Earlier this week, Frontier Developments announced "Elite:Dangerous" is coming to SteamVR and the HTC Vive VR headset later this year.
But according to Road to VR, the news comes as a surprise to VR fans.
"[The game is] one of the only pre-existing titles which has pledged to [support HTC Vive] and is a big coup [for] both Valve and HTC."
Elite Dangerous is coming to SteamVR and HTC Vive in a free update this Holiday season. Play it first on Vive at EGX 2015 this week.
— Elite Dangerous (@EliteDangerous) September 21, 2015
"Elite: Dangerous" is a space combat sim that traces its roots to a Kickstarter campaign in 2012 and came out in 2014 for the PC. It's been a staple of the Facebook-owned Oculus Rift VR headset since June.
Given that it puts players in a cockpit and its reliance on traditional controls, would it be possible that the game will support Valve's Room Scale position-tracking tech and the Vive's controllers? VR Focus asked "Elite: Dangerous" programmer Oliver Powell.
"Our initial update will add support for SteamVR's HTC Vive headset. Our SteamVR update doesn't include support for the SteamVR controllers, but it's something we're looking into," he said.
As for supporting Sony's Playstation VR, Powell said they have "nothing to announce right now."
Powell also shared that "Elite: Dangerous" will resume support for the Rift once the consumer version comes out next year. As of now, the game supports SDK 0.5
The update may not come until later this year but EGX 2015 attendees will have a first crack at "Elite: Dangerous" on the HTC Vive.
Franchise Herald previously reported that the event will mark the first UK public debut of the Vive VR headset. It is joined by Sony's PlayStation VR.
EGX 2015 opens its doors from Sept. 24 to 27 at The NEC in Birmingham, UK.
The HTC Vive VR headset is due out in "limited quantity" later this year. The bulk of the shipments will move by Q1 2016.
