Op-Ed: Apple’s Game-Changing Moves

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Apple may be the single most important hardware manufacturer for the games industry, judging by the revenue associated with its devices. No other single device maker comes close. That’s why the announcements Apple made last week at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) can have such a huge impact on game revenues. The changes impact both game design and marketing, and it’s going to be a lot of work to take proper advantage of what lies ahead.

A Second Chance For Apple TV Gaming

Apple talked about the coming updates and important new features, but the most noteworthy ones may transform mobile games. The Apple TV, introduced last year, included an App Store, and that gave it potential as a game playing device. Many developers brought apps to the Apple TV, but it hasn’t set the market on fire the way Apple had hoped. Apple hasn’t announced sales numbers for the new Apple TV, but looking at App Store tracking figures reveals it hasn’t been making significant money for game developers.

Part of the constraint on the new Apple TV, which some say has held it back from becoming a game playing destination, has been Apple’s insistence that all games for the Apple TV must be playable using the included remote, which includes a touchpad, position sensors, and a couple of buttons. Many developers argued against this, saying that games like first-person shooters need a standard console-type controller. Apple has made a spec for those available, and several companies make them using Bluetooth connections, but Apple insisted that game makers had to also make games playable using the Siri remote control.

That restriction will no longer exist with the upcoming version of tvOS, and major publishers are taking a renewed interest in Apple TV with these changes, with NBA 2K and Minecraft: Story Mode coming to the platform. There will probably be more as developers take advantage of the restriction-free Apple TV.

Apple TV still has a long way to go before it becomes a major gaming platform. The company isn’t selling Apple TV solely as a gaming device, but rather as a device that lets you do a wide range of things. It will be interesting to see this fall if Apple’s marketing efforts for Apple TV change focus and possibly increase in scope.

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Getting The iMessage Across

Meanwhile, Apple made many announcements about the future of iOS gaming, including how Game Center service will be removed in version 10. However, the most important iOS 10 announcements centered around the changes to iMessage, Apple’s messaging service that has remained mostly unchanged since its inception while apps such as Facebook Messenger, WeChat and WhatsApp have been innovating features. Changes include bigger emoji, video and handwritten messages, and even hidden messages that are revealed when you swipe on them.

The key feature for marketers is that Apple is opening up iMessage to third-party app access. That means apps can be triggered within iMessage, and there’s a great deal of potential interoperability. Why? Simply because messaging apps have been an enormously important game marketing tool in China, Korea, and Japan (with WeChat, Kakao, and Line) since you can tell your friends about games and link directly to them within your favorite messaging app. Publishers have even created messaging app-specific versions of their games to make it even easier for players to spread these games virally.

Now that iMessage is being opened up in this fashion, game publishers should be looking to work some viral marketing magic using this popular messaging platform. After all, there are more than 1 billion iOS users out there, and the platform accounts for the majority of mobile game revenues. Yet discoverability is an increasingly difficult problem, which iMessage may help solve.

The Next Generation

There’s still some time to work on this, as iOS 10 doesn’t release until the fall—likely coinciding with the announcement and launch of a new iPhone model, which typically occurs in September or early October. There’s going to be a section of the App Store devoted to iMessage apps, which will no doubt be crammed with stickers and photo apps. Sharp game marketers will make an effort to be there from the beginning, finding ways to work games into the new, improved iMessage with its 1 billion users waiting to be exposed in a new way to some exciting games.

Rick Fox Wants To Bring Kobe Bryant Into ESports

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[a]listdaily caught up with former Los Angeles Lakers star Rick Fox to discuss why the three time NBA champion is investing serious time and money into eSports through Echo Fox.

Among a wide variety of topics, Fox also discussed how former teammates Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant are trying to seize the opportunity in an industry that’s slated to reach nearly $2 billion by 2018.

Bryant, the NBA 2K17 cover man who earlier this month said he’d “consider” a business opportunity in eSports, is a key free agent Fox is trying to court.

“Kobe has an interest [in eSports.] He and I have scheduled a sit down and talk about it. I’d love to get him involved. I’d love to pull him into Echo Fox. That’d be quite the coup because I know the value of his competitive fire, his expertise in terms of just leadership, and understanding how to tackle business. He’s got the time now, so he has an open door with us, for sure.”

For the full interview, which also features Echo Fox CEO Jace Hall, click on the video above.

