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HTC Vive

In February, pre-orders for the co-built Vive VR headset from HTC and Valve will begin. The release date for the Vive will be set for an April launch after this. The exact opening for pre-orders will begin February 29.

Whilst the HTC Vive is still a very new piece of technology, in a few month's time we could see a lot of support by various game developers. The HTC Vive developer kit was sent out on January 5 so developers will already be able to begin developing VR options for their titles. It may be a long while before VR makes it to most mainstream AAA titles, if it does come at all, but it will be incredibly exciting to see virtual reality like the HTC Vive on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Because the Vive is co-owned by Valve, it is very likely that the virtual reality headset will be used primarily alongside Steam, a PC gaming client owned by Valve. We may never see console support for the HTC Vive but it will potentially show us what VR could be capable of on all platforms.

The Vive isn't the only virtual headset available for pre-order. On January 6 the Occulus Rift also made it's way online for pre-order. This headset currently is available for pre-order for a hefty $600 and it will be available to the public on March 28. Prices for VR is bound to be very high to begin with but we may see price drops over the next few months. Hopefully in two years the technology will be affordable for the average gamer and the VR-supported game library will be quite expansive.