERA is relaunching as a live service title, including a suite of updates, new game modes, and more.

To understand more about this shift, we spoke with two members of the development team at StatusPRO: Victor Lugo, Chief Product Officer, and Marcus Matthews, Executive Producer.

Now that we’re coming up on the third year of NFL PRO ERA, the team at StatusPRO wanted to make sure they were making significant advancements with the game to entice new and returning fans alike, but wanted to avoid splitting the playerbase.

Thus, NFL PRO ERA’s relaunch as a live service was born. “The goal is to get everyone together who’s played either version of the game and reintroduce them to the best version of our game as well as the new users,” said Lugo. “This is the definitive version of NFL PRO ERA going forward. The goal is to bring everyone together. Whether you’re a person who loves simulation gameplay, team storytelling, and the depth that we have, FreePlay, or even sandbox players—we bring all that through with first person sports on the field. Everyone can look forward to something new.”

The new base game of NFL PRO ERA will include FreePlay capability, the full season game mode, exhibition mode with any team, and all of the expected roster updates and uniforms. If you ever purchased the original NFL PRO ERA, or NFL PRO ERA II, then you get access to the new base game entirely for free. And if you already have NFL Pro Era II, you’ll still have access to that game separately if you want to go back to it at any point for head-to-head multiplayer.

But moving forward, you can purchase the 2025 Edition Upgrade to unlock more content and modes in the new NFL PRO ERA base game—and to further reward existing players, you’ll get a discount on the upgraded edition if you already owned a previous version of the game.

“The upgraded players will have access to new modes, such as playable defense, and in a future update, head-to-head multiplayer,” said Matthews. “Also, of course updated rosters for the 2024 season, updated uniforms, and access to simulation content. So essentially with the current players, what we want to do is just transition them to the new experience so at least they match their entitlements that they have already.”

The base game will also include all of the core gameplay enhancements they have planned for this new live service version of NFL PRO ERA. AI is smarter and teams will play more like their real life counterparts across the field.

“One of the biggest things I think for sports gamers is getting that sense of who the actually good teams are when you play against them,” said Matthews. “You feel the difference between the good teams and bad teams and also teams that have certain tendencies like if they have more of a passing attack, strong passing team, or a running team for the play calling and the strategies of the game to play that way. So, one of the things that we are focusing on this year is really making sure those users can feel the differences.”

Perhaps the biggest change coming to NFL PRO ERA other than the transition to live service, is the upcoming inclusion of being able to hit the field on defense. In NFL PRO ERA and NFL PRO ERA II, you were relegated to warming the bench when your team was on defense—the game was a quarterback simulation since you couldn’t play other positions. That’s not the case anymore.

At launch for the new version of NFL PRO ERA, you’ll be able to play on defense in the single player simulation mode, taking on the role of a linebacker. Since that position is often regarded as the captain of the defense, or even the “quarterback of the defense” as some would say, it’s a perfect choice. Plus, the team is excited to roll out full head-to-head multiplayer, including defensive play, in an update coming later this year.

“Pre-snap, you’ll be able to more or less choose your defensive strategy and how you want to attack, and then you’ll also be able to pick from any of the linebacker positions,” said Lugo. “Via your arm, you’ll be able to just pick a position on the field and warp to that player and that’s who you’ll be for the play.

Playing on defense will be a lot more than just directing your teammates and calling the shots, though, as you’ll be able to make a direct impact on plays every single down. Similar to how you can play catch with friends in the FreePlay mode already, you can expect some of that gameplay to transition into the defensive gameplay as well.

“Catching will be pretty consistent with what you are able to do in FreePlay already,” said Lugo. “When you want to go for an interception, you’ll just literally catch the ball. On the tackling side, we wanted to keep it very simple so whether you’re pass-rushing, trying to tackle the quarterback, or just any ball carrier, the simple thought is that you move your hands forward as if you’re trying to bull-rush and/or tackle a person. There will be more in-depth options to do things like swim moves and side steps, when you pass-rush as well.”

All of the defensive gameplay options will be in the game at launch for single player, but head-to-head multiplayer—including both offense and defense—is coming later this winter in an update. Everyone who purchases the 2025 Edition Upgrade will get access to the full head-to-head multiplayer feature.

Another huge change coming to NFL PRO ERA with the live service upgrade is an all-new sports complex hub area. Instead of having the experience feel like a menu-driven halfway point between an immersive VR facility and non-VR game, the team at StatusPRO rebuilt the infrastructure for social interaction.

“With VR, it’s more than just playing a game,” said Matthews. “We’re borrowing from real NFL facilities and we’re creating more of what we call a “Sports Complex.” We have a multiplayer lounge where if you want to go play in our FreePlay mode, you can interact and meet other people before you jump into a sandbox FreePlay mode. Plus, we still have our locker rooms, your personal areas, and just a deeper, richer world. And that’s going to be one of the foundations is to try and blend gameplay and world exploration. You’ll see a much more expansive world in the new version.”

And once head-to-head multiplayer rolls out later this year for those who own the 2025 Edition Upgrade, you’ll be able to challenge folks to games directly from this Sports Complex. This means you can just walk up to someone and challenge them face-to-face without having to sift through menus to get things working. From there, you’ll both be sent into a full game against one another.

And since this is now a live service title, you can expect a commitment to ongoing updates and improvements consistently over time.

“We really want you to feel the players around you,” said Matthews. “We’re really spending time on making the sense of presence in the huddle pop out to you. They’ll look at you and make eye contact, for example, and interact with you through fist bumps and just talking to you in a more natural, human way. This will start to add more personality instead of just having lifeless NPCs. So at launch, you’re going to see a baby step in that direction but each update you should see more and more of that personality of your teammates in the huddle start to come forth. And we think that’s a very unique perspective and new to sports games. I think it’s going to make the game feel different from anything you’ve done on any other platform.”

We’ll have more details to share on what’s happening next with NFL PRO ERA’s all-new live service model, but in the meantime you can check out the StatusPRO’s official NFL PRO ERA website for more news and details.