The original Project CARS from Slightly Mad Studios was a crowdfunded project that aimed to provide hardcore racing fans an authentic and comprehensive racing experience. It executed on multiple levels, eventually providing over 100 unique tracks and 125 cars across multiple racing disciplines and platforms over the course of its release.
Eventually, virtual reality capability for the Rift, Vive, and OSVR was unveiled last year and it quickly became one of the definitive immersive racing experiences. Via unknown means, the trailer for Slightly Mad Studio’s forthcoming sequel, Project CARS 2, has leaked and it looks like they’re taking the incredible attention to detail of the original game to the next level.
The trailer was spotted by TrustedReviews and is the only video on the RaceDriver YouTube channel thus far. In the trailer itself, the cars and tracks are as beautiful as ever. We’re treated early to a snow covered track with piles of white powder that truly look like they can be scattered if you veer too far off the track and we wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case in the final game.
The focus in this trailer is on the more dynamic changes these tracks can undergo as we’re shown shots of the weather and time of day changing rapidly and how the racing venues reflect that. We even witness what appears to be water pooling up on the sides of the tracks as rain continued to pour down.
Slightly Mad Studios is really looking to solidify their Project CARS racing franchise as a premier experience across platforms. With a planned track roster of over 200, 8 racing disciplines including rallycross, eSports functionality mixed into their online matchmaking, and the visual fidelity shown in this trailer, it doesn’t look like they will have too much of a problem. It remains to be seen if the game will launch with VR capability, but it is very likely considering the previous game’s compatibility with HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. Maybe even the PS VR will be included this time around?
Project CARS 2 is currently planned to be released on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Previously, the NFL’s Media Director William Deng spoke on the league’s virtual and 360-degree ambitions and apprehensions. Although the organization doesn’t think the visual resolution of headsets is high enough for live streaming and directing viewer’s attention is hard enough, Deng and company still believe in the platforms and thinks that any growth in use on their end depends greatly on how the mobile platforms develop. There have been no significant shifts since that discussion, but it looks like the NFL doesn’t want to miss out on a big opportunity as they’re partnering with LiveLike to bring the biggest game of the season to virtual reality: The Super Bowl.
LiveLike is a company that doesn’t just thrust viewers into their favorite sporting events, they’ve developed a virtual suite that serves as the ultimate sports fan’s venue with exciting decor and various broadcasts streaming into the dwelling. While the NFL is still not quite diving into a full live-stream of a football game, they’re going to be showing off the Super Bowl’s most exciting plays in near real-time via perspectives from 6 different cameras in the football stadium. Livelike’s co-founder Miheer Walavalkar believes this will be the first of many Super Bowl games to get the VR treatment and feels the massive event is a great way to introduce millions of people to VR.
Over the course of the game, viewers in the virtual suite will be able to see the four best plays per quarter and curated highlights for both teams pre and post game, totaling out to 20 clips as detailed in the press release for the announcement. Those highlights will be easy to access and viewers have can use a navigable timeline. It’s not entirely clear if the amount of clips is a finite number they can’t exceed, but it’ll like be tough for the broadcast team to keep things that limited with explosive performances expected from both the Patriots and the Falcons in the game on February 5th.
The VR broadcast can be viewed via iOS, Android, and Gear VR via the Fox Sports VR application. In the app, you must log-in using your television provider credentials.
Lots of diversity this week for the HTC Vive on Steam and Viveport. Awaken, a VR puzzle game about getting balls of light into their goals while you shape the level and its music over time just hit Early Access with a level editor and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, the latest cyberpunk action RPG from Square Enix and Eidos has a free tour-style VR Experience that’s totally free.
We also have a top list of the absolute best HTC Vive games — which is updated every few months with the latest and greatest options.
MultiVR.se, from
Price: Free
MultiVR is your personal VR space that you can customize with a basic drawing tool, VR wallpaper, different themed environments, in-app browsers, streaming, multiple screens, and more.
Recommendation: Free so check it out and see if you like it more than other similar options.
Awaken, from
Price: $25.49 (Currently Discounted)
Awaken combines creative puzzles and rhythm gameplay as you attempt to bring stars back to your world as the architect of light. The game also includes a level creation tool where you build your own puzzles and share with other players.
