Striker VR, a leading supplier of haptic VR guns for virtual reality arcades, has successfully raised $4 million to fund its move to the consumer market.
Currently, the company’s peripheral can be found only in public-facing VR arcades, such as those ran by Nomadic. Striker VR revealed to Road to VR that the newly secured funds from third-party investors will be used to double its staff over the next year as it prepares for the launch of a brand-new VR gun aimed exclusively at the consumer VR market segment.
No details have been revealed yet except for a 3D render showing what the gun might look like. A more careful examination of the render reveals that the gun has a trackpad on each side and what seems like additional capacitive inputs above the trigger.
The gun should support both PC VR and Oculus Quest. The company may integrate SteamVR Tracking directly into the peripheral and offer a way for Quest users to use the Quest controller as a tracker by attaching it to the gun.
Striker VR’s existing haptic guns, such as the Arena Infinity, use large linear actuators to deliver an immersive experience, so the company’s first consumer-oriented gun might use the same technology. However, the company will likely have to cut some corners for the peripheral to cost less than $500, the current target price point.
If all goes well and the gun becomes available to consumers, Striker VR will still have to somehow convince developers to actually support it. So far, no other company has managed to do so in the PC VR space, but the PS Aim accessory has seen relatively broad adoption by PSVR developers, supporting titles such as Arizona Sunshine and Doom VFR.
