HTC VIVE And IGT Partner To Deliver World-Class Virtual Reality Casino Entertainment

SEATTLE and LONDON, March 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- HTC VIVE™, the leader in room-scale premium Virtual Reality ("VR"), and global gaming leader IGT today announced a partnership whereby IGT will leverage HTC VIVE Studios' world-class VR content within its "Virtual Zone" platform on casino floors. IGT's Virtual Zone is a competition arena designed for casino environments that enables casino patrons to compete against each other for cash prizes in spirited VR tournaments, and enjoy competitive VR games in a physical installation. This agreement marks HTC VIVE Studios' first foray into the casino entertainment industry and the completion of IGT's first market-ready VR solution.

"Arcade-like installations and experiences are skyrocketing across the globe as VR has proven to be a consistent traffic generator in entertainment venues," said Joel Breton, HTC VIVE VP Global Content. "By combining IGT's gaming expertise and the world's best VR in HTC VIVE, we are launching a combined platform that can deploy the best complete experiences for VR tournaments or stand-alone VR arcades. This is also a huge opportunity for more consumers to be exposed to amazing VR content."

"IGT's Virtual Zone represents an exciting evolution of modern-day casino entertainment, and an important step in diversifying IGT's portfolio with unique offerings that can differentiate our customers' casino floors and entertain a broad demographic of players," said Enrico Drago, IGT SVP Global Product Marketing Interactive, Betting & Licensing. "HTC VIVE's leadership in the VR space and commitment to developing unparalleled VR player experiences made it the ideal partner for IGT's first commercialized VR solution, the Virtual Zone."

IGT's Virtual Zone is now live at Boyd Gaming's The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The experience leverages HTC VIVE hardware, and solutions for a multiplayer competition allowing players to compete in real time within VR for Slot Dollars.   

To support the tournament platform, IGT published a Software Development Kit (SDK), which game designers can leverage to develop VR content for the Virtual Zone. VIVE Studios was the first developer to leverage IGT's SDK, adapting the Arcade Saga game into a product that is designed to be tournament-ready for casino floors.

"IGT is committed to developing and delivering the most compelling content for our customers across multiple channels and platforms. Arcade Saga is a testament to the usability and relevance of IGT's SDK. HTC successfully adapted one of its most popular VR titles into a solution that IGT customers can leverage to entertain their players in a new way. We look forward to the further expansion of IGT's VR content library through this program," added Drago.

About HTC VIVE
HTC VIVE is the creator of the unprecedented PC-based virtual reality system, the VIVE, which was built and optimized for room-scale VR and true-to-life interactions. The VIVE ecosystem has evolved around its premium VR product portfolio, supported by VIVE X, the most active global VR/AR accelerator that has invested in over 80 start-ups, Viveport, a global content platform with the world's first VR subscription model that operates in more than 60 countries, and VIVE Studios, VIVE's VR content development and publishing initiative. VIVE is delivering on the promise of VR with game-changing technology and best-in-class content, bringing VR to consumers, developers and enterprises alike.

For more information on VIVE, please visit www.VIVE.com.

About IGT
IGT (NYSE:IGT) is the global leader in gaming. We enable players to experience their favorite games across all channels and regulated segments, from Gaming Machines and Lotteries to Interactive and Social Gaming. Leveraging a wealth of premium content, substantial investment in innovation, in-depth customer intelligence, operational expertise and leading-edge technology, our gaming solutions anticipate the demands of consumers wherever they decide to play. We have a well-established local presence and relationships with governments and regulators in more than 100 countries around the world, and create value by adhering to the highest standards of service, integrity, and responsibility. IGT has over 12,000 employees. For more information, please visit www.IGT.com.

HTC, the HTC logo are the trademarks of HTC Corporation. All other names of companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

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SOURCE HTC VIVE