The first official Star Wars VR experience could soon be available to HTC Vive owners.
Reddit readers uncovered a Steam Database listing for Star Wars: Trials on Tatooine, the short VR piece from Industrial Light and Magic’s own Experience Lab (ILMxLAB). That would suggest that a full launch on Steam could happen in the near future. So far the experience has only been seen on the HTC Vive, though there’s hope that a Steam launch could also support the Oculus Rift once the Oculus Touch position-tracked controllers launch later this year.
Trials on Tatooine debuted at GDC 2016 a few months back. The first-person game casts players as a Jedi apprentice located on the iconic sandy planet of Tatooine as seen in many Star Wars films. Though it only lasts a few minutes, you’ll get to help fix the Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon, meet R2-D2 and, yes, take up a lightsaber to fend off legions of Stormtroopers as they surround you. For the first time ever you have control of the legendary blade using one of the Vive’s motion controllers.
The software is by no means a full-fledged Star Wars game, but it would certainly be a shame if Vive owners didn’t get to experience it for themselves. It would also make for a wonderful addition to all of those VR parties. Either way, European Star Wars fans will get a chance to see the experience for themselves at this weekend’s Star Wars Celebration in London. ILMxLAB will also be hosting a panel at the event to talk about how these new technologies can mix with the Star Wars universe.
This isn’t the only Star Wars VR experience in the works right now. Outside of ILMxLAB, Sony partnered with EA to create a short VR experience based on Star Wars: Battlefront. Using the upcoming PlayStation VR headset, players will climb into the seat of an X-Wing and take on a mission with a squad of pilots. The piece is being developed by Burnout developer Criterion Games.
Overall, there’s plenty for Star Wars fans to look forward to in the VR scene.
