Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

‘Rick and Morty’ co-creator is bringing his unique sense of humor to virtual reality

While fans of the animated series Rick and Morty are anxiously awaiting the third season, co-creator Justin Roiland has been quietly building a virtual reality game studio with Tanya Watson, a former Epic Games Producer. It’s aptly named Squanchtendo, after an alien race in the Rick and Morty games that uses the word “squanch” as a replacement for many common words.

Roiland’s idea for a VR studio has actually been “squanching” around in his brain for a few years. “A gamer his whole life, he awoke to the idea of doing game design once he played with an Oculus DK2 headset,” according to Squanchtendo’s mission statement.

Recommended Videos

It was only recently, when Roiland began working with Watson, that Squanchtendo started to really take shape. In 10 years at Epic, Watson has put together an impressive profile, with work on games like Fortnite, Gears of War for PC, Bulletstormand Unreal Tournament 3

Together, the pair are ready to dominate VR gaming, according to the mission statement: “We want to make stuff that people love. Games that we want to play ourselves. Experiences that we would like to be totally immersed in and enjoy for hours at a time, as well as shorter, crazier experiences that would be great to play with a group of friends or possibly with stray homeless people that you invited in so you could feed and bathe them.”

The previously announced Virtual Rickality title will still be produced by Owlchemy games, the same team behind the Vive launch title Job Simulator. Instead, Squanchtendo will focus on creating new IPs for virtual reality, likely starting with the HTC Vive, with Roiland’s unique, and often extreme, sense of humor guiding the duo’s creations.

The announcement’s timing is no coincidence, either. The annual Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle runs from September 2-6, and we would be surprised if we didn’t squanch something from Roiland and Watson then.

Brad Bourque
Brad Bourque is a native Portlander, devout nerd, and craft beer enthusiast. He studied creative writing at Willamette…
SpaceX’s Starlink rival is about to launch more internet satellites — here’s how to watch
Amazon's KA-01 mission for Project Kuiper gets underway from the Space Coast.

[UPDATE: A technical issue with the rocket has caused the launch to be postponed. We'll update this article with the new launch schedule just as soon as it becomes available.]

Amazon is preparing to launch its second batch of Project Kuiper internet satellites to orbit as it seeks to build out a constellation to take on SpaceX’s Starlink service.

Read more
Weird Mac mini issue prompts Apple to take action
A top-down view of the Mac Mini.

Following multiple reports of specific Mac mini computers failing to power on, Apple has launched a global repair program to sort the problem out.

Apple launched the  M2 Mac mini in January 2023, though the affected units were made between June 16 and November 23 of 2024, according to a notice about the repair program that was first spotted by MacRumors.

Read more
Don’t miss this chance to buy a MacBook Air at $200 off
The MacBook Air on a table in front of a window.

For those who have always wanted to get one of Apple's MacBooks but can't stomach the price tag, here's your chance to buy one for a relatively affordable price. Best Buy has slashed the price of the 13-inch Apple MacBook Air M3 to only $699, for savings of $200 on its sticker price of $899. You need to act fast though, as there's always high demand for MacBook deals. The stocks that are up for sale may already be gone as soon as tomorrow.

Why you should buy the 13-inch Apple MacBook Air M3

Read more