Category: HTC Viveport

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‘Game of Thrones’ VR Experience Coming Exclusively to Viveport Infinity

HTC today announced that a VR experience based on HBO’s hit TV series Game of Thrones is set to launch exclusively on Viveport Infinity starting tomorrow, supporting Vive and Rift.

The experience, called Beyond the Wall, is said to transport users to the northern border of The Seven Kingdoms to fight and defend ‘The Wall’, the megalithic structure separating the South from the untamed North—a place that plays host to the mysterious rise of an army of undead wights under the behest of the ‘White Walkers’. There, players will be able to test their sword-fighting skills against an undead polar bear and hoard of wights.

Beyond the Wall made its initial debut at select AT&T stores as a ‘4D’ brand engagement activation to promote the season finale of Game of Thrones; this represents the first time users will be able to jump into the experience at home.

Image courtesy HTC, HBO

Beyond the Wall was created by HBO and Framestore, the Oscar-winning studio known for their work not only in film and TV, but also immersive experiences such as the Game of Throne-themed VR activation Ascend the Wall, and the recent Magic Leap GOT experience The Dead Must Die.

Since Beyond the Wall is exclusive to Viveport Infinity, HTC’s Netflix-style game subscription service, you’ll of course need to be a member to play.

Viveport Infinity is typically available for free for a two-week trial, costing $13 per month afterwards (or $100 annually), which gives you unlimited access to a 500+ VR games and apps. Take note: throughout the month of June, both new and existing Infinity members who own an Oculus Rift or Valve Index will be able to redeem two free months of the service.

Image courtesy HTC, HBO

There’s just one more catch. Beyond the Wall is launching first in English in the US, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, the UK, and Canada. You can probably thank the patchwork of licensing issues that official IP releases necessarily face when they head across borders.

The post ‘Game of Thrones’ VR Experience Coming Exclusively to Viveport Infinity appeared first on Road to VR.

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HTC is Now Giving Away 2 Free Months of Viveport Infinity to Rift Owners

HTC’s VR app storefront, Viveport, is looking forward to welcoming a host of new VR users with the entrance of Valve Index and Oculus Rift S. To that tune, the company is giving away two free months of Viveport Infinity, its Netflix-style unlimited subscription service, to anyone with a Rift, Rift S, or Index.

Update (June 3rd, 2019): Starting today, HTC is giving away two free months of Viveport to anyone who owns a Rift or Rift S headset. You’ll find the redeemable code in Viveport by clicking your profile picture, and navigating to ‘REDEEM’, like in the image below. At that point, you can redeem your unique code and then enter your payment details, which will incur an automatic fee after the free trial is over, provided you don’t cancel before the end date.

The company says it will be extending the same offer to Valve Index owners later this month, presumably timed with the first wave of Index shipments, which are said to arrive on June 28th.

Image captured by Road to VR

Original Article (May 1st, 2019): Throughout the month of June, both new and existing Infinity members who own those headsets will be able to redeem two free months of the service.

In addition to unlimited app downloads, Viveport Infinity also offers its members perks such as premium content on Viveport Video, monthly coupons, weekend deals, and free title giveaways that you get to keep. For example, this week Infinity members will be getting Rockstar’s L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files for free, a $30 value.

Image courtesy HTC

Back in September 2018, HTC opened Viveport up to Oculus Rift users, putting its previously HTC-only product platform in direct competition with Steam and the Oculus Store. Furthermore, with the entrance of Viveport Infinity last month, the platform expanded its previously limited download model to allow all subscribers unlimited downloads of any app in the program—billed at either $13 monthly, or $99 annually.

Although the app catalog doesn’t reach the depth or breadth of either Steam or the Oculus Store, there’s still some clear benefits to Viveport Infinity—especially if it’s free. Many of the games on Viveport have opted into the Infinity program, including Windlands 2, Tilt Brush, Knockout League, Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs, Obduction, The Gallery Episodes 1 & 2, and I Expect You to Die.

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Hands-on: HTC's '5G Hub' Demonstrates VR Cloud-rendering is on the Horizon

While there’s plenty of chaff to wade through too in the 500+ apps and games available through Infinity, those top games alone represent some pretty substantial savings if you’re planning on just diving in for a taster. Granted, the service only allows you to play your downloaded games if you’re a current member, so once you manually end the service you’ll lose access to whatever you picked up through Infinity.