Recommendation:The price is a bit high, but level creation should lead to tons of new content over time.
If you’ve been craving a Mario Kart-like racer for your VR device, Kart Chaser: The Boost is here for you. With 37 types of cars and two game modes across 13 tracks, this game brings a lot to the table.
Recommendation: This one is a blast for the price if you like racing games.
Daydream Blue, from
Price: $4.49 (Currently Discounted)
Daydream Blue drops you into a serene environment with a lake, campsite, and your robot pal to keep you company. There are a few treats to find and a multiplayer option as well.
Recommendation: This is ultimately a chill sandbox experience. Casual fun for a good price.
Super Pixel Smash, from
Price: $4.79 (Currently Discounted)
This exciting title revives retro visuals and gameplay as you use your virtual paddle and gauntlet to break bricks and gain powerups. Keep swinging and climb the leaderboards to prove your skill.
Recommendation: A lot of fun. Grab it.
THOSE DAMN ALIENS! VR, from
Price: $6.39
In this Early Access title you take up your weapons and defend yourself against, you guessed it, Those Damn Aliens. This wave shooter includes a campaign and survival mode pitting you against aliens of many different shapes and sizes.
Recommendation: Another wave shooter. Keep an eye on it in Early Access but don’t pull the trigger just yet.
Vector 36, from Red River Studio LLC
Price: $24.99
In Vector 36, players race across Mars’ terraformed surface in customizable hover vehicles. Racing is built on realistic physics and takes a good deal of skill to manage as you fit your ride with parts, accessories, and weapons to take on different race styles.
Recommendation: Certainly one of the best VR racers that really makes you feel like a pilot once you get the hang of the controls. A must have for fans of the genre.
Child of Ault, from Hangzhou NezhaGames
Price: $5.99 (Currently Discounted)
This tower defense/shooter hybrid places you in the role of a kid using his toy weapons to take on an army of dark forces. Strategize as you choose between the various toys depending on the enemies headed your way. Then, choose the best vantage point you can and shoot them down.
Recommendation: Lots a fun and a steal at this price.
Happy Drummer VR, from Lusionsoft
Price: $9.99
Using your two VR controllers, hit your three virtual drums and other instruments as you take on this dreamy rhythm game. The game currently has 8 pieces of original music, created by composers around the world, and 4 bonus music pieces.
Recommendation: Grab it and try to climb the global leaderboards.
Knockout League, from Grab Games
Price: $17.99 (Currently Discounted)
Featured in our list of games we couldn’t wait to play in 2017, Knockout League pits you against a handful of curious characters in an arcade style boxing game. Despite it’s quirky style, it features 1:1 movement and dodging to provide a realistic boxing experience.
Recommendation: Even in Early Access this is a must have. Grab it and get to swinging.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – VR Experience, from Eidos Montreal
Recommendation: Essentially a tech demo, try it for free.
EnterVR, from Charming Game Studio
Price: $8.99 (Currently Discounted)
Grab your crossbow and get engaged in this stylish tower defense game. In EnterVR, you’re to repel the invasion of alien creatures as they attack from land and sky.
Recommendation: Very visually appealing so far. Keep an eye on it as it evolves throughout Early Access.
Siege and Destroy, from Makketron LLC
Price: $3.49 (Currently Discounted)
On Planet X Alpha 52, you’re the sole controller of a massive canon that you’ll use to take out the enemy placements on the other side of a mountain. You’ll have to analyze wind data as you calculate your shots.
Recommendation: Not the most visually impressive, but the gameplay is very interesting. Keep an eye on it at least.
Vive Video, from HTC Creation Labs
Price: Free
We’ve decided to start including Viveport applications in the weekly release list! The only new one we found this week was Vive Video, which is exactly what the name suggests: a VR video player for your HTC Vive. It support standard, 3D, 180, and 360 experiences.
Recommendation: If you don’t mind using Viveport, it’s free. But there are tons of other video players out there already.
Outrageous Grounds: The Maze, from Virtual Dawn
Price: $14.99 (Currently Discounted)
You’re stranded in the depths of a deep, dark, terrifying maze and have to fight your way out. You’ll use guns and explore the environment in your quest for survival.
