British indie virtual reality (VR) studio Maze Theory emerged last year, announcing its first project, an original IP called The Vanishing Act. Today, the studio has revealed a second project, this one based on the successful TV series Peaky Blinders, which is scheduled for release in 2020.
It’s a two-fold announcement today, as Maze Theory has been awarded funding from the UK Government’s Audience of the Future Programme to develop the Peaky Blinders VR experience using cutting-edge AI technology. This will allow the characters to respond to player gestures, movement, voice, sound and body language, ensuring each person should receive an individual experience.
“Success stories like Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit and BAFTA-winning Peaky Blinders are part of the reason why our creative industries are truly world-leading – attracting audiences both here in the UK and internationally and helping create a sector already worth some £100 billion to our economy,” says Government Business Secretary, Greg Clark in a statement. “This backing will also give our home-grown talent the opportunity to lead the way in creating and using virtual and augmented reality technologies, remain at the cutting edge and create thousands of highly-skilled jobs.”
The BAFTA award-winning drama was created and written by Steven Knight, owned and produced by Caryn Mandabach Productions in collaboration Tiger Aspect Production for the BBC. Distributed by Endemol Shine International across more than 180 countries, Peaky Blinders has a worldwide fan base. When the VR experience arrives they’ll come face-to-face with new and well-known characters, infiltrating the underground criminal world to undertake a covert and unorthodox mission to defeat a rival gang.
“This is Maze Theory’s first AI enhanced immersive drama and we are incredibly excited about the unrivalled and entirely new experience this gives players,” says Russell Harding, Executive Producer at Maze Theory. “They will literally be part of Peaky Blinders’ world and be able to interact with characters in ways no one can predict. Fans of the cult show have been calling out for this type of experience and we’re honoured to be giving it to them. This is future of entertainment!”
As production continues and more details are revealed, VRFocus will keep you updated.