The OSVR Hacker Dev Kit from Razer arrives in June and will cost $200. Developers can buy it (or build their own) to test their VR games and devices. Alex Washburn/WIRED
Virtual reality gaming is in its super-hype phase. But even with the recent developments and industry buzz, the technology still ranks as nascent. If it’s going to grow in a healthy fashion, it needs standards—assurances to developers and manufacturers that their software and hardware will work with all the VR products and games coming to the market.
That’s the principle behind OSVR, a new group formed by hardware and software heavyweights to promote interoperability around virtual reality gaming.
Razer (one of OSVR’s founders, along with Leapmotion, Ubisoft, Reload, and SMI, among others) is here at CES showing off a new piece of hardware: a VR headset developer’s kit. It’s a fully functioning headset for play-testing games and peripherals, complete with a gyroscope, accelerometer, and compass. There’s a surround-sound codec onboard, so you can add 3D audio to your creations. The internal display runs at 1080×1920 and the optical elements are adjustable. It also has USB ports for connecting any controllers or other devices you want to add to enhance the experience. And since it’s open-source hardware, all of the circuit boards are modular, and Razer says it will make the both the schematics and the 3D files freely available for download, so you can print and build your own goggles or customize the design.
Razer’s OSVR Hacker Dev Kit will cost $200 when it’s released to the public in June of 2015. The company is also allowing some access to developers now on a strictly limited basis.
What will run on it? Any software written for Unity 3D or Unreal 4 Engine for starters, which covers a big chunk of the VR gaming market. In line with the group’s goal, anything made with OSVR’s tools should work across all VR devices, including the Oculus DK 2.
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