Follow Manouk Akopyan on Twitter @Manouk_Akopyan

Apple WWDC Keynote: Apple Pay, iOS And More

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While this week is certainly busy with the Electronic Entertainment Expo, Apple is making quite waves of its own with its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this week. For those who missed it, here’s a quick wrap-up of the keynote from this week’s event:

Access To Siri For App Developers

With the utilization of Siri, app developers will now have access to better services. Considering that the service obtains about two billion requests per day, they can definitely use such technology to their advantage.

Additions To TVOS

With over 1,300 channels to its credit already and 6,000 apps, Apple continues to expand on this service with the addition of Fox Sports Go, Dish’s Sling and French TV service Molotov. A new TV remote app is also set to be introduced, making it much easier for users to navigate specific services.

Small Revamps

Conventional services like Photos, Messages and Maps are getting small upgrades, ones that make the services a little more conventional to use. Photos will resemble closer now to Google Photos in terms of usage; Messages will introduce a number of helpful tools to make messages livelier (like balloons and confetti); and Maps will provide better usage in terms of rides booked and restaurant reservations.

Apple Music Has Discover Playlist

With Discover services on Apple Music, users can now find their favorite artists with better ease, as well as set up a “discovery mix” based on their individual tastes. Daily curated mixes will also be introduced, to keep particular choices from growing stale.

Apple News Now Supports Subscriptions

Apple News, with over 2,000 publications and 60 million readers, now has a new design, as well as the ability to support subscriptions across the board, including categories like Top News and Sports.

New iOS Updates

A number of big updates are part of the latest addition to iOS, including new looks for Maps and Music, along with stronger emphasis on 3D Touch support.

The Debut of Apple Pay On the Web

Finally, Apple Pay will become much easier for consumers to use, including better TouchID Authentication and being able to pay for services through Safari.

These and a number of other great features are on the way, and Apple is likely to have more revealed as WWDC continues onward this week.

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NASCAR Drivers Are At The Wheel Of Mountain Dew’s VR Game

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NASCAR drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne and Chase Elliott are helping Mountain Dew and its caffeine-craving fans drive the soda company’s latest campaign in DEWcision 2016 through a game in virtual reality.

The choose-your-own adventure VR gaming experience puts Mountain Dew’s fans at the wheel of immersion and asks them to choose which of their favorite flavors—Mtn Dew Baja Blast or Mtn Dew Pitch Black—will earn a place on retail shelves after the summer.

“In the past, Mtn Dew Baja Blast and Mtn Dew Pitch Black have only been available as limited-time offerings, and when they go off the shelves, Dew Nation has been very vocal, asking for us to bring them back,” Stinson Parks, Mountain Dew’s digital marketing manager, told [a]listdaily. “With DEWcision 2016, Dew is putting the power in the hands of our fans and giving them a chance to make their voices heard, with a vote that only they can make happen.”

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The experience, available on Samsung Gear VR and through YouTube 360, is running parallel to the presidential election, making it a timely one for the soda brand. Mountain Dew also partnered with Shazam to launch their VR player and facilitate the music identification app’s first-ever VR content so that fans can scan a bottle of Baja Blast or Pitch Black Dew with their phone to unlock short-form Dew VR content.

This is the second straight year Dew has tapped Earnhardt Jr. for a VR video. In 2015, the two-time Daytona 500 winner brought viewers to the Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee.

“I think VR is the future of video games,” Earnhardt Jr. said, per USA Today. “It puts the fans in a VR environment. We’re right in there with them. They’ll be able to be on the race track with us. It’s going to be a lot of fun . . . It’s a different experience.”

Parks joined [a]listdaily to discuss Mountain Dew’s strategy in immersive experiences.

How does using VR and other immersive experiences best position Mountain Dew’s marketing efforts?

Mountain Dew has always been a cultural instigator, pushing the limits of what’s possible and embracing creativity whether that’s virtual reality, emerging social media campaigns, a new sport in drone racing, or progressing action sports through Dew Tour. It’s in our DNA to push the boundaries of what’s next and emerging technology has been a rewarding space to explore. As a company, we’re always exploring, seeking out, and even creating the next trend or diving into the newest technology. As marketers, we take risks to see great rewards.

How did NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne and Chase Elliott react to a simulated driving experience?

