Heads up, VR devs: HTC has its own virtual reality storefront, the Viveport, and after launching it successfully in China earlier this year it’s now preparing to open a beta version up to devs ahead of a global rollout this fall.
Viveport is interesting because it’s effectively competing with Steam, which most Vive owners currently use to purchase and run their VR games. However, HTC seems to have been very careful about not painting Viveport as a Steam competitor, preferring to market it more as a general-purpose storefront for VR experiences.
Back in January, when HTC was gearing up to launch Viveport in China, HTC’s Shen Ye reportedly stated during a livestreamed Q&A session that “the HTC store is more of an option for people who can’t use Steam.” He went on to note that “you’ll be able to use it anywhere, but if you take a look at China, for example….Steam doesn’t really have that much user base there.”
According to a Viveport FAQ, games will also be sold on the storefront — but only on Viveport China. HTC claims Viveport is an official, government-sanctioned distribution platform in China, and in the same FAQ offers publishing services to developers looking to release their VR projects in China.
Curious developers seeking more details on Viveport and an opportunity to sign up for its developer beta can find both over on HTC’s Viveport dev portal.