When Valve first announced that it was working to bring the HTC Vive VR headset to market, two things stood out; it would release a consumer version by the end of this year, and it would be offering developers the ability to get developer kits for free. True to its word, Valve announced in a blog post that it is opening up applications for developers, who can head over to the application page and apply for a kit right now.
For any consumers thinking they might like to apply as a developer just so they can get their hands on a device, the application calls for quite a few specifics in hopes to make sure that only legitimate developers apply. Things like details on the VR project, when the developer plans to release, and the size of the team are asked for.
Valve will be looking over those factors to decide which teams will get a headset, and the company advises “all interested developers, big and small” to apply for a headset, so if you’re out there legitimately working on a game, even with a small team, you should definitely try to get in and apply for one so you can get your experience ready for the launch later this year.
On its blog, Valve said, “Our goal is to support as many VR content creators as possible and, to that end, we will be distributing dev kits continually, with new units going out every couple weeks. However, supplies may be limited.”
Valve did affirm that commercial units will be available later this year, so it appears that plans are rolling as originally intended. Of course, shipping developer kits at the middle of the year and releasing at the end of the year doesn’t leave a lot of time for developers to create experiences, so it will be interesting to see what kind of games and demos are available during the consumer launch.
