This past year has been a huge one for the Star Wars franchise, with The Force Awakens earning over $2 billion worldwide at the box office, and games like Star Wars: Battlefront and Disney Infinity 3.0 selling well. It appears that the franchise will be taking extra steps to bring fans closer to a galaxy far, far away using virtual reality.
Engadget recently reported that a new trailer for a Star Wars-related virtual reality experience for the HTC Vive was leaked for a short time on YouTube before being removed. Dubbed Trials On Tattooine: A Cinematic Virtual Reality Experiment, it looks to be the project Industrial Light & Magic Experience Lab was working on when the division launched with this trailer last year.
This isn’t Star Wars‘ first foray into the world of virtual reality, as the Star Wars mobile app added the Jakku Spy VR game last fall to help further promote the launch of The Force Awakens. However, this experience (intended for high-end headsets like the HTC Vive) promises much greater immersion, with the screenshot below indicating that users will get to fight in an interactive lightsaber duel.
A launch date for Trials On Tattooine hasn’t been given yet, but signs point to an April 5th debut. Not only is that the day that the HTC Vive will launch in market, but also the day that Star Wars: The Force Awakens releases on Blu-Ray and DVD. So, the timing is perfect for both Star Wars and Vive fans.
When it comes to potential virtual reality projects to blow consumers away, The Force is certainly strong with Star Wars.
UPDATE: A new teaser has become available online, confirming that Trials On Tattooine is officially on the way.
