A trio of blockbuster games - "DOOM," "Fallout 4," and "Skyrim" - are scheduled to arrive on high-end virtual reality headsets by the end of 2017. All three games are from publisher Bethesda Softworks; the release dates were announced via blog post on Tuesday.
Here's a look at "Fallout 4" being played on PC with an HTC Vive headset:
Bethesda Softworks
You can see the outline of the Vive controller, used as a hand to pick up this power armor helmet.
Notably, "Fallout 4" is only heading to the PC-powered HTC Vive headset; the game is also available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but won't be playable in VR on either platform. "Fallout 4 VR" is scheduled to launch on December 12.
In the cases of "Skyrim" and "DOOM VFR," the games are heading to both the HTC Vive and the PlayStation 4-powered PlayStation VR headset. "Skyrim VR" is identical to the original game, first released in 2011 - instead of playing the game on a TV from first-person, you are the first-person in question when you're in VR.
With "DOOM VFR," the game is a spin-off of the outrageously good 2016 re-launch of the "DOOM" franchise.
You're still shooting and ripping monsters to pieces, but this time you'll be doing so from a variety of different perspectives. Instead of the traditional "DOOM Marine" player character, this time you're playing as a doctor who dies early on in the story. He transfers his consciousness to a computer, thus enabling him to jump from being to being. The extremely high-speed movement from "DOOM" is being tempered by a teleportation system - enemies seemingly rush you less than in last year's game.
Here's the full list of release dates and platforms:
- "Skyrim VR": November 17 for PlayStation VR (PlayStation 4)
- "DOOM VFR": December 1 for PlayStation VR (PlayStation 4), HTC Vive (PC)
- "Fallout 4 VR": December 12 for HTC Vive (PC)
Each game supports VR headsets and motion controllers - you'll literally throw fireballs in "Skyrim VR," for instance. Try not to throw your PlayStation Move controller across the room!