Tham Luang VR arrives on Meta Quest on July 30

The bestselling VR game Cave Crave is about to receive its biggest expansion yet. On July 30, 2026, at 5 AM PST, players will be able to explore a virtual reconstruction of Thailand’s Tham Luang cave, the site of one of the most famous rescue operations in modern history. The content will launch first on Meta Quest, followed by PSVR2 and SteamVR. John Volanthen, Vern Unsworth, and cave-scanning expert Richard “Roo” Walters have all contributed to the project.

Following the release of the Nutty Putty Cave virtual tour in 2025, 3R Games is expanding its “Real Caves in VR” initiative with another real-world location. The next map coming to Cave Crave’s Tourist Mode is Tham Luang, the extensive cave system in northern Thailand that captured worldwide attention in 2018 and was covered by the biggest media outlets, including CNN, BBC and National Geographic

The production team was joined by John Volanthen, the British cave diver and one of the leaders of the Tham Luang rescue. He was one of the first divers to locate the missing team and later helped plan and carry out the operation that brought the boys and their coach out of the flooded cave.

For his courage, Volanthen received the George Medal from Queen Elizabeth II, one of the United Kingdom’s highest civilian honours for bravery. He is also a central figure in National Geographic’s documentary The Rescue. His story was portrayed in Ron Howard’s Thirteen Lives, where he was played by Colin Farrell, and in the Netflix series Thai Cave Rescue.

Volanthen contributed his first-hand knowledge to the project, helping the team recreate the conditions faced during the rescue. He also recorded a voice-over and will guide players through the underwater section.

The project also involved Vern Unsworth, an experienced British caver and key member of the 2018 rescue effort. His extensive knowledge of Tham Luang played an important role in assembling the international team of specialist divers capable of carrying out the operation. Unsworth also provided the developers with information about the cave’s topography, the conditions inside it, and the course of the search and rescue. He is one of the experience’s narrators, guiding players through its non-submerged sections.

The technical reconstruction was supported by Richard “Roo” Walters, a specialist in cave scanning and digital documentation. His expertise helped the team interpret the survey data and transfer the real geometry, scale, and layout of Tham Luang into VR.

Tham Luang will also introduce long-awaited swimming and diving mechanics to Cave Crave. For the first time, players will explore fully submerged corridors and navigate underwater passages inspired by the conditions encountered during the real rescue. Limited visibility and near-total darkness will create an intense experience requiring focus and a strong sense of direction.

Cave Crave is a realistic VR caving experience focused on immersion, exploration, and the thrill of navigating underground spaces, combining gameplay set in fictional environments with an initiative to faithfully recreate famous real-world caves. The game is available on Meta Quest, SteamVR, and PSVR2, with a standalone non-VR version also planned for Steam.