A massive one in ten alpha testers of the highly anticipated Elite: Dangerous game are using VR headsets to play, with David Braben explaining to TechRadar why space adventures are a perfect world for the new technology.
Enabling Elite: Dangerous for Oculus Rift headsets as the MMO goes through its alpha testing phase has obviously been a success for Braben's Frontier Developments.
In fact, Braben told TechRadar at a recent event that many testers are using the virtual reality headset to play their way through the early builds of the new Elite world.
"We've got 10% of the alpha backers playing on Rift - and that's very interesting," said Braben.
"Obviously being an alpha backer was quite expensive but as we go into the beta phase we'll see that number decrease."
Res up
The current Oculus Rift headsets are dev kits, with a big upgrade in resolution for the second iteration, and Braben believes that this may push him from his current preference for a traditional screen.
"It's an interesting experience," he added. "I have been playing on a 2D screen but Oculus is very engaging.
"There are other headsets coming as well of course, but when Oculus moves to a higher definition that will make a big difference."
Elite: Dangerous is certainly shaping up to be an impressive game, building on the heritage of the iconic original Elite.
That game's success was built on the back of innovation and changing the very expectations on gaming worlds, and clearly the addition of VR headsets to the mix in this generation of gaming will look to be as transcendental.