That said, Viveport does have some notable fan favorites missing from the platform entirely, including Beat Saber, Skyrim VR, Fallout 4 VR, Orbus VR, Vacation Simulator, Job Simulator, and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice to name a few.

We recommend you do some careful searching on Viveport Infinity to see where the overlap is on your personal list of must-play VR titles. Whatever the case may be, free is free, so HTC is driving a hard bargain to nab VR newcomers and experienced users alike with their ongoing promotions.

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Viveport to Officially Support Windows VR Headsets Next Month

HTC announced back at GDC 2019 that Viveport, the company’s digital distribution platform for VR games, was going to support Windows VR headsets later this year. Now, the company has set the official date: June 5th, 2019.

Update (May 29th, 2019): HTC today announced that Viveport will be extending support to Windows VR headsets starting June 5th. This includes support across titles available through Viveport, and Viveport Infinity, the company’s Netflix-style subscription service.

The original article follows below:

Original Article (March 18th, 2019): The company first opened up Viveport to Oculus Rift in September 2018, having originally only supported the company’s two PC VR headsets at the time, the original Vive and Vive Pro.

Many VR games on Steam have native Windows VR support, although those that don’t can benefit from a Microsoft-built Steam plugin that allows Windows VR users to play games originally created for Vive & Rift only.

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OpenXR Standard Ratified, Microsoft, Oculus, & Others to Release First Implementations

It’s uncertain at this point how HTC will go about supporting Windows VR headsets, be it through a similar ‘catch all’ plug-in or by simply allowing developers to add support on case-by-case basis. Steiber also didn’t mention when this will come, only saying that Windows VR support is set to come “later this year.”

This comes as a larger push by HTC to further proliferate the Viveport platform, which is set to launch their Netflix-style, unlimited download subscription service Viveport Infinity early next month.

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Netflix-style Viveport Infinity Subscription to Cost $13 Per Month, or $99 Per Year

HTC today announced that Viveport Infinity, the upcoming Netflix-style VR game & app subscription service, will be available for $13 a month, or $99 annually starting on April 2nd. If you subscribe now though, it could be a lot cheaper than that.

Viveport Infinity boasts unrestricted access to the platform’s subscription library of 600+ apps and games, supporting HTC Vive and Oculus Rift headsets, as well as a minority of titles  supporting Vive Wave standalone headsets.

The company is promising a number of membership benefits to free the credit card from your wallet, such as weekend deals on select titles, free title giveaways, and monthly coupons. A 10% store coupon is said to arrive to every member at the beginning of each month.

The company will be offering the choice of either a monthly Infinity subscription at $13, or a prepaid annual subscription for $99—bringing the effective monthly rate to $8.25. If you grab a standard subscription before the April 2nd cut-off date though, you’ll be paying significantly less under the old pricing structure until the end of 2019.

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HTC is Giving Away 1 Month of Viveport Infinity for Free

Viveport’s standard subscription costs a monthly fee of $9, and gives users a choice of five games per month from the pool of eligible subscription games. Standard subscriptions can also be purchased in prepaid bundles of 3, 6, or 12 months for $20, $40 or $80 respectively.

Note: Viveport Infinity doesn’t give you access to all games on Viveport; individual developers must first authorize to include their game in the service, meaning some of our favorites like Superhot VR, Moss, and Arizona Sunshine aren’t available under the subscription service. You should also note that fan favorites such as Skyrim VR, Fallout 4 VR, Job Simulator, and Beat Saber aren’t on Viveport at all.

While there’s plenty of chaff to bypass too, there are also more than a few really great games that will immediately justify the price of a single month, such as:

  • Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs
  • Apex Construct
  • Fantastic Contraption
  • Island 359
  • Knockout League
  • Obduction
  • Prison Boss VR
  • Pixel Ripped 1989
  • Racket: Nx
  • Tilt Brush
  • Transpose
  • Windlands
  • Windlands 2

You can also try out Viveport Infinity for free for a month if you’re still not convinced.

In a bid to attract more developers to the platform, HTC is increasing developer revenue share on Viveport from 70/30 to 80/20. From April 1st through the end of 2019, the revenue share scheme will also apply to Viveport Infinity titles too.

The platform will also feature a sale to celebrate, putting over 100 on sale from April 2nd – April 7th.

The post Netflix-style Viveport Infinity Subscription to Cost $13 Per Month, or $99 Per Year appeared first on Road to VR.

