Powers United VR will put you right in the Marvel universe

Disney and Oculus have announced a new virtual reality title that will put gamers right in the middle of the Marvel universe, though you're going to have to wait a while to play it: Marvel Powers United VR is set to launch at some point during 2018.

Made by Oculus and Sanzaru Games, the game is going to be exclusive to the Oculus Rift, and is focused on cooperative play - you dive in with your online gaming buddies, take on the identity of one of the Marvel universe characters, and work on missions together.

Three of those characters have been announced already: The Hulk, Captain Marvel and Rocket Raccoon. Additional characters are going to be announced next week at Comic-Con, Disney says, and attendees will be able to get some hands-on time with the game.

"Step inside the Marvel Universe and rage through epic battles alongside three of your friends," says the Oculus team. "With full locomotion, smart comfort options, and more than a dozen playable characters ripped from the pages of your favorite comics, this is hands-down one of the most action-packed games coming in 2018."

The launch trailer only shows off brief snippets of gameplay but it looks to be the usual bright and busy VR fare. If you've always wanted to climb into virtual reality and smash down a pair of Oculus Touch controllers like The Hulk's fists, next year you'll get the chance.

Other details are thin on the ground but the game does have its own landing page that reveals Ronan The Accuser as one of the villains of the piece. We'll have to wait and see whether the lure of Marvel's superhero characters is going to be enough to pull more people into VR gaming.

David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.