Two monsters of the gaming world joined forces this past week, with international gaming provider IGT and Taiwanese behemoth HTC’s Vive Studios, a huge player in the VR scene, announcing that they have formed a partnership aimed at bringing HTC Vive Studio’s VR content to “Virtual Zones” on casino floors around the world. This is the first time that HTC has made a move into the gambling industry, and it’s a big and ambitious first step for both parties.
The first physical “Virtual Zone” has already gone live at Boyd Gaming’s The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Here players can strap into HTC Vive hardware and compete in a range of games, some of which are multiplayer, to win slot dollars. IGT has also already put out a developer kit for game designers interested in producing more content for the zones. VIVE Studios are already at work using the software developer kit (SDK) bringing their Arcade Saga title through an adaptation process to casino floors.This SDK represents a great opportunity for game developers to follow suit and provide content which could be picked up by a major operator like IGT as it expands its VR Zones across more venues and naturally seeks strong content to feature on casino floors.
HTC Vice President of Global Content Joel Breton said in a recent statement that “… arcade-like installations and experiences are skyrocketing across the globe, as VR has proven to be a consistent traffic generator in entertainment venues. By combining IGT’s gaming expertise and the world’s best VR in HTC VIVE, we are launching a combined platform that can deploy the best complete experiences for VR tournaments or stand-alone VR arcades. This is also a huge opportunity for more consumers to be exposed to amazing VR content.”
Enrico Drago, Senior Vice President of IGT Global Interactive, Sports Betting and Licenses, also spoke to the press regarding the Virtual Zones, saying, “IGT’s Virtual Zone represents an exciting evolution of modern-day casino entertainment, and an important step in diversifying IGT’s portfolio with unique offerings that can differentiate our customers’ casino floors and entertain a broad demographic of players. HTC VIVE’s leadership in the VR space and commitment to developing unparalleled VR player experiences made it the ideal partner for IGT’s first commercialized VR solution, the Virtual Zone.”
This is a huge move by two big names in the game, and we should expect to see these VR Zones springing up across a wide range of casinos in the coming years, along with those of this partnership’s competitors. VR isn’t going anywhere; in fact, with overheads coming down and public interest on the rise, it looks set to become a mainstay in modern casino culture. Give it another decade and it will be everywhere.