For this VR experience, Dew used motion capture technology to recreate a more realistic experience so that users feel like they’re really in the car with Dale, Kasey and Chase while wearing a virtual reality headset. This experience blurs the line between video games and marketing, all in VR. Dale and Chase were able to try out the VR experience first-hand at JR Motorsports Fan Day in Moorseville, North Carolina. Dale and Chase had a blast and couldn’t believe how realistic their likenesses were. They got a huge kick out of riding next to their virtual selves.

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Mountain Dew also used VR earlier this year at the 2016 NBA All-Star Game through the “Court Vision” installation. How is Mountain Dew leveraging new technologies?

The brand actually first started testing virtual reality content in early 2014 and since has produced three live action VR experiences that immerse fans in what they love most: Dew and action sports. This includes Dew VR Skate, Dew VR Snow and Dew VR Bristol—with the central theme focusing on access to adventures and experiences that might not otherwise be possible without future-forward technology. The DEWcision VR experience is the first time Dew is using VR as a content channel as part of a larger, integrated 360-degree campaign.

Brands are jumping on the VR and 360-video train daily. What is Mountain Dew’s strategy in this space? And how will you measure overall success?

Mountain Dew is excited to continue to delve into VR as an opportunity. We have plenty of other verticals within sports and lifestyle, and several other key partners and Dew talent that we can tap into and explore to bring more VR opportunities to life in the future. The possibilities are endless—Dew fans love sports, music, gaming, technology—and we’re excited to create more.

We know this field will continue to grow and Dew will continue to keep an eye on VR as our technology and software partners continue to evolve and launch new and exciting platforms for us to use to bring VR to Dew Nation.

We’ve seen great results with Dew VR and continue to find ways to scale the content for those outside of events, and for those without VR headsets. The experiences have debuted at top events such as Dew Tour, the U.S. Open of Snowboarding, and the Bristol Motor Speedway night race, giving thousands of fans onsite at each event the opportunity to experience Dew VR. Beyond on-site events, Dew VR experiences are showcased on every Samsung Gear VR headset on display at Best Buy. When Dew VR Snow launched, the content was trending on the Samsung Milk VR app as the most popular action sports VR experience. And, we were one of the first brands to upload VR content to Facebook 360.

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We believe that we’ll continue to see more and more consumers engaging with virtual reality and the introduction of new equipment and opportunities that will make the immersive experiences accessible for the masses. We continue to see the technology evolve, and will measure our success based on how well we can engage our target consumers.

For DEWcision specifically, we tied the VR experience directly back to the key metrics of driving awareness for the overall campaign and ultimately votes for your favorite flavor, which is what the campaign is all about.

How is Mountain Dew using social media, content and other storytelling tools to engage in new ways with consumers?

Being a digital instigator on new platforms is something we always try to do and is very much a part of who we are as a brand. When using new features and jumping on technologies, we want to experiment and introduce new things to our fan group in a memorable, engaging way. We also want to tell our brand stories on the platforms and spaces where our consumers are. As that evolves ever more rapidly, so will we.

Mountain Dew was one of the first brands to activate on Periscope, Twitter Autoplay, the Instagram portrait-landscape format, create breakthrough content on Snapchat during this year’s Super Bowl, and was one of the first brands to use the Snapchat Lenses feature.

Follow Manouk Akopyan on Twitter @Manouk_Akopyan

 

NPD: ‘Uncharted’ And ‘Doom’ Dominate May 2016 Sales

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The NPD Group has released sales figures for the month of May 2016, and while Blizzard’s popular multiplayer shooter Overwatch found a secure spot despite its short time on the market, the period belonged to Bethesda’s Doom and Sony’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.

Liam Callahan reported that overall sales saw an increase by four percent during the month, tallying $19.3 million, with an 18 percent growth in physical software.

“As we head into E3 2016, it is encouraging to see such a healthy install base of the Xbox One and PS4, which currently have 43 percent higher cumulative unit sales than their predecessors at the same point in their lifecycles,” said Callahan.

Meanwhile, software sales crowned a new king: Sony’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End for PlayStation 4. The final go-around for Nathan Drake proved to be the month’s biggest seller, which is a surprise considering how it’s a single platform exclusive. “Uncharted 4 also marked the best first month of sales for any game in the Uncharted series after Uncharted 3, which is remarkable given the fact that it launched during the holiday period (in November 2011),” said Callahan.

“The success of Uncharted helped Sony rank as the leading software publisher for May 2016.  Year to date, driven by the success of Tom Clancy’s The Division, Ubisoft is the top-selling software publisher,” he added.

