It will also feature special virtual reality controllers

Mar 1, 2015 20:20 GMT  ·  By

After teasing an official virtual reality reveal for the coming Game Developers Conference, the development team at Valve is announcing that it is working with HTC to create a new headset called the Vive, which is designed to introduce so-called full body VR experiences.

The two companies are saying that they are creating a powerful new platform which eliminates problems that have so far plagued the medium.

The Vive will introduce a 1,200 x 1,080 pixel screen for each eye and the refresh rates are set to go up to 90 frames per second, with new technology used to make sure that the field of view of the user is filled in all directions.

This means that the jittering that affected other VR devices is eliminated and it will be easier for those who use the platform to immerse themselves in the world that HTC and Valve are creating for it.

A set of headphones can be plugged into the device to make sure that players can select their desired audio quality to complement the virtual reality they are exploring.

Vive will also have a gyrosensor, an accelerometer and a laser position sensor that will work together to track the movement of the user's head with an accuracy of 1/10th of a degree.

Steam VR base stations will also be used to track physical location of the player.

Valve and HTC are also including new virtual reality game controllers designed for each hand, which will mean that gamers have new ways to interact with the world they are exploring.

Valve will deliver custom-made content for the Vive

The official announcement also says that all the video games that use the Steam VR tech will be natively supported by the new headset, and it sounds like Valve is also building some unique experiences for it.

The reveal video does show some impressive moments, but it's unclear how many of them will actually be available when Vive is launched.

HTC and Valve are saying that they plan to deliver consumer versions before the end of the year and so far no price has been announced.

A version for developers will be offered in the spring to allow companies to create the content that Vive will need in order to compete with Project Morpheus from Sony and with the Oculus Rift, both of which might also be launched later in 2015.

Vive Images (10 Images)

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