14 DAY TRIAL // Palmer Lucky, one of the founders of the company currently working on the Oculus Rift, says that he plans to continue to invest in video games that offer a virtual reality experience in order to make sure that the device can offer more than simple tech demos when it becomes commercially available.
At the moment, the only confirmed deal involves the Icelandic studio CCP and its upcoming EVE Valkyrie spin-off, which will allow players to enter a combat spaceship, explore the world of the MMO, and battle other gamers.
He tells GamesIndustry.biz that “When very interesting VR software comes up, very often we end up talking to the people. And some of those people may end up with similar deals to the EVE Valkyrie deal where we’ll work with them to publish their game because it’s hard to get funding for a VR game right now.”
EVE Valkyrie is expected to be one of the main launch titles for the Oculus Rift when a full commercial version is made available, and the company now also has a full publishing arm that’s actively working to attract other titles and developers.
At the same time, Oculus Rift benefits from the presence of John Carmack, who is working on the technical side of the device while also trying out ideas and mechanics that will work with virtual reality.
Lucky adds, “They’re betting on you making a fun game, and with VR they’re betting on you making a fun game and that VR will be successful. Both of which are long-shot bets. Of course, we believe VR is going to be successful so we’re only betting on your game being fun. So we’ve been spending some of our money investing in content. We want to help people.”
If the Oculus Rift launches without strong support from developers, the device might remain nothing more than a novelty, a way for a limited set of gamers to experience impressive demos but no full titles.
It will be interesting to see whether any of the major publishing companies, like Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard, or Ubisoft, decides to offer full support for virtual reality at any point in the near future.
The Oculus Rift is at the moment offered only on the PC, but there are rumors that Sony is also working on its solution, which will be launched on the PlayStation 4 home console in 2015, with a reveal set to be offered at E3 2014.