Close behind in second place was Bethesda’s new version of Doom, which was a big hit for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. “Doom (2016) ranked second for May 2016 sales on a unit basis and had the best first month of sales for any game in the franchise when combining sales across platforms—exceeding sales of Doom 3‘s launch on the PC in August 2004,” noted Callahan.

May was also a good month for Blizzard’s heavily hyped Overwatch. Although it sits in third place, it actually sold big numbers in the last week of the month. “Overwatch was the third best-selling game for May with only a few days on the market,” said Callahan. “When comparing Overwatch sales for days in the market, this title doubled the sales of Doom.”

Callahan also noted that video game point and subscription card sales rose by eight percent, and May 2016 was the best month to date for them. Accessories also did well, with headsets and headphones increasing sales by 18 percent, totaling more than $3.3 million dollars over the previous year.

Several other favorite games rounded out the top ten, including Battleborn, Grand Theft Auto V, Minecraft, NBA 2K16, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, MLB The Show 16 and Dark Souls III.

Apple’s App Store Will Soon Get Search Ads

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App developers for Apple’s devices are about to get a major boost in exposure, thanks to a new search ads program.

Apple confirmed the debut of these new ads yesterday, set to release this fall on the App Store. With that, both developers and companies will have a way to promote their apps in a non-intrusive manner, so that interested consumers can check them out and quickly download them to their device of choice.

The ads will appear on the top of the main app store page, with a number of targeting features to help users find similar apps to the ones they’re looking for. These will be done through names and keywords, setting up the ideal advertising slot for a developer to promote a specific app.

However, the program will be careful when it comes to recommendations, and will avoid suggesting an app that a user may already have on their device. Apple will also use both demographic and location-based data to suggest local companies when relevant. Relevance will play a big part, so users don’t get flooded with apps they’ll never use, according to the company. Their user tracking won’t be used for recommendations either, as no data will be taken from other apps.

“Over 65 percent of downloads come directly from searches on the App Store,” the report noted, indicating that various targeting features will play a part when it comes to specific application suggestions.

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Better still, advertisers will only need to pay if a user taps their ad. There’s also an auction system in place to assure that market pricing doesn’t go through the roof. Apple will also make sure that Search Ads are based on certain demographics, such as specific keyword selection, audience targeting and APIs based across management, reporting and campaign creation.

All taken together, this could be quite a useful tool for both Apple and its advertisers when it launches this fall.

SuperData: MMO And MOBA Game Market To Reach Nearly $20 Billion

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The MMO/MOBA gaming market is massive right now, thanks to the immense popularity of games like DOTA 2 and League of Legends, which continuously bring in millions of players daily. According to SuperData, revenues are actually a lot bigger than some people might think.

The company’s latest report, The MMO and MOBA Games Market 2016, details how the worldwide revenue for the market is expected to jump over 13 percent for this year. As a result, that will put it at nearly $20 billion overall, mainly driven by increases in both MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) games and collectible card titles (like Hearthstone).

SuperData also reports that free-to-play games are heavily popular in this market, with six of the top-ten grossing games utilizing this format. All together, they make up 86 percent of total revenue for MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) games.

League of Legends is a defining leader in the report, making $150 million monthly with nearly 100 million players worldwide, with a majority of players in the Asian market.

MMO

“Generally, more than a third of MMO gamers play a title for more than one-and-a-half years before quitting, so maximizing revenue from experienced players is critical,” says Joost van Dreunen, CEO for SuperData. “Keeping the player engaged with new content, daily challenges and the ability to manipulate the in-game environment will decrease their likelihood to abandon the game for another title.”

While returning players have a big part in the market, so do new players, as 84 percent of those playing within thee first month are likely to make some form of purchase, including boosts and in-game currency. Expansion packs also do fairly well, but mainly with those that check out what the game’s content has to offer first.

Players keep coming back to familiar titles like League of Legends, and the report notes that they play an average of five sessions a week, each lasting about 1.9 hours.

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There are those that leave the market, and they tend to do so as groups, with 34 percent noting they leave a title behind mainly because “friends stop playing.” Approximately 81 percent enjoy playing with others they know, and 58 percent follow their friends and family over to a new title they’re introduced to.

