The annual Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco opened with a bang on Monday morning with a flurry of juicy updates for gamers to fawn over. VR certainly took center stage for GDC 2016, but not without some intriguing news on the development front. CheatCC has gathered together the ten best announcements to make its way out of GDC’s annual forum. Let’s take a look at what’s coming down the pipeline in 2016 and beyond.
MIA: Oculus Rift Touch
Palmer Luckey, Oculus Rift’s co-founder, announced that the VR gaming system will not be launching with the Oculus Touch controllers that may gamers have been expecting to see since the sneak peak last year. In fact, gamers will have to settle for an Xbox One controller instead as the Touch controllers won’t be released until the latter half of this year. We’re still stoked for the Oculus, but it’s sprinkled with anger at the lack of epic accessory inclusion.
McLaren Using Unreal Engine
Luxury British car manufacturer, McLaren Automotive, is currently using Epic’s Unreal Engine to help build more customizable cars to meet the demands of today’s supercar consumers. McLaren’s use of the Unreal Engine is not only intriguing for future high-end car buyers, but it also provides a good indication that the gaming industry might see another quantum leap forward in the development of our favorite pastime. Heck, if they’re using video game design engines to create supercars, they can certainly use that technology to get me into the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon.
Pilot the Millennium Falcon
That was probably the best lead-in I’ve had in years, thank you McLaren and your overpriced two-seaters. Yes, the folks over at Disney are in the process of building a virtual reality experience that will allow users to pilot Han Solo’s famed Millennium Falcon. Disney’s Creative Technologies Leader, Bei Yang, hinted at that possibility coming sooner rather than later during the team’s forum on Wednesday. Gamers should be on the lookout for something stellar out of the Disney factory by year’s end.
The Eagle Has Taken Flight
Ubisoft finally got a chance to debut a full-featured version of its upcoming Oculus Rift title, Eagle Flight . If you remember back from GDC 2015, Eagle Flight was simply a soft demo in near prototype form. Fast forward exactly one year later and Ubisoft has perhaps the most intriguing VR game to be featured on the platform. Outside of delivering a completely free-roaming flight simulator that is guided entirely by sight, the title is said to feature an interesting multiplayer mode that should provide several additional hours of gameplay.
Become a Jedi Knight, Finally
In recent years, GDC has become more like a mini E3 than a collective discussion of the gaming minds. Nonetheless, we sill love the massive number of demos developers flood our way. Trails on Tatooine , a Star Wars VR experience, is definitely one of the favorable examples. The demo gave gamers a slight glimpse into the world of VR with an epic light saber fight and the force backing you all the way. Let’s do this already!
Minecraft VR
Just when you thought you couldn’t get away from it, Minecraft goes and makes a splash at GDC without even lifting a finger. Yes, the official release of Minecraft VR hasn’t been announced, but the buzz around the demo was certainly on display. We’re hoping Microsoft gets its act together and refines this gem for some life-sized block chucking and Zombie Mob slashing fun.
Cross-Platform Gaming
Microsoft seems to finally be getting back to its old innovative and gamer-centric ways with the announcement of cross-platform gaming via Windows 10 and the Xbox One. This could potentially be the biggest GDC announcement ever, but that’s only if Sony and Microsoft decide to play nice and allow gamers to rock out together on their respective platforms. Until then, we applaud Microsoft for taking the small step forwarding in achieving every gamer’s dream. Plus, you can finally match up with those pesky PC gamers dominating the landscape.
Xbox Live Tournaments
Announcements like this remind us of the good old Halo 2 Xbox Live days. Microsoft announced its brand new Xbox Live Tournaments Platform, which will allow gamers to finally build the small-scale tournaments they’ve been wanting to for so many years. Add in the addition of cross-platform play between Windows 10 and Xbox One and you’ve got yourself an epic platform for crowning a champion. This is big news for gamers moving forward.
Sony VR
Sony announced that its highly anticipated PlayStation VR unit will ship sometime early October of this year and will retail for a cool $399.99. Sony’s VR will debut much cheaper than the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive, making it easier for the casual gamer to jump on board. Sony also announced that it will have more than 50 games available from the time of launch to the end of the year. The future is finally upon us, my friends – strap those goofy goggles on and let’s get at it.
Assassin’s Creed Coming to VR
Ubisoft has managed to outdo itself once again by bringing Assassin’s Creed to the virtual reality platform. The developers have stated that the VR title will follow the storyline of the upcoming live-action film set to release later this year. The news out of Ubisoft is a potential gamer changer as more development studios buy into utilizing the VR platform as a true gaming system rather than a cheap thrill. We’re hoping to see some up close and personal hacking and slashing sometime in the near future as a new Assassin’s Creed crew takes center stage.