Fans of the VR sports genre should be in for a treat.
Sports technology company StatusPRO today announced a new partnership with the National Football League to develop the organizations first official NFL game for VR headsets. Revealed during GDC 2022, the NFL-licensed simulator will put you in the cleats of a professional NFL player as you toss the pigskin around a virtual arena from an immersive first-person perspective.
“Today marks an important milestone for StatusPRO and the VR industry. By partnering with the NFL, we will offer a new form of engagement between athletes and fans unlike anything in the marketplace,”said Troy Jones, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of StatusPRO. “NFL football fans and gamers alike will be able to connect with the world of sports through authentic, immersive gaming products that democratize the experience of the professional athlete.”
Founded back in 2020 by Andrew “Hawk” Hawkins and Troy Jones, StatusPRO combines player data and immersive technology to deliver effective sports training experiences available anywhere at anytime. This past August the company raised $5.2 million in seed funding to expand its VR sports training technology while exploring new ways to connect fans with athletes.
“Virtual reality gaming is rapidly expanding and our partnership with StatusPRO allows us to explore a new immersive version of NFL gaming with support of the two largest VR platforms within this emerging space,” said Joe Ruggiero, SVP of Consumer Products at the NFL. “We are seeing a growing number of fans engaging with VR and we’re excited to launch the first-ever VR gaming title that complements our existing offerings in the market today.”
An official NFL VR experience is an excellent first step towards this goal. Not much is known about the game other than it will take advantage of StatusPRO’s sports technology to deliver a realistic football simulator on VR headsets. As for which platforms will receive support, StatusPRO states that the game will be available on Meta Quest and PlayStation VR. No word yet on an official release date.
Feature Image Credit: NFL
