Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation
What Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality developers are talking about
Overkill Software is bringing the 2013 bank heist shooter Payday 2 to VR for HTC Vive. The update, which will make the entire game playable in VR, will be free for those who own a PC copy of the game, and will support cross-play.
The post ‘Payday 2’ will be completely playable in VR with free update appeared first on Digital Trends.
Rejoice, intrepid burglarers! Soon, you can rob banks and jewelry stores like never before with the team-based crime-spree game, Payday 2. The game itself isn’t new as it’s been out since August of 2013. In the game you and your friends (or strangers) team up to take down heavily guarded banks, warehouses, jewelry stores, and more as a trained group of career criminals. By playing you rack up money and gear and unlock skills for various classes and guns as you progress.
Today, the creators of the game (Overkill, a Starbreeze Studio) have officially announced that Payday 2 will be receiving VR support. This new mode will also feature crossplay with non-VR players ensuring the game’s community isn’t split. According to Polygon, the entire game will be playable in VR and will be a free update for all owners of the game on PC.
The news was announced during today’s Starstream event with the game’s publisher, Starbeeze. The footage shows people playing on an HTC Vive, but it seems reasonable to assume support for the Oculus Rift and Touch will be included as well. From the gameplay footage shown above, it’s clear this isn’t just a head tracking port but is instead fully articulated VR game. Guns are tracked to motion controllers, you can duck down behind cover, and even use your hands to revive downed teammates. We assume full artificial locomotion via the Vive’s trackpads or Touch’s analog sticks, such as in Serious Sam, will be included.
A beta is expected to start at some point this year in 2017 but targeted platforms are not confirmed as of the time of this publication. Which other shooters would want to see receive full VR support like this? Let us know in the comments below!
Tagged with: Payday 2
PAYDAY 2, the multiplayer bank-heist game by Overkill Software, is soon to get full VR support as PAYDAY 2 VR, which will also allow VR and non-VR players to play together.
Update (10/23/17): Payday developer Overkill Software hosted a Q&A on the development of Payday 2 VR. A beta offering VR support for the game has been confirmed to launch on November 16th, and will offer VR and non-VR players access to the exact same content, and the ability to play together. VRFocus has summarized the parts of the Q&A most relevant to the VR aspect of the game, including confirmation that all owners of Payday 2 will get access to VR support for free, and a discussion about the challenges of balancing gameplay between VR and PC players.
Original Article (5/10/17): Starbreeze Studios is the company behind the StarVR headset, but they’re first and foremost a game developer and publisher. The company’s studio, Overkill Software, is behind Payday 2 (2013), a well regarded FPS that focused on four-player co-op action.
Now Starbreeze and Overkill are adding total VR functionality to the game which they’re calling Payday 2 VR, which is said to not only offer players “all your PAYDAY content in VR!” but also to allow VR and non-VR players to play together. The trailer heading this article shows Payday VR in action running on the HTC Vive, though it isn’t clear what other platforms might be supported.
It’s still somewhat unclear at this stage but our understanding based on the available info is that Payday VR will be made available for free to all Payday 2 owners. Overkill says that the Payday VR beta will begin in 2017.
The post ‘PAYDAY 2 VR’ Beta Launches November 16th, Free to All Owners appeared first on Road to VR.
There’s been plenty of livestreams happening today, with keynote addresses from Nvidia GPU Technology Conference and Microsoft Build 2017. Sandwiched in between them both Starbreeze decide to hold its own, revealing plenty of details about the company’s plans. Naturally virtual reality (VR) played a part and in a surprise announcement the studio has confirmed VR support for Payday 2.
Payday 2 VR is a VR extension of the original title that launched back in 2013. I’ve you already own Payday 2 and own a HTC Vive then it won’t cost a penny to play as it’s a free update. For those that don’t then Payday 2 retails for £14.99 GBP.
Work on Payday 2 VR has been going on for a while, and it’ll feature all the content fans love from the franchise just in a more immersive way. Playing the VR version won’t be a separate session either, if you’ve poured countless hours into the videogame then you can still use your character in VR. Additionally, as a multiplayer title Payday 2 VR will also be fully cross-platform compatible so VR and PC players can combine their efforts.
Payday 2 is the work of Starbreeze internal studio OVERKILL which is also working on another little project called OVERKILL’s The Walking Dead. Recently the studio announced it was postponing the launch until 2018.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Starbreeze and Payday 2 VR, reporting back with any further updates.
It was previously reported on that during this year’s Comic Con in New York the John Wick Chronicles VR title from Starbreeze and Lionsgate was to be showcased, but now there is a better bit of news for fans as pre-orders are now available, and even those who are playing PAYDAY 2 will be able to get a John Wick themed weapons pack.
John Wick Chronicles, a first person shooter, is to launch in February of next year for the HTC Vive head-mounted display (HMD) on Steam, and the PAYDAY 2 DLC, John Wick Weapon Pack, is set to come out October 20th.
There are two pre-order bundles available for both new and returning fans. The first bundle of the two is where players can pre-order John Wick Chronicles, PAYDAY 2, and the PAYDAY 2 DLC mentioned above all for $19.99 (USD). The second bundle offering is only available in the US, where you can get all that is listed above as well as the original movie John Wick, all for $29.99.
The John Wick Weapon Pack DLC itself will be priced at $4.99, and more details are said to still come before its release.
If you’re wondering about the title before you get your hands on it, there will be a seven minute preview of the first mission of the VR version in the HTC Vive HMD, and it is called John Wick Chronicles: An Eye for an Eye.
For more on the latest developments on the John Wick Chronicles, as well as all the news, updates, and features in the world of VR, make sure to check back with VRFocus.