StarVR might be one of the stranger upcoming VR HMDs, but the past few weeks have shown that Starbreeze want it to be taken seriously.
You may have heard last week’s news that Acer had joined forces with Starbreeze to help design, manufacture and actually sell the device, which was announced out of the blue at last year’s E3. Now cinematic giant IMAX is also getting involved with the kit.
IMAX will be bringing StarVR units to select locations, showcasing Starbreeze’s own slate of content for the kit, which includes Overkill’s The Walking Dead VR Experience, the John Wick VR game made in partnership with Lionsgate, and the recently announced Cockatoo Spritz, the headset’s first film developed in-house. The company is also promising that it has more unique content on the way. E3 2016 will mark the year anniversary of the kit’s unveiling so hopefully we’ll get to see some of this around then.
But that’s not all that StarVR HMDs will be showing under the IMAX banner. At last week’s Google I/O developer conference it was revealed that the company was building VR cameras for Hollywood use. The content that comes from this deal will also be showcased on StarVR, though you can likely expect to see it on Google’s newly-announced Daydream platform too. In a press release, IMAX CEO Richard L. Gelfond noted that VR held “tremendous promise” and was a “natural progression” for the company itself.
Gelfond also noted that StarVR’s 210 degree field of view (FOV) – wider than any other HMD – made it “IMAX-like”. Indeed, the kit boasts impressive specs with its 5K display, though don’t expect to be ordering one for personal use any time soon. Instead, Starbreeze is currently aiming for StarVR to be supported by even more of these location-based experiences such as its VR arcade coming to Los Angeles, along with other professional applications. It’s not alone in this field, though, thanks to the recently-announced Infinitus PRIME.
We used to think StarVR would come and go, but now it’s got some serious partnerships under its belt. Is Starbeeze’s big risk set to pay off?
