'Stranger Things VR' Expands the World of the Netflix Series — When's the Release Date?

If you have regular access to a Netflix account, then you're probably impatiently waiting for the release of Stranger Things 5 like the rest of us. The massively-popular sci-fi series began streaming its fourth season over the summer of 2022, which quickly became a summer of waking up Chrissy and listening to Kate Bush. The season ended on an enormous cliffhanger leading into the final battle with Vecna and the Upside Down, and the last season can't come fast enough.

Fortunately, a brand new VR game is coming soon to tide us over until the release of Stranger Things 5. Stranger Things VR was announced in early November 2022. Unlike Stranger Things: The VR Experience, which was more of a "greatest moments" compilation using VR headsets, Stranger Things VR presents itself as a canon installment to the series that expands its lore.

This could certainly scratch our Stranger Things itch, but when is the release date? Here's what we know so far.

In Stranger Things VR, "you are Vecna." More accurately, you play as Henry Creel aka "One," a sadistic and psychic megalomaniac who eventually becomes Vecna.

If you remember from the show, Henry Creel (Jamie Campbell Bower) faces off against Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) in his ambition to rule the world. Eleven emerges victorious, opening a portal to the Upside Down and forcing Henry through. He eventually becomes Vecna, the main antagonist of Season 4 who also set the whole series into motion.

In this new VR title, you play as Henry on his journey to becoming Vecna. You'll be able to travel the Upside Down and traverse people's nightmares through his eyes as Henry tries to construct his hive mind and become the evil force we know him as today.

We may not see Stranger Things 5 come out for another two years at least, but when will Stranger Things VR come out to help fill the gap?

Luckily, fans won't have to wait for very long. Stranger Things VR is currently scheduled to come out in Winter 2023. While that's not exactly a strict release date, we can expect to get our hands on it in the next year, as of this writing.

Of course, the next most important question is on which platform the game will be released on.

Explicit details on platform releases for Stranger Things VR are surprisingly scarce. The YouTube description for the official announcement states that the game will come out on "major VR platforms," but it doesn't explicitly list which ones.

We can assume that includes Meta Quest VR, PlayStation VR, Valve Index VR, and the like.

As an added bonus, the PlayStation VR 2 will also be released on Feb. 22, 2023, which is just within the time frame of Stranger Things VR's release. More likely than not, we'll be able to play the game on that new hardware as well.