Recommendation: Good amount of content for the price, even in Early Access. However, it’s nothing new really.
VRQB, from After Sunset Games
Price: $4.99 (Currently Discounted)
Arcade-style football meets virtual reality with VRQB. You won’t be passing to receivers in a shotgun formation with defenders breathing down your neck in this one, but will instead throw various balls through hoops. It’s simple fun with a nice visual style.
Recommendation: Solid party game and good physics. Get it if you like pretending to throw footballs.
Outlands Safehouse, from Alexis Larrodé Álvaro
Price: $2.99 (Currently Discounted)
Outlands Safehouse isn’t really an escape the room experience, or a puzzle game, or anything like that. You just walk around a futuristic-style room that’s reminiscent of Magneto’s prison cell in terms of design.
Recommendation: It’s cheap, but there isn’t much to it. Certainly pretty though.
Project Shield, from Cool Beans Studio
Price: $0.99 (Currently Discounted)
No, not that shield — this actually has nothing to do with Marvel or The Avengers. Instead, in this Project Shield you’ll have to dodge sharp, deadly, and persistent…pencils. In a classroom. It doesn’t get much scarier than that! More environments are planned to be added over time in Earl Access.
Recommendation: It’s less than a dollar, but it’s pretty basic. Hard to recommend right now.
Wrestling, especially the WWE, is an incredible window into sports drama. Since inception, this American past time has maintained a degree of excitement built upon high-flying athletes, bloody rivalries, infectious personalities, and stylish violence. Business Insider sat down with Michelle Wilson, WWE’s Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer, about the growing amount of digital content they’ve created, and revealed fans may get the chance to leap from the top ropes with VR as the driving force for some new ideas.
The crux of these newer developments, as so put forth by Wilson during the interview, revolves around the company’s understanding that they’re no longer creating content just for those watching on television, but also on other media devices. They’re adapting to Snapchat and Facebook live with their digital team of 100 – 120 people, including many that utilize those types of social platforms regularly. They’ve shifted over the last five years, growing from 750 hours of content every year to 1500 across long-form television production and the short-form stylings that fit on the more quickly consumed formats like YouTube. They may soon be adding another format to their repertoire as well.
“VR is a really interesting thing to watch for us,” Wilson said. “We know that our fans want to be literally in the ring with our superstars. So I think AR and VR is something we’re really paying attention to.” She goes on to point out that “where” fans will be able to experience these is what they’re thinking about and, in response to a question, she said they’re already testing and evaluating VR and AR technology.
The WWE has already embraced 360-degree video, showing off a new perspective on some of the exciting moments from their television broadcasts.
Back in 2012, the world was introduced to the idea of augmented reality by the way a hologram of the long deceased Hip Hop artist Tupac. While the idea was not quite a “hologram” as we understand them to be, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg were certainly utilizing AR to perform alongside the CGI recreation. As reported by Hollywood Reporter, the Sundance Film Festival was home to what’s shaping up to be one of the first hologram performances there with actor Jon Hamm being transformed into a hologram for an experience based on one of the event’s feature films.
Marjorie Prime, the feature film that this AR experience was inspired by, has a premise that sounds like it fits right in with an episode of the British sci-fi anthology Black Mirror, which is available on Netflix. In the film, there’s a service that produces life-like holograms of deceased loved ones and a man named Jon (played by Tim Robbins) takes the opportunity to come face to face with his late father in law (played by Jon Hamm).
“It is amazing to experience the future in the here and now,” says Marjorie Prime producer Uri Singer in the report. “When we first started working on the movie, the script dictated that the holograms would be portrayed as a futuristic reality. Making an actual hologram, not only on film but one that can be experienced with VR/AR, attests to how present the future has become.”
And in case you haven’t seen it, Hamm does in fact star in one of the best episodes of Black Mirror — the White Christmas episode which itself includes some elements of mixed reality. The episode is on Netflix and highly recommended.
