There’s a lot of investment opportunities in virtual reality (VR) if you know where to look. First Contact Entertainment, a Santa Monica, California-based startup which began early this year has announced its secured $5 million USD in funding from a collective of early stage investors.
The studio which is formed by a team of veteran virtual reality (VR) and AAA video game development talent from companies such as Starbreeze, Blizzard, Treyarch and Infinity Ward plans to use the funding to “fuel the company’s ambitions to create exceptional narrative-driven content that raises the bar for quality in VR gaming with a commitment to push the limits of graphics, gameplay and storytelling.”
“The number one problem facing the VR industry right now is the lack of high quality, highly replayable VR content,” says Hess Barber, co-founder and president of First Contact Entertainment. “We aim to solve that problem by pioneering a variety of innovative VR gaming concepts–including unique game mechanics, compelling narratives, and DLCs. Our goal is to produce the kind of experiences that keep people coming back, again and again.”
First Contact Entertainment hasn’t yet revealed what VR projects the studio is working simply stating that its “debut playable VR content will launch on Steam in 2016, with future projects offering a mix of original IP and prominent licenses.”
Alongside the funding announcement the developer has acquired former Skybound Interactive executive producer Matt Candler as Chief Revenue Officer, who’ll manage publishing, business development and strategic partnerships. And Jessica Ward, co-founder of VRLA, who will be its new director of community management, managing First Contact’s relationships with VR and gaming communities.
As further details on First Contact Entertainment’s VR projects are released, VRFocus will bring you the latest updates.