Escape Simulator 2: Apocalypse locks September 21, 2026 on Steam. Pine Studio’s free VR preview is already on the open_beta branch, and the studio says the full VR update is “coming very very soon.”
Pine Studio’s own Steam posts are the primary source. On July 31 the studio opened an Escape Simulator 2 VR preview through Steam’s open_beta branch and said the finished VR mode would ship as a free update by the end of 2026. On August 28 it pushed Preview 2 with multiplayer hand visibility and a stack of interaction fixes, then wrote that full VR release was “coming very very soon.” Separately, the Apocalypse DLC store page and a July 10 Steam announcement pin the paid pack to September 21, 2026. UploadVR and VR.org covered the preview window when it opened.
What ships on September 21
Per Pine’s July 10 post and the live Steam listing, Apocalypse includes:
- 4 new escape rooms set after an unspecified catastrophe, with players hunting for Sanctuary
- 4 new Darkest puzzles
- New character outfits
- A companion free Room Editor prop pack for Workshop builders on the same day
Price is not on the store page yet. The DLC is still marked coming soon with a wishlist button. Base Escape Simulator 2 launched October 27, 2025 at $19.99 and sits at Very Positive on Steam from roughly 1,900 English reviews.
The VR preview is the part you can play today
Owners do not wait for a separate SKU. In Steam Library: right-click Escape Simulator 2, Properties, Betas, pick open_beta, download (Pine cited v21790 or newer at launch), then start with a SteamVR headset connected. Switch back to None anytime to restore the flatscreen build.
Pine’s caveats still apply. Official rooms are meant to be playable. Visible player hands arrived in Preview 2 for VR players in multiplayer, but a full VR player model is still missing. Community Workshop rooms remain unsupported and may break. Small-object grip and some puzzles (Pine named Pirate Darkest 1 in the August 28 notes) can still fail. The studio asks for headset model and PC specs with reports via Discord or community@pinestudio.com.
Why the timing matters
Pine already did this once. Escape Simulator 1 got a free VR mode in April 2024, including mixed flatscreen and VR sessions in the same room. The sequel is following that pattern: preview on a beta branch, free full VR update planned, no paid VR edition. Physics-first escape rooms are a natural headset genre. The open question is whether Workshop rooms join the headset build before or after Apocalypse lands.
Two weeks from September 21, the useful move is simple. Wishlist Apocalypse if you want the DLC day alert. If you already own the base game and a SteamVR headset, the open_beta branch is the live test bed for the free VR update Pine says is nearly done.
Sources: Pine Studio Steam news (VR preview July 31; Preview 2 Aug 28; Apocalypse date July 10), Apocalypse DLC store, Escape Simulator 2 store, UploadVR, VR.org.