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HTC is Giving Away 1 Month of Viveport Infinity for Free

Viveport Infinity, HTC’s unlimited Netflix-style game delivery service for Vive & Rift, is set to launch on April 2nd. To celebrate, the company is giving a one-month free access code to anyone who fills out a quick user survey.

You just have to answering three questions and provide a valid email address, and HTC promises to send out a 30-day free access code which should arrive via email on March 20th.

Here’s some of the fine print to the offer. Yes, it looks like you’ll need a credit card and to cancel the free trial before automatic billing happens:

  • Code must be redeemed by April 15, 2019.
  • If you cancel the subscription during the 1 month trial period you will not be charged, and you will lose access to VIVEPORT Infinity content that you accessed during the trial period once the trial ends.
  • Unless you cancel the subscription during the trial period you will automatically be charged a monthly subscription fee a month after the end of the trial period, and each month thereafter until you cancel your subscription.
  • If you redeem the code before April 2, 2019, you will be charged a monthly subscription fee of $8.99 per month through the end of 2019 or until you cancel your subscription.

The service boasts over 600 games for unlimited download for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift users alike. Like PlayStation Plus, HTC is also including exclusive member discounts and free to-keep titles too.

In addition, HTC announced that Viveport Subscription members with active pre-paid memberships will be getting a free upgrade that will give them Viveport Infinity access at no extra cost.

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Viveport Infinity to Bring Unlimited VR Game Downloads to Subscription Members

HTC is bringing a new tier to Viveport Subscription. Announced today at the company’s special CES event, Viveport Infinity will let subscribers download any of 500+ participating games whenever they want without limit.

Up until now, Viveport Subscription members could only download and play five VR titles per month. With Viveport Infinity, the company is letting users to (presumably) upgrade to be able to download an unlimited number of games available through Viveport Subscription.

Members will be able access Viveport Infinity across “all current and future Vive devices” in addition to the Oculus Rift and devices integrated with Vive Wave, the company’s open platform that allows third-party devices access to Viveport.

There’s no pricing available yet, although Viveport Infinity is slated to launch on the company’s ‘Vive Day’ on April 5th this year, so we’re sure to hear more about it in the coming months. HTC says it will be available for a monthly fee.

As it stands now, Viveport Subscription is available with a monthly fee ranging from $6.66 to $20 per month depending on the length of time you choose.

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Viveport Deal is Practically Giving Away ‘SUPERHOT VR’, ‘Accounting+’ & More to Subcribers

Viveport, HTC’s digital content store for Vive and Rift, just got one of the best deals we’ve seen yet on VR games this holiday season. Starting today, Viveport subscribers can pick up five top-rated VR titles for just $1 a piece.

Viveport lets you choose five games each month from a pool of eligible titles, and regularly tosses out free games and other special events throughout the year. Plans range from three months for $20 to 12 months for $80.

From now until November 19th, existing Viveport subscribers and even members using a 14-day free trial, can get these awesome titles for just one dollar (or local equivalent).

Image courtesy HTC

MSRP on all game combined comes to a total of $127, an incredible deal anyway you slice it, especially since you can try Viveport Subscription for free and still get all five games for less than a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

SEE ALSO
HTC Opens Its Viveport VR App Store to Oculus Rift Users

HTC says there are limited numbers of every game available at this price though, so act now before they run out, or the clock strikes midnight Pacific time on November 19th—whichever comes first.

You can check out Viveport here.

The post Viveport Deal is Practically Giving Away ‘SUPERHOT VR’, ‘Accounting+’ & More to Subcribers appeared first on Road to VR.

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HTC is Giving Away ‘Fallout 4 VR’ for Free to New Viveport Subscribers

Starting today, new Viveport Subscription members can count on a free copy of Fallout 4 VR (2017) when you sign up for a three, six, or twelve month prepaid subscription.

Regularly priced at $60, HTC is throwing new Viveport Subscription signups a free Fallout 4 VR Steam code when you get any prepaid plan. The offer ends November 14th, and the company says a code will be delivered via email by November 18th, 2018.

All subscribers are also getting an additional $10 Viveport wallet credit on November 20th  just because.

At its most affordable, the deal gets you Fallout 4 VR for only $20, which also includes temporary access to five free titles per month. Here’s the breakdown of subscription prices:

Image courtesy HTC

Whatever your stance on Viveport, it boasts 500+ games and apps (some of them are actually good), and includes a 2× discount on Weekend Deals, and access to Exclusive deals throughout the year. Once an HTC Vive-only storefront, the company has recently allowed developers to include native support for Oculus Rift as well, meaning this may actually be a deal worth pursuing.

