Virtual reality is set to take a big hold this year, with the PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive ready to make their market debuts over the next few months. With that, the publishers at Ubisoft are looking to expand its reach into the virtual market, not only with recently announced games like its upcoming Eagle Flight on PlayStation VR, but also with original content.
Ubisoft has announced today that it has partnered with SpectreVision to create, develop and produce original and interactive virtual reality programming, just in time to kick off the Sundance Film Festival.
The development studio, founded by actor Elijah Wood and partners Daniel Noah and Josh C. Waller, has already shown off its creative vision with notable film releases last year, includingA Girl Walks Home Alone at Night and the zombie comedy Cooties. No doubt that kind of visceral content will easily translate to virtual reality.
“We’re thrilled to partner with an industry leader like Ubisoft to explore the innovative and burgeoning technology that is virtual reality,” says SpectreVision’s CEO Lisa Whalen. “The diversity of Ubisoft’s portfolio of titles from Assassin’s Creed to Zombi, makes for an ideal partnership with SpectreVision’s varied creative vision, as evidenced in (its previous films). Together, we can tell an infinite number of unique stories in a bold and original new format.”
Wood also chimed in on the partnership. “As a longtime gamer, I’m first and foremost a fan and admirer of Ubisoft,” he said. “So to be collaborating with them within the realm of VR is an incredible treat!”
“We’re thrilled to be working with the team at SpectreVision on an interactive VR experience,” said Patrick Plourde, Vice President at Ubisoft Montreal. “Their expertise in the horror film genre is exciting for us as a developer of interactive entertainment and we’re looking forward to a collaboration that will ultimately offer fans an unforgettable virtual reality experience.”
SpectreVision will work closely with Ubisoft’s FunHouse Studio in Montreal on the content, although no projects have been revealed as of yet.
The partnership is an ideal one, as it provides yet another venue for Ubisoft to continue its push into both mainstream media and virtual reality. We could very well see some Assassin’s Creed oriented content that ties in with the company’s film adaptation (pictured above), which features Michael Fassbender and is set to arrive sometime this holiday season.
We’ll see what the future holds for these partners over the next few months. An interactive version of Cooties would certainly be…interesting, to say the least.
