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At yesterday’s Made By Google event, Google finally revealed its Daydream View virtual reality headset, and leader of VR partnerships Adrienne McCallister took centerstage to show off just a few of the games and experiences that’ll head to the Daydream View in 2016.
Most of the presentation was spent on how the headset itself would look, what it would cost — $80 — and how it’d work with Google’s equally new Pixel smartphone. However interesting the headset is though, what’s important is what you can do with it.
Most of the games and applications announced on the Daydream spread across a range of genres, which could help the VR headset appeal to a wide variety of potential adopters. Warner Brothers is on board with a Daydream-exclusive title based on the upcoming Harry Potter spinoff, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The experience will let players use the Daydream controller as a wand to cast spells and move objects around the environment.
CCP are also stepping up to the plate, bringing a sequel to their Gear VR title Gunjack. Gunjack 2: End of Shift is also exclusive to Daydream, and will return you to your role as a turret operator protecting your ship from waves of attacking pirates. It’ll have a few new features to take advantage of the Daydream controller shipping
The other big name attached to Daydream platform is Volume and Thomas Was Alone developer Mike Bithell. While he didn’t announce on stage but via Twitter shortly after the presentation, Bithell’s title EarthShape gets featured here as it stars the vocal talents of Sue Perkins. EarthShape is a new IP too, telling the story of an astronaut leaving earth on a mission to terraform the universe.
There will also be a raft of Google apps with a virtual reality makeover. Google has announced that in addition to what they showed during their presentation, 50 additional titles will be releasing for the Daydream platform before the end of the year.