Cinematic VR company JauntVR has established itself as one of the leading 360-degree production companies, with collaborations spanning from ESPN to ABC News, and they’ve put together a lengthy document to help others capture
JauntVR, which announced a slew of titles at the Sundance Film Festival this weekend including a VR re-imagining of the cult classic “Lawnmower Man” film, announced on their blog the availability of “The Cinematic VR Guide: A Guide To Best Practices Shooting in 360-degrees”. The guide includes over 50 sections covering lighting, framing, types of cameras, and post-production. There are even some parts that address directing the action and minimizing motion sickness.
As the cost to produce 360-degree video falls and quantity of cinematic VR experiences increases, hopefully a guide like this will help quality keep pace. As stated in the blog, “many of the old rules of cinematography no longer apply” so even the most well versed in traditional film could benefit from a few tips. This is only the beginning, though, as Jaunt plans for this guide to serve as a “living document” that is continuously updated as new technology and techniques surface.
Producing the content is a significant part of stepping forward as a major force in any creative field, but putting together a document such as this and paying it forward is a way to solidify that space especially in the minds of those just now getting involved. It will be interesting to see how such a guide is accepted by the rest of the creative community buy hopefully it, along with initiatives to make 360-video clearer, will result in high-tier production.
YouTube is a media leader, providing a nearly endless supply of accessible content and standing as the 2nd ranked website in the world. With such a significant position, it’d be an absolute boon for 360-degree and VR content to gain any type of foothold on the platform. YouTube had the largest presence they’ve ever had at the Sundance Film festival this year and one of our editors had an opportunity to speak with them, revealing that the video-sharing website is making a pointed effort to invest more into virtual reality.
YouTube’s expanded presence this year was largely seen in their return as sponsors for the Shorts Program and the YouTube House. We spoke with Jamie Byrne, YouTube’s Director of Creators and VR Initiatives, about YouTube’s VR plans since launching in November, and what they’re doing to enhance the service in the future.
“One of the things we’re focusing on is what’s going to bring people back every day for VR content,” Byrne says.
There’s no standard set for what works in VR so many continue to experiment and take on the risk of things not quite executing as they wish. Despite that, YouTube wants to open the door for creators, no matter where they’re making.
The people “doing some of the coolest and newest stuff are just individual creators in their bedroom, Byrne said. “And we want to get them the tools they need to realize their creative vision.”
Byrne and the team at YouTube are working closely with Google to get creators the equipment they need to make cool new VR projects, including entire new genres of VR content, and tehy are “really looking forward to seeing what the creators are going to create that we never even thought about. We want to get YouTube VR on as many platforms as possible.”
Keep your eye on UploadVR for more updates from the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
Skybound announced a collaboration that will bring into VR a Los Angeles-based horror play known as Delusion: Lies Within. One of our editors had an opportunity to speak at the Sundance Film Festival with Delusion writer/director Jon Braver and Skybound’s Director of Digital Programming Mike Cruz about the new development.
In 2014, horror company Delusion produced a well-received play called Lies Within — an attempt to redefine live theater by including the play’s audience as characters within the unfolding story. The VR version of the story is set in the American south in the 1940s as an episodic feature where a couple fans attempt to find a horror author that has gone missing. Over the 10 chapters (potentially 80 minutes total) visitors can follow those two fans down branching paths, as you realize the author’s fictional creations have come to life.
“It’s a great emotional story; it’s a great horror story,” says Braver. “It’s a great first project to work on together.”
The plan is to build tension using a variety of techniques, like audio that lets you know something is behind you, or a shot where you are reluctantly pulled along even though you might be heading into danger. Skybound’s Cruz explains that, with the 360-degree viewing of VR, when filming you have to put in extra effort to hide things that would normally break immersion. “You have to hide your wires, your lighting, your rigs, your crew, or you have to paint it out.”
The isolated nature of VR headsets can enhance horror elements ten-fold. When asked if the team anticipated people potentially “pooping their pants”, Cruz joked, “That would be great!”
The VR series is expected to start production in Los Angeles this March.
There are a ton of educational Vive apps and Early Access games that released this week, but we also have a couple of bigger releases as well. Creative tools have been some of the shining examples of VR interaction since solidifying its place in early 2016 and now we have a new entry that wants to take things to the next level: MasterpieceVR. This program offers all the robust tools you expect but adds in cross-play and multiplayer creativity. You’ll find more info in our write-up from earlier today.
