E3 2016: The biggest VR games news so far

Fallout 4, Star Wars Battlefront, Resident Evil & more are coming to virtual reality
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Last year's E3 was all about the hardware - Oculus Touch, PlayStation VR, Microsoft HoloLens. This time, it's games, games, games. And maybe a few bits and pieces of hardware.

The announcements have already well and truly started with Ubisoft, Bethesda and EA teasing and showing off new VR titles for PS VR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. We say new because a lot of these are existing franchises that will get reworked editions and modes for virtual reality.

We'll update this story throughout E3 with the biggest VR games news out of the expo.

Sony's betting big on VR

As expected, there was no console announced, and Sony decided to go all in showing trailer after trailer of amazing looking titles. Best of all, it looks like there's an even fuller roster of PS VR games headed our way in the fall.

Batman Arkam VR has you playing as the g-damn Batman so you can't go wrong with that. Sefton Hill, game director at Rocksteady Studios said in a press release: "The team is committed to delivering a Batman experience that stays true to the character and allows players to fully immerse themselves in the role of the World's Greatest Detective." You'll get to play as the Bat in October 2016, likely around the time the PS VR headset comes out on 13 October.

Resident Evil VII Biohazard has us shaking a little and looks like the series' scariest yet. It'll be awhile before you can play the horror title since it's slated for a 24 January release.

Few details were revealed about Star Wars Battlefront: X-Wing VR Mission, which is different than the other experience teased back in March. All we really know is there's lots of flying involved, Star Wars music and that it's coming out in October. Oh, and best of all, the game will be free for all owners of Star Wars Battlefront on PS4.

Speaking of space, Farpoint is another exciting looking game set in an alien world. After crash landing, you have to fight to survive as you explore and uncover the planet's secrets. Your only hope of escape is to keep moving to find your team. San Francisco based studio Impulse Gear even created a Sony approved peripheral for the Move controller so you can play the shooter more naturally.

Called the PS VR Aim Controller, the device offers direct 1 to 1 tracking, letting you aim in Farpoint just as you would in real life. Further details like release date have not been announced.

Final Fantasy XV is getting in on VR as well, but it seems like a shorter experience rather than a full fledged game. You'll still get to do a few things like play as Prompto and shoot monsters but don't expect too much. If anything, it'll be a DLC experience.

Microsoft's Project Scorpio is geared for VR

E3 2016: The biggest VR games news so far

There was no Xbox VR headset revealed and HoloLens was surprisingly absent from Microsoft's big press event but that didn't mean the show lacked good stuff.

While the new Xbox One S console stole the beginning of the show, Project Scorpio ended it on a high note. The heavy duty VR-capable machine is capable of 4K, 60fps and is powered by 6 TFLOPS GPU, 8-core CPU and 320GB of memory bandwidth.

All games and peripherals will work across the platform's family of Xbox devices meaning there will be no game left behind.

The one thing Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, didn't mention? Which VR headset is compatible with Scorpio.

The so-called 'beast' of a device will be available holiday 2017 where more details should be released along the way.

PC games get VR facelift

Serious Sam has been an old PC gaming staple and now it's coming to HTC Vive Steam Early Access this summer.

Killing Floor Incursion and Super Hot VR will also be arriving but on Oculus Touch - presumably when the controllers launch later this year.

Fallout 4 is coming to HTC Vive in 2017

E3 2016: The biggest VR games news so far

Bethesda's big VR news is that Fallout 4 is getting a VR version, due to launch for the HTC Vive next year. Pete Hines, its VP of PR and marketing, announced the news in Bethesda's E3 2016 press conference. Hines said: "We think that the greatest promise of VR is its ability to immerse players completely into virtual worlds, and that the best games for that experience will be first-person open-world RPGs."

It seems to be a coup for Vive, which currently lags behind Oculus for games, though we don't yet know how exclusive it will be or whether this is an adaptation or a new built-for-VR game. Demos will be happening this week at the LA expo.

Doom VR gets a demo

After Fallout 4 gets the VR treatment, Bethesda will turn its attention to a VR mode for Doom. Teasing E3 goers with a Doom VR experience, we haven't got any details on headsets or release dates yet so this one seems a bit further in the future than Fallout.

Ubisoft brings Star Trek: Bridge Crew

The official Star Trek VR title is launching this autumn for PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. Bridge Crew is a four player co-op game set in JJ Abrams' Star Trek universe developed by Red Storm Entertainment. We'll be playing as the captain or various officers aboard a Federation starship - gameplay includes activating the warp drive, scanning objects in space and broadcasting images to the ship.

Pre-E3, a few Star Trek actors - Karl Urban, Geordi La Forge and Jeri Ryan - tried a demo out for a promo video.

Additional writing by Sophie Charara

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Lily is a writer and editor specializing in tech, video games, marketing, education, travel writing, and creative fiction. 

She has over 10 years of experience covering the technology beat.

Lily has a passion for VR and AR technologies and was associate wearables editor at TechRadar US, before joining Wareable as US editor in 2016.

Lily will graduate in 2023 with an MFA in Creative Writing.

In her spare time, Lily can be found knee-deep in zine collaborations, novel writing, playing Dungeons & Dragons or hiking and foraging for mushrooms.


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