As for MMO games in general, their future appears to rest in the free-to-play sector. “By the end of the year, free-to-play gamers will make up 93 percent of all MMO players,” said van Dreunen. “We have seen many subscription-based MMOs shifting to the free-to-play model, especially those that already had in-game purchasing opportunities.”

Activision Bringing Back ‘Call Of Duty XP’ Community Event

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It has been five years, but Activision is bringing back the Call of Duty XP event in a big way, and it’s just in time to promote Infinite Warfare and the Call of Duty: World League.

The publisher has announced that it will bring back the popular fan event, which was last held in 2011. Call of Duty XP will take place from September 2-4 in Los Angeles, where fans can partake in a number of Infinite Warfare activities, including trying out the multiplayer features for the first time. But a huge focus of the event will be on the final round of the Call of Duty: World League eSports tournament, in which the best players from around the world will compete for more than $2 million in prizes.

In addition to going hands-on with Infinite Warfare and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered, fans can also take part in other themed experiences, including Zombie Laser Tag, Nuketown paintball (featuring one of the most popular maps in the series, recreated as an actual arena), a yet to be announced “surprise musical guest” (2011 had Kanye West), and a number of panels featuring Call of Duty developers, including Infinite Warfare’s team at Infinity Ward.

“Call of Duty XP is going to be the biggest Call of Duty fan celebration in history,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “The best Call of Duty players in the world will be front and center trying to win the first Call of Duty World League Championship at what is sure to be our biggest eSports event ever. Plus, fans will be able to see and play more hands-on content and reveals in one place than we’ve ever had, from Infinite Warfare, to Modern Warfare Remastered to Black Ops III DLC. Plus, there will be an off-the-charts list of Call of Duty inspired activities that you can’t experience anywhere else.”

Sony Interactive Entertainment America, Activision’s partner with the World League, will also be playing a big part in the event. It will help host a PlayStation VR experience, in which players can climb into the Jackal, a flying vehicle featured in Infinite Warfare.

“As a presenting partner of the Call of Duty World League, it’s been exciting to watch these talented teams compete and we’re looking forward to the culmination of the tournament during the Call of Duty Championship. We’re also thrilled to be bringing PlayStation VR to the amazing lineup of event activities, where fans will experience the thrill of piloting their own Jackal fighter jet,” said Adam Boyes, VP of Publisher Relations, Sony Interactive Entertainment America. “We’re proud to partner with Activision and Call of Duty on the return of this historic fan celebration and this can’t miss Call of Duty community gathering.”

Tickets for the event will go on sale this Saturday, ranging from $49 to $199, with a number of goodies—including a copy of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (and Modern Warfare Remastered)—available at the higher tiers.

Activision will also broadcast select events from the show, as well as the final rounds of the World League, through both its Twitch and YouTube channels over the course of the weekend.

VR Could Grow To Profitability Faster Than ESports

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Virtual reality was a big theme at this year’s Game Developer’s Conference, and it will get a strong focus next week at E3, but Wedbush Securities’ analyst Michael Pachter believes it’ll be a while for the technology to be fully adopted by the public. Nevertheless, it will eventually become quite profitable to game publishers–perhaps even more so than eSports, he stated in an interview with GamesIndustry International.

“We expect VR HMDs to sell fewer than 5 million units in 2016, and expect to see that sales figure double in 2017 and to double again in 2018. Once the installed base of HMDs has reached 20 million or so, it is possible that one or more of our covered publishers will begin to monetize its IP and to generate profits from virtual reality,” Pachter explained. He feels that VR will take about three to five years to get up to speed on success, according to the report.

“ESports is also a 2016 event, but the path to revenue and profitability is probably farther off than it is for virtual reality,” he noted. “We expect the publishers to take baby steps with eSports, investing modest sums sponsoring and promoting tournaments, as each endeavors to find the right balance of opportunity. Over the next 5-10 years, we think that eSports can generate eyeballs and revenues that are on par with established sports such as NBA basketball or Major League Baseball.” He did make note, that the eSports angle is only for particular publishers, and that it continues to be a strong revenue generator worldwide.

However, the fascinating thing about eSports, according to Pachter, is the different approaches by publishers. The most prominent example is Activision acquiring Major League Gaming, while EA is looking “at eSports as an opportunity to drive interest in its games, similar to the way that AYSO soccer drivers purchases of athletic shoes and uniforms.

