Vive Focus dev kits are headed outside of China today to international developers looking to create for the company’s standalone VR headset, which first arrived to Chinese consumers back in January. Apparently HTC is lowering the price for some devs, although the total price sans discount appears to be approximately the same premium price tag the headset carries in its home country.

As reported by German VR publication MIXED, European-based developers will be eligible to receive a €200 rebate off the overall price of the Vive Focus dev kit if ordered before June 4th.

HTC told Road to VR that developers who register and apply for a dev kit via this site may receive a coupon for ~$200 off (or local currency equivalent). The company is currently evaluating criteria of the applications so that the coupons go to developers with “the most immediate impact / projects.” Selected developers will receive a coupon code via email, which then can be applied at purchase. These codes expire on June 4th.

MIXED reports Vive Focus will have a cost of €464 (~$560) after the discount is applied, which includes postage and value-added tax (VAT), which typically runs around 19-23% depending on European country.

At least as quoted by HTC on its developer site, the entire price of the bundle comes to a whopping €650 (tax included), costing devs taking advantage of the rebate a lesser, but still substantial €450. Below you can see the Development Edition, which is slated to launch at the end of May in Germany.

Image courtesy MIXED

There is no official pricing for the consumer version yet, although it’s doubtful it will stray much further from the quoted price above, since the developer kit is likely to be the exact same hardware.

SEE ALSO
Oculus Go, Mirage Solo, and Vive Focus Standalone Headsets Compared

We don’t have any information on US developer kit prices yet, but will update as soon as we do. Something to bear in mind: US prices are inherently different from their European counterparts due to lower taxes, which possibly puts the developer kit into the $500-$550 range before local US taxes are applied, or an equivalent discount that European devs received.

Either way, Vive Focus is living up to its name as a 6DOF headset (3DOF controller) with best in-class displays—and any way you slice it, that’s definitely coming at a premium. Check out our hands-on here for a closer look at what makes Vive Focus tick.

Update (04/10/18): HTC reached out to Road to VR to provide a direct link to the application website and clarify that selected developers of impactful projects could receive a ~$200 (or local currency) discount off the developer kit version. This information is included above.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 3,500 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • ShiftyInc

    This really boggles my mind. That you make it expensive as fock for consumers is one thing. But developers who can pretty much make or break your products (cause without content your screwed) You ask them for these insane price points. Keep in mind that the majority of tech companies send these to devs for free or at a very low price.

    • Courtney A Jeff

      As gay as they wanna be is the new name of the game.

      • brubble

        As happy as they wanna be? As homosexual as they wanna be just doesnt make sense.

    • Andrew Jakobs

      Hmmm, as far as i know, none of the vr headset manufacturers has sent out their headset for free to all developers, only a VERY select group of devs got them for free (or if you were at F8 conference).. And if you’re a real serious commercial developer, this price tag isn’t a problem, it’s only a problem for the hobbyist developer..

      • ShiftyInc

        Well the Rift was giving away in large portions. But in general the majority of companies do this. I have worked with hundreds of devs and i can tell you that even for the indie dev out there this is a lot of money to put into something. For a lot of them the Steam submission fee of $100 was already a lot. (and i am not talking about assets flippers,but actual developers)

        • Andrew Jakobs

          Uhm, sorry, but to me you’re really not a serious (indie) developer if $100 steam submission fee is a lot.. It’s just a drop in a bucket compared to all the other costs a real company has. So you’re still talking about ‘hobbyist’ developers.. But ofcourse that doesn’t mean they don’t produce a great product, but they are still at a non professional level of business.

          • Dave

            Quite right Andrew! However WTF drop in the bucket, for some reason that term really gets me. Where did the ocean go – are you working in the Mojave Desert LOL..

  • Nosfar

    As much as i love my Vive. This company is killing its self. Consumer push back is already a thing for them even fanboys are dropping it.

    • JesperL

      Exactly, they did good with Vive1, and now they think they are rock stars of VR. We push back, and support the competition!

      • Dave

        I didn’t think they did great for the Vive 1, the Pro is what the Vive should have been. The only thing going for it is roomscale as Oculus’ version was ropey but thats much better now and the package is much cheeper. Vive has lost it’s edge and the Pro doesn’t do enough to swing things in it’s favour. The company is in trouble if you ask me and resourting to desperate measures branding it’s products as premuim when it’s anything but. Embarassing.

        • NooYawker

          HTC will end up selling the rest of itself to Google and google with take over. Without a big backer HTC won’t survive. They make no profits from their VR division.

    • NooYawker

      They’re just using mostly Valve tech. Lot’s of other companies have already licensed Valves tech for their own products. We’ll have a lot more choices when gen 2 products comes out. HTC may or may not survive, who knows.

  • Uhm, I hoped for something less. I doubt that consumers will spend that amount of money

  • Dave

    650 euros, LOL HTC have completely lost the plot! What were they thinking.

  • MW

    I’ve completely lost my interests and passion about VR. Just too little for too much. Am I the only one?

    • Vegeta785

      Yeah. You mostly gave up because of Vive, so did I, I still don’t give up on VR. But think about what the future holds.

  • eric

    Hi, I’m wondering : will there be a release of Skyrim vr for the HTC vive focus? It’s only available to htc vive and oculus rift… Has anabody a clue

    • Vidman321

      Most likely it will support all of the steam VR games.

  • Baldrickk

    Given that it’s the same lenses and screens as in the Vive Pro, why does the Vive Pro headset (excluding the controllers and base stations) cost 30% more?

    • Justos

      Because its a premium headset. Believe them!