Epic Games is still working on its first full-length virtual reality game: an arcade shooter called Robo Recall for the Oculus Rift. But the studio best known for Unreal Tournament and Gears of War has already made a huge impact on VR through its popular Unreal Engine, which is being used to create games like space simulator Adrift and Myst successor Obduction.
Last year, Epic CEO and co-founder Tim Sweeney predicted that between three and five million VR headsets would be sold in 2016, calling it the “most revolutionary change that’s happened in the history of computing.” While nobody has exact numbers for the first wave of consumer VR headsets, sales seem to have been lower than expected for some. But Sweeney remains a prominent supporter of the medium, which he says is just getting started.
Now that people no longer have huge hardware launches to look forward to, what should we expect from the next year in VR? How should early VR developers, who have jumped on board a nascent platform where sales are often scant, support themselves? As VR reflects more of our physical bodies, will this humanize our online relationships, or will we still find ourselves boxed in by hostility? We asked Sweeney these questions and more about how VR will shape up in 2017.
Interview has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.