Arizona Sunshine makes move from VR to PC and console

Arizona Sunshine is stepping further away from its VR roots, and the latest gameplay trailer gives us our best look yet at what that transition actually means.

Vertigo Games has released new footage of its upcoming third-person zombie shooter, hosted by Sky Soleil, the voice of protagonist Sunny, showing off plenty of undead destruction alongside two-player co-op, local split-screen and, perhaps most importantly, the ability to play as Buddy the dog.

For anyone familiar with Arizona Sunshine, seeing the series from this perspective still takes a little getting used to. The franchise built its reputation around VR, where physically aiming weapons, interacting with the environment and having zombies get uncomfortably close to your actual face were a huge part of the experience. This new Arizona Sunshine is instead being reimagined as a third-person game for PC and consoles, while keeping the bloody combat, dark humor and zombie hordes that helped define the series in the first place.

The new trailer puts Sunny back in the Arizona desert, where he continues his habit of referring to the undead as “Freds” while blasting, slicing and generally dismantling anything unfortunate enough to wander into his path. Shotguns, machetes, flamethrowers and other weapons are shown tearing through the undead, but the biggest focus this time is clearly on how much of that chaos can be shared with another player.

Two-player multiplayer will be available through both online co-op and local split-screen.

Then there’s Buddy.

Sunny’s loyal canine companion is fully playable during co-op, meaning the second player doesn't necessarily have to be another human survivor running around with a shotgun. Buddy can attack zombies, help Sunny and sniff out secrets throughout the environment, which also gives the second player a completely different perspective on the game.

Vertigo Games is also turning the buildup to release into a community challenge. Players can wishlist Arizona Sunshine across participating platforms, with the overall community working toward four milestones that will unlock four free skins for everyone. The first reward has already been revealed as a Tactical K-9 Unit outfit for Sunny, while the remaining three will be unveiled as the community reaches each goal.

Vertigo Studios is using the story and brutal combat associated with the series, particularly Arizona Sunshine VR 2, as the foundation for something designed around third-person play, couch co-op and a much broader audience. This could get interesting for people who have always liked the idea of Arizona Sunshine but had no interest in buying a VR headset. Moving to traditional platforms removes the biggest barrier the series has always had, while split-screen and online co-op give it an immediate hook in a genre where killing zombies with somebody else rarely stops being fun.

Whether the move from VR to third person can preserve what made Arizona Sunshine special remains the big question, because losing that physical interaction inevitably changes the experience. What we've seen so far, though, suggests Vertigo isn't trying to imitate VR with a controller; they're building around what third-person action can do instead, and letting Sunny, Buddy, the gore and the ridiculous personality of the series handle the rest.

Arizona Sunshine is scheduled to launch in 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 2. A specific release date has not yet been announced.