HTC Vive and Warner Bros. Pictures have announced an exclusive VR partnership for the theatrical release of Steven Spielberg’s upcoming film, Ready Player One, starring Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg and Mark Rylance.
If you’re not familiar with the book, Ready Player One is a 2011 sci-fi action thriller written by Ernest Cline that takes place in the year 2044. The world has been ravaged by an energy crises from depletion of fossil fuels and global warming. To escape their dismal situation, people turn to a VR simulator accessible with headsets, haptic gloves and bodysuits.
For many VR enthusiasts, Ready Player One is considered “essential reading” for discussions about the future of VR in our real world. The film is scheduled to be released on March 30, 2018, from Warner Bros. Pictures, Amblin Partners and Village Roadshow Pictures. The exclusive arrangement between HTC and Warner Bros. means that HTC will be the VR partner for all content experiences, online and offline for the movie.
Multiple VR experiences based on the movie will be produced exclusively for the Vive and will be available through Viveport, where content will be distributed globally to all VR platforms. Vive will also bring Ready Player One inspired experiences to it’s Viveport Arcade platform for location based entertainment as well as showcase the VR experiences and games at some of the biggest global consumer events throughout the year.
“Vive is the perfect partner to bring that to life and also has the broadest reach to global markets for the use of VR in home, mobile and offline channels,” said Blair Rich, President, Worldwide Marketing, Warner Bros. Pictures. “We’re delighted that HTC Vive will be partnering with Ready Player One and very excited to work with them leading up the movie’s release in Spring 2018.”
“Ready Player One is one of the most anticipated movies in the world, and has tremendous potential to engage and entertain the worldwide market, showcasing the transformative nature of VR, and what it can and will be,” said Rikard Steiber, President, Viveport. “Vive is delivering on the promise of VR and continues to be the most advanced and immersive VR experience available to consumers, and we’re thrilled to be partnering with Warner Bros. to bring these experiences to consumers, on all platforms, around the globe.”
Last month, we saw an early glimpse of filming on set Ready Player One, and how VR headsets may look in the final release.
Leaked Movie Set Footage: Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One
Full Vid: https://t.co/z8YidxPYzd pic.twitter.com/UoKCIYRS6U— VRScout (@VRScout) February 27, 2017