We also have a top list of the absolute best HTC Vive games — which is updated every few months with the latest and greatest options.
SteamHammerVR – The Rogue Apprentice – London 1892, from GamestormVR
Price: $15.99 (Currently Discounted)
This steampunk shooter equips you with steam-powered weapons so that you can take down the clockwork automatons of an oppressive army in Victorian London.
Recommendation: Another wave shooter, but with a unique steampunk flair. Pick it up if you’re not suffocating in wave shooters yet.
Destination: Pluto The VR Experience, from SkyWorks Digital, Home Run Pictures
Price: Free
Take a walk on Pluto in this new Destination experience. The program pulls from NASA’s New Horizons mission and takes you through the Krun Macula canyon lands, a glacier spill, and the high plains of Sputnik Planum.
Recommendation: A free trip to the stars. What’s not to like?
MasterpieceVR, from Brinx Software
Price: Free To play
MasterpieceVR raises the bar for creative VR experiences by adding in cross-play and multiplayer gameplay that will grow over the life of the program. Choose your realistic or fantasy venue and start sculpting your art with friends.
Recommendation: Free for a limited and a must have nonetheless.
Home Tech VR, from 360 Evolve VR Pty Ltd
Price: $14.99
Home Tech VR is more of an educational experience than a game, showing how near future homes will utilize solar and storage batteries. Users will get a snapshot into how electric appliances pull from the solar energy and the costs a realistic home accrues.
Recommendation: Not really something for gamers but, to a professional that wants to be able to demonstrate the benefits of solar energy, there’s plenty here.
The Physiology of the Eye, from Intervoke
Price: $8.99 (Currently Discounted)
This program is another on a more educational slant. The Physiology of the Eye‘s title is pretty self explanatory and users will be quizzed as they work through different educational chapters.
Recommendation: A visually appealing (pun intended) and informative program that could be a boon for educators that have taken the leap into VR.
VRemin (A Virtual Theremin), from Heiko Ihde
Price: $0.89 (Currently Discounted)
VRemin adds to a steadily growing collection of instruments being recreated for virtual spaces. The app is currently in Early Access, but there are 4 oscillators and a virtual concert hall in place with more features to be planned to be added in the future.
Recommendation: A little spare change to add another VR skill to your repertoire.
HVRGUN, from Jonathan Bartram, Thomas Bartram
Price: $5.99 (Currently Discounted)
HVRGUN employs players as assault pilots participating in a grueling training program. Dodge, return fire, and destroy endless enemies while moving around various environments with a collection of weapons.
Recommendation: Since Battlezone is a PS VR exclusive, this could scratch a similar itch for PC VR gamers.
RunVR, from Smoketree Studios
Price: $5.39 (Currently Discounted)
RunVR is described as the ultimate locomotion tech demo that gets users, running, jumping, and climbing around an obstacle course in VR.
Recommendation: Not much to see here for now. Keep an eye on it while in Early Access to see if modes are added. This is a tech demo.
VR Amazing Files: Horror Hospital, from Joygo.Stuido
Price: $19.99
This adventure/shooter tasks players with investigating an abandoned hospital, finding missing research notes, and trying to find the zero patient so a serum can be created to combat the shambling inhabitants. There’s realistic shooting and reloading mechanics and physics to supplement the gameplay.
Recommendation: Solid ideas here, but poor execution. Pass on it at this price.
Starship Disco, from Solus Games, Inc.
Price: $8.99 (Currently Discounted)
Starship Disco brings some space shooting to the rhythm genre with the option to play with 1 or 2 hands and import your own music.
Recommendation: Solid experience with functional imports. If you don’t already have a solid rhythm game, this could be your ticket.
Diesel Power, from Irmas Ibric
Price: $9.99
Diesel Power is a game inspired by classic isometric track racers but it utilizes the unique VR space to hit players with a barrage of gameplay elements while attempting to keep your car on the right path.
Recommendation: A very challenging treat, but lacks some production values. Check out the trailer on the Steam page to see if it interests you.
