The upcoming VR game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City will focus on a part of the Turtles’ lives that is often overshadowed by the butt-kicking action in other TMNT-inspired games: the time they spend bonding with their siblings in their cozy hideout in the sewers.
In a new gameplay teaser exclusive to Variety, which readers can watch in the video above, TMNT: Empire City creative director Ace Saint-Germain shows players what their experience in the lair will be like when they put on a VR headset and start playing as Raphael, Donatello, Leonardo, or Michelangelo.
“When you put on the headset, you wake up with three fingers on each hand, two fingers on each foot, and a shell on your back,” Saint-Germain says in a voiceover. “As a Turtle, you have to feel the world, take in everything around you, take in familiar aesthetics, and be surrounded by family. Of all the iterations of the TMNT world, the Lair stands out as perhaps the most iconic location. Our goal is to make it feel like home. It’s a place you can come back to again and again after a long day of fighting criminals. And we can’t wait to get into the shell so you too can love being a turtle.”
Beyond Frames and Cortopia Studios’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City is scheduled for release in 2026 and can be wishlisted on Meta Quest and Steam VR.
The first TMNT VR game was created in consultation with Tom Waltz, the writer of the iconic Turtles film The Last Ronin. With multiple other “TMNT” projects in the works, based on the original story by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, “Empire City” is lulled into a period of Turtle Power resurgence.
