HTC, the smartphone manufacturer-turned-virtual reality headset maker, with its release of the HTC Vive, is undergoing another transformation.
The company is now also starting out as a video game developer as it is set to unveil Front Defense, a game for the HTC Vive, at next week's Computex trade show in Taiwan.
The Computex trade show will feature several big-name hardware manufacturers, with HTC among the ones included. Interestingly, the company has decided to unveil Front Defense at this event, perhaps banking on the fact that it might be the only virtual reality game featured in the trade show.
HTC made the announcement through its official website, and its translation reveals that Front Defense will require players to battle against waves of enemies armed with different kinds of weapons, including pistols, rifles and rocket launchers.
While this type of game is not the first one for virtual reality, HTC had plenty of time to work on it. As such, the game could have a few surprises in store for gamers, despite HTC not really having that much experience in working with video games.
The company, however, clarified that it is not HTC that's developing the title per se, but rather a startup named Fantahorn Studio. The independent developer's team includes current employees of HTC, with the company sponsoring the studio as an internal startup that is focused on developing virtual reality content for the HTC Vive.
Once Front Defense is released, it will not be distributed in the same way Oculus does with its exclusive games for the Oculus Rift. As with all other HTC Vive games, it will be available for purchase through Steam.
Front Defense is expected to roll out within the year, and the sneak peek into the title at the upcoming Computex trade show will show gamers what to expect from HTC's first internally developed virtual reality game.
HTC will be sponsoring many more startups focused on virtual reality through its Vive X global accelerator program, which holds funds of $100 million. HTC is looking to boost the global ecosystem for virtual reality, with the funding to give rise to more content creators for virtual reality and the HTC Vive platform.
