Try and never buy: Viveport gives HTC Vive users five games a month for $7

By Jon Martindale Published April 7, 2017

In line with similar promotions like Xbox’s Games with Gold and PlayStation Plus, HTC announced its Vivport Subscription which, for $7 a month, gives HTC Vive owners access to several games of their choice. The promotion will let users pick five apps from a selection of 50 and they can change them once a month.

One of the biggest drawbacks with virtual reality games is that until you play them, it’s hard to know what they are like. 2D screenshots and trailers barely do traditional games justice, let alone fully realized virtual worlds. With that in mind, HTC is looking to make it easier to try out a number of titles through Viveport, its VR storefront.

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Launching on Wednesday, a year to the day after the original release of the HTC Vive virtual reality headset, the Viveport Subscription will give VR gamers access to content that they may not have otherwise paid for.

Although the precise lineup of titles available has yet to be announced, HTC hinted at a handful through its Viveport homepage. On the Viveport Subscription slider image, we can see games and experiences like Stonehenge VR, Lumen, Arcade Artist, Mars Odyssey, Russian Coasters VR, Richie’s Plank Experience, and more.

We’re told that there will be 50 games to choose from, with the selection changing month to month and including everything from short VR experiences, to full-blown games. The idea will be to give people a chance to demo the odd game before buying, or hang on to favorites for a few months instead of having to pay for everything.

Every HTC Vive owner will be given a free month trial of the subscription service, as well as a free copy of Arcade Saga. However, from then on, each month will cost users $7 to remain part of the subscription service. Forbes reports that HTC believes as many as half of all Vive owners will join up, which with an estimated 500,000 headset owners out in the wild, would represent a nice little revenue stream for HTC.

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