Valve has confirmed that LG is developing a VR headset that will utilize SteamVR Tracking and, ostensibly, the OpenVR platform.
When Valve set out to build their OpenVR platform, they hoped to design it in such a way that the door was left open for hardware makers other than HTC (who makes the Vive) to make their own products that could tap into the system and work with all the same software. Valve’s vision appears to be paying off, as the company has confirmed that major computer electronics manufacturer LG is developing a new VR headset that will be built upon Valve’s platform.
That includes using SteamVR Tracking—Valve’s royalty-free and increasingly open VR tracking technology—Valve has confirmed to Road to VR.
Details on the LG VR headset are slim, but Valve says the is “designed to deliver a high fidelity, next generation VR experience,” and that a prototype will be shown off at GDC 2017 this week, where LG hopes to get feedback from developers on the headset.
Pricing, launch dates, and territories will be announced at a later date, says Valve.
Some will recall LG’s first foray into VR last year with the mobile-focused ‘360 VR’ headset. While compact and potentially quite, the device was not well received, giving off the feeling of a premature step into the VR space. Now more than a year later, and this time focused on desktop VR, LG’s alignment with (and likely advisement by) Valve will hopefully mean a mature product is in the works.
This story is breaking, we’ll add more details as they come.