In the meantime, check out our review of Fallout 4 VR. Fair warning: it’s improved a good deal since it initial release last December, although you’l probably still want a beefy graphics card to run.

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Dark Fantasy Comes To Life In New The Witching Tower Trailer

Kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall. For the Kingdom of Nemean invaders from another land had brought with them terror, death and destruction. Six years ago, a wave of mysterious sickness swept through the ravaged kingdom. It brought with even more death, but it also brought about something worse – undeath.

From the Nemean capital skeletal soldiers marched forth, turning imminent defeat into victory and if only they had stayed there, things may have been fine. But they did not. The undead army marched forth, spreading their pestilence as the shadow of dread descended on the world.

In The Witching Tower, a new title from Daily Magic Productions you take on the roll of Anna.  For years Anna has been hunted by the mysterious Queen of the Witching Tower, the one responsible for the wave of undeath that has swept forth from the capital. Anna has her own powers and connection to the world beyond and that sees her pitted against the Queen as her greatest threat and enemy – if only Anna knew why.

The Witching Tower is coming to Steam, the Oculus Store, and HTC Viveport on October 4th, 2018 with support given to HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Microsoft Mixed Reality.

“The game offers the player a variety of experiences: solving puzzles, shooting, fighting with enemies in melee combat, and grabbing and throwing objects.” Explais Daily Magic in a statement. “Players will have an array of tools and powers to meet these challenges: from an enchanted lasso, to magic vision, and Anna’s developing control of the undead. The combat system is dynamic, smart, and has been developed with extensive player feedback.

The Witching Tower screenshot3Featured highlights include:

Enhanced combat system

Fight your enemies with a powerful blade, fend off their attacks, find out their weaknesses and inflict crushing strikes! Counter your enemies’ attacks and unleash a flurry of devastating blows! Shoot with a bow or throw books – the choice is yours! The first-person action will get your heart racing and your blood pumping!

Exploration

Explore the Tower and you’ll understand the dangers that invaded the kingdom. But be careful! These dangers will prevent you from reaching the goal and escape from this scary place. Skeletons? Bats? Undead? Oh my! These creatures won’t let you catch a breath!

Unique Skills

Facing the Undead? Capture its mind and you’ll be able to make the enemy fight for you. The magical vision will help you to see what is invisible at first glance. And if you show a little ingenuity, the magical lasso will let you dominate your enemies with the environment!

The team have released a trailer for the title and you can see it below. VRFocus will bring you more details on the title as we get them.

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Amazon Opens VR Kiosks In India To Promote Prime Day Sale

Amazon have a history of exploring the virtual reality (VR) field having not only pushed sales of the technology on their storefront but also by releasing their own experiences as well. Now it seems Amazon is getting ready to expand their VR offerings with not one but two new initiatives. This includes offering HTC Viveport titles through their online store along with opening a number of VR kiosks.

Amazon VR Kiosks

The news comes via venturebeat, who report that the new Amazon VR kiosks will be installed and used to promote the companies coming Amazon Prime Day in India. The kiosks will be used to promote the Prime Day sale taking place on July 16th, with the 10 locations including the City Walk in Delhi and Inorbit Mall in Mumbai. These kiosks are being designed to attract customers at existing brick-and-mortar retail locations to engage with the sale and the new technology.

By using an Oculus Rift headset in partnership with the Oculus Touch controllers, the VR kiosks will allow users the chance to interact in 3D with items that will be on sale over the 36-hour event. This includes viewing the products up close or at real-life size, along will placing clothes and jewelry onto holographic models to get a better understanding of how the product will look.

Amazon VR Kiosks

“Customers can check the fit & fall of the latest Marks & Spencer dress on a 360 degree hologram, pick up an Amrapali necklace and inspect the intricate details up close, open a Bosch microwave placed in a kitchen countertop to visualize how it would look in their home, play with an Iron Man figurine from Hasbro in virtual reality and more.” Explains Amazon’s Akshay Sahi.

Amazon’s other initiative will be to sell HTC Viveport applications and videogames directly through the amazon store. The company has sold titles through HTC Viveport and Steam VR in the past, but this new partnership will offer a new means to distribute titles. Additionally, developers will be able to opt into the service and sell through Amazon in the “coming weeks”. Titles that are purchased through Amazon will be automatically added to a users’ HTC Viveport library.

VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest on Amazon and their VR ventures in the future, so stay tuned for more.