Acer joins work on high-end VR headset for theme parks

Acer is joining forces with the game studio Starbreeze to develop a high-end virtual reality headset designed for arcades and theme parks. Starbreeze has already been showcasing the headset, called StarVR, for the past year; going forward, development of StarVR will be a collaboration between the two companies.

StarVR's standout feature is its wide field of vision, which is supposed to more closely mimic what a person can see in real life, down to their peripheral vision. Starbreeze designed its headset to have a 210-degree field of view — far wider than the 110-degree field of view on the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

Acer is also designing computers to power StarVR

Bringing Acer on board gives Starbreeze a partner that's far more knowledgable about hardware development, which could be necessary to quickly and efficiently build and scale the headsets it's been developing. Acer is also designing desktops and laptops that are designed to power StarVR headsets.

The companies say that StarVR will be used by "the professional- and location-based entertainment market," which means they expect to see these outside the home. Virtual-reality theme parks are already becoming a reality; and Acer and Starbreeze seemingly hope to tap into that market by offering a far more immersive VR experience than what you'd find at home.

• SourceStarbreeze