“On balance, we favor EA’s approach, as we believe it is a more realistic, albeit less lucrative, near-term opportunity. We think that by sponsoring tournaments, EA can create a pyramid of different skill levels, with entry-level players at the bottom of the pyramid and professional players at the top. This is analogous to soccer, with hundreds of millions playing in youth soccer leagues and only several hundred players playing professionally. As players progress to higher levels in the pyramid, EA is making a bet that they will be more active players of the underlying eSports game, and will spend ever-increasing amounts for the game itself, on downloadable content for the game, and on microtransactions that will enhance their gaming experience,” Pachter added.

“Activision’s approach, on the other hand, appears to rely upon its ability to generate fan and viewing interest in tournaments based on its popular Call of Duty, StarCraft II, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm and recently released Overwatch brands. We think that the company’s desire to be ‘the ESPN of eSports’ is misguided; in our view, if anyone will be the ESPN of eSports, it’s likely to be ESPN itself. It is important to note that neither FIFA nor the NFL, owners of the two most watched televised sports in existence, generate significant revenues from their proprietary broadcasts of their respective sports on their own television networks. Instead, the sports leagues generate the bulk of their television revenues from licensing the rights to broadcast to the various broadcast networks.”

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UploadVR Academy Is Kicking VR Content Creation Into High Gear

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The rapid growth of virtual reality (VR) has naturally led to a strong demand for developers, preferably those with knowledge of VR development. With the industry being so new, very few people have experience working with VR. What’s a company to do? Fortunately, there’s at least one answer emerging. UploadVR has teamed with Make School to create the UploadVR Academy, an intense 10-week boot camp-like course for advanced developers to learn how to build desktop and mobile VR games using Unity.

It’s important for marketers to understand VR development issues around VR content, because these can affect promotional efforts. Asking for changes in VR content may or may not be a minor thing depending on what you’re asking for, so more knowledge about what goes into creating VR content can help avoid problems.

Beyond working with the development team more effectively, marketers can use VR development knowledge as part of marketing content. As VR is so new, stories about VR development can be fascinating both within the industry and to the greater audience.

Taylor Freeman, CEO at UploadVR, spoke with [a]listdaily about the UploadVR Academy and how it will get developers on the fast-track for creating more content to support VR hardware.

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Why did you decide to create the UploadVR Academy?

Upload exists to accelerate the VR industry and support the VR ecosystem. As the VR industry expands, more developers will be needed to create exciting VR content. Upload created the academy to fill this need and facilitate a developer recruitment pipeline into top VR companies.

With VR still so early in its development as an industry, was it difficult to find experienced instructors?

There are definitely not too many people out there right now who could teach a course of this caliber! We have a pretty extensive network and knowledge of the industry, so it wasn’t too difficult to find instructors. We were happy to be able to secure Sky Nite, author of Virtual Reality Insider, and Ben Taylor, Unity Expert, to lead the course.

What will participants learn about VR in this boot camp, and what jobs will they be ready to fill when they complete the course?

Participants will learn how to build VR games and experiences in the Unity 3D engine. Development for VR requires a diverse range of skill sets, including coding, 3D manipulation, rational architecture, and more. In addition to this technical knowledge, students will learn in an interdisciplinary approach in all areas relevant to being a knowledgeable VR professional, such as Futurology, Information Theory, Industry Trends, Project Management, Design, etc.

When they complete the course, they will be ready to immediately fill a job looking for a Unity VR Developer (the most popular development engine by far), and will be able to transfer their knowledge to other engines and roles in a short amount of time.

Will the coursework cover mobile VR as well as high-end VR creation?

The course curriculum will focus on the high-end, VR creation for HTC Vive.

How will you market the UploadVR Academy, and what is the profile of the students you expect to enroll?

We are marketing the VR Academy through the Upload Global Network and social media channels. Our typical VR Summer Academy student will be a computer science undergraduate or graduate student, a software engineer, or a game developer. They’ve had 2+ years of programming experience. They are passionate about building things and have a portfolio of software projects to show us.

What’s the future look like for VR, and what role does the UploadVR Academy play in that future?

The future of AR/VR is the digitization of reality itself, the merger of the digital and physical worlds. In order for this future to come to fruition, we need to get people excited and engaging with VR at its early stage. The best way to get people excited about VR today is through compelling VR content, which developers need to build.

The VR Academy creates a consistent pipeline of quality developers that top VR companies can rely on for recruitment and expansion of their development teams. This will accelerate the VR industry and wide-scale adoption of immersive technology.