Valve Speaks Out Against VR Platform Exclusivity

Just like smartphones, consoles, and computers, exclusive software and features can make a product more compelling. Take for example BBM back in the day when it used to be exclusive to BlackBerry. However when it comes to new technology such as virtual reality, Valve doesn’t seem to be in favor of being platform exclusive.

According to an email exchange with Valve’s Gabe Newell and a Redditor (which has since been verified by several publications), it seems that Newell isn’t too big a fan of platform exclusive games when it comes to virtual reality. He talks about how Valve is helping developers fund their games, and that the funding does not come with strings attached i.e. creating games only for the HTC Vive.

Newell was quoted as saying, “However there are no strings attached to those funds. They can develop for the Rift or PlayStation VR or whatever the developer thinks are the right target VR systems. Our hope is that by providing that funding that developers will be less likely to take on deals that require them to be exclusive.”

As it stands other competing headsets like the Oculus Rift does have exclusive games, which have been ported onto the HTC Vive, which we can only imagine Oculus can’t be too pleased about. There is also the PlayStation VR which as its name suggests, will only be usable with the PlayStation and PlayStation VR titles, at least for now.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Gaming
Tags: HTC Vive, Valve, Virtual Reality (VR)