Why Shredder is missing from TMNT's first VR game
Shredder does not appear in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City. Ace St. Germain, CEO and creative director of Cortopia Studios, said the choice grew out of how VR works: because players embody a character in VR, they don’t go through a player-led arc the way they might in a third-person game.
The team needed a story that could change around the Turtles, so they turned to Karai as a more complicated antagonist. Empire City is a multiplayer VR title that lets up to four players become the four Ninja Turtles, each using their signature weapons and distinct playstyles.
Donatello’s staff and tech loadout play differently from Michelangelo’s nunchucks, for example, and Raphael is built to take more hits. Germain also emphasized presence and social play — the studio even joked it would be the ultimate Ninja Turtles LARPing simulator.