Puzzle Island VR, from Interaction Ideas GmbH
Price: $8.99 (Currently Discounted)
Puzzle Island VR offers challenging physics puzzles but drops you on a peaceful island retreat. As you play, other players will appear to help complete the different challenges.
Recommendation: A solid list of features make this a bit different than most escape room VR experiences.
GridVR, from iPOL
Price: $9.99
GridVR is a collection of gaming experiences that all play out on the tiles of a virtual room. You can play classic match games, Simon Says, Snake, and more.
Recommendation: A cool retro arcade experience, but nothing new. Wait for a sale.
Dunk It (VR Basketball), from Shashitha Kularatna
Price: $4.49 (Currently Discounted)
With Dunk It, developers have put together a dynamic basketball sandbox with realistic physics and not-so-realistic rockets on your hands. In this outer space court, play to your heart’s content and multiplayer will be added later.
Recommendation: Currently a motion sickness hazard. Keep an eye on it to see if the developers add any comfort options.
Siegecraft Commander, from Blowfish Studios
Price: $13.99
In Siegecraft Commander, players create sprawling fortresses by placing towers, units, and walls strategically in this strategy game that offers real-time or turn-based gameplay. Strengthen your own defenses while slowly moving to take down your enemy’s fortress and keep.
Recommendation: The VR RTS genre is growing up with another solid entry at an affordable price. VR not required.
Henry The Hamster Handler, from Pocket Money Games
Price: $5.99
You’re one-handed Henry and you must save the mass-produced hamsters from being destroyed by helping them traverse series of dangerous obstacles or whack them with a mallet. Your call.
Recommendation: Very fun collection of levels and mini-games. Here’s our review.
Wacky Wings, from Pocket Money Games
Price: $5.99
Another game from Pocket Money Games sadly lacking fluffy hamsters is Wacky Wings, an arcade flying game where you use a touch controller to guide your device around collecting coins and fuel in order to stay in the air with one of 11 vehicles. The game also includes two unlockable game modes: Blitz where you shoot down enemy pilots in a black and white world and Endless mode.
Recommendation: Really unique game worth checking out.
Recommendation: Neat local multiplayer experience. Early Access could evolve well over time.
The table at war VR, from KudaiGame
Price: $14.99
This game gives players access to a vibrant tabletop game that can be manipulated with various trading cards that bring magic, monsters, and more to life. The game includes PvP as well.
Recommendation: Too many technical and glaring design issues to be a viable purchase for now.
Virtual spaces offer players, enthusiasts, creatives, and professional entities near infinite work spaces for many interests. A great deal of popular existing experiences like Tilt Brush and ScluptVR are of a more creative slant, giving users virtual chisel and paint brush so that they can formulate the brightest and even some of the darkest creations within VR.
While there are applications that offer collaborative experiences in creative VR, Brinx Software is attempting to go the extra mile with cross-platform teamwork for their new program: MasterpieceVR. We had an opportunity to get an early hands-on with the program in December, but now it’s available for download on Steam — entirely for free for a limited time.
MasterpieceVR is a robust creative platform with over 12 different sculpting tools, over 12 paint brushes, and the option to work in a handful of realistic or dream-like environments. Mechanically, it’s almsot like a combination of Tilt Brush and Oculus Medium. MasterpieceVR‘s biggest hook, though, is the ability to work in real time with other creatives around the world.
Whether using an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, 2 users are allowed in a virtual space at one time and regardless of platform they can team up to make things together. Via email correspondence, Brinx Software CEO Jonathan Gagne also confirmed that the player count will increase to 4 in the next few weeks and grow steadily over the life of the platform.
No matter who you decide to work with, the Brinx Software team has made a pointed effort to create a program where “ease of use is a key differentiator and strength” as so put by Gagne. “In fact, this technology allowed us to teach an eight-year old child how to model in less than 60 seconds. With a vision to build the future of VR, we are enabling people around the world to translate creative ideas into 3D works of virtual art. There is nothing that lets you collaborate like it on the market today.”
MasterpieceVR is available on Steam for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. For a limited time, it is available for free and we don’t have information on when and to what extent that will change.
