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Netflix for VR: HTC Vive Bringing Unlimited VR Gaming Starting at $9 a Month
HTC Vive today revealed that its upcoming subscription service, Viveport Infinity, which will offer unlimited access to virtual reality (VR) apps and games, will be available starting on April 2 for $12.99 a month or $99 for a year. However, early adopters can access the service for as little as $8.99 a month for 2019.
Viveport Infinity will boast a library of more than 600 titles at launch, with more expected to debut in the future and will also offer subscribers a number of perks. Viveport Infinity will be compatible with HTC Vive products, including the HTC Vive and Vive Pro headsets, Oculus Rift and "any standalone headset" built on its Wave platform.
Other perks for Viveport Infinity subscribers include a 10 percent Viveport coupon at the beginning of every month, free titles, weekend deals and access to a "revamped Viveport Video application" that won't be available to non-subscribers. It's like Netflix for VR with a rewards program.
If you sign up for a free trial before the April 2 launch or are already a Viveport subscriber, you'll pay $8.99 until the end of 2019. So anyone interested in the service might want to consider signing up early.
HTC Vive will also celebrate the subscription service's launch with a sale on more than 100 titles in the Viveport store between April 2 and 7.
The announcement follows rumors that companies like Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Google and many others plan to introduce similar offerings. Everyone wants to be the "Netflix for" their market, and because HTC Vive's is VR, it makes sense for it to work on 'Netflix for VR' with something like Viveport Infinity.
But HTC Vive isn't new to the subscription game. The company introduced a monthly subscription option to its Viveport content distribution platform in April 2017. However, the service was limited in the content in which it offered access and how often it could be used. Viveport Infinity nixes both of those restrictions.
The company's also changing its revenue split with developers from the standard 70 percent / 30 percent (in developers' favor) also used by other subscription platforms to a more dev-friendly 80 / 20.
