The Avengers of virtual reality? Oculus, EA and more form new VR alliance

Project Holodeck
Virtual reality, unite!

Marvel has The Avengers and DC has the Justice League, but the heavyweights of virtual reality tech will converge on San Francisco next week as part of a new alliance led by VR heroes big and small.

The new Immersive Technology Alliance has announced plans to rebrand the former Stereoscopic 3D Gaming Alliance with an expanded mandate, forming a new initiative aimed at delivering virtual reality technology to the masses.

ITA is a new supergroup headed up by companies of all shapes and sizes, from big guns such as EA all the way down to CastAR makers Technical Illusions, and everyone in-between.

Although maybe not as thrilling as seeing Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and the Hulk fight for justice on the big screen, ITA will be storming into San Francisco for the annual Game Developers Conference next week, presumably with no Loki or Chitauri in tow to muck up the works.

Get immersed

"Our reason for being is to make immersive technology successful. Our markets of interest include augmented reality, virtual reality, stereoscopic 3D, and everything in-between," the alliance explains on its official website.

The full list of more than 20 companies already committed to ITA - including Oculus VR and Virtuix - reads like a who's who of the gaming industry, but also includes a few curious additions such as Panasonic, Epson and HDMI.

But it's not just all about gaming; the non-profit aims to be a "non-proprietary representative" for the entire VR industry, which includes filmmakers as well as game studios.

The Immersive Technology Alliance will launch during a private session at the Game Developers Conference March 18 at 9:15 a.m. PDT/4:15 p.m. GMT.

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Via Engadget