The Thrill of the Fight

The Thrill of the Fight is a VR boxing game first released on Steam in July 2016. It was created by solo developer Ian Fitz, and Steam now credits Halfbrick Studios as developer and publisher. The Quest version arrived in October 2019, and the game remains on sale on the Meta Horizon Store and SteamVR.

How it plays

The game is about as close to real boxing as VR gets. There are no special moves, power-ups or joystick movement: you step around the ring with your own feet, keep your guard up, slip punches and throw your own. Hits are judged on their speed and angle, so lazy flicks do little damage while committed punches can knock an opponent down.

You face a series of challengers in a virtual gym, each with a distinct fighting style. It is single-player only and works offline.

Fitness and space

Many players use it as a cardio workout, and a few rounds can be exhausting. This makes it a natural fit for the fitness category as well as sports.

It requires room-scale play with at least 2 x 2 meters (about 6.5 x 6.5 feet) of clear space, and it is not designed for stationary play. Clear the area carefully, use wrist straps, and keep away from walls and furniture.

Comfort

Since all movement comes from your own body, Meta rates the game as comfortable in terms of motion sickness, even though it is physically very intense.

What to know before buying

• It costs $9.99 on Quest and Steam.
• The Steam version is meant for PC VR headsets; Quest owners should buy the native Quest version, since playing the PC version over Link is not supported.
• It is available in English only and shows a 16+ rating on the Meta store.
• A sequel, The Thrill of the Fight 2, adds online multiplayer and a career mode; it reached version 1.0 in November 2025.