If you're a fan of Star Wars, then you've probably fantasized about traveling to the galaxy far, far, away, at one time or another. Now, a newly announced VR series will seemingly let you do that and put you up against the Dark Lord of the Sith himself, Darth Vader. Today at the Oculus Connect presentation the VR company unveiled Oculus Quest, a new VR product designed to get more people into the technology at a lower price point. As an added incentive, it was also announced that a new three-part VR series, set in the Star Wars universe, titled Vader Immortal would launch exclusively on the platform beginning in 2019. Check out the first trailer below.
The trailer doesn't give a great deal away. It implies that Darth Vader himself has somehow pulled the viewer out of hyperspace and brought them to his castle on Mustafar, so that he may speak with you about something. Of course, exactly what it is, is far from clear. But the trailer ends with a first-person perspective of a lightsaber duel with Darth Vader, and isn't that what we've all dreamed about doing in VR?
With this very minor tease, it's difficult to figure out what Vader Immortal really is. It's being called a "series" which makes it sound like it might be something that you watch more than you actually interact with. Calling it a "game" might be an exaggeration, but the Oculus Quest is an all-in-one VR headset that comes with hand controls, so you certainly could swing a lightsaber. Regardless of how much of what you do involves moving versus simply watching, experiencing Star Wars from a first-person perspective is still going to be pretty awesome.
Vader Immortal is the creation of ILMxLab, a Lucasfilm division that is tasked with creating immersive experiences using brands like Star Wars. This is far from the group's first foray into VR. ILMxLab previously teamed with VR company The VOID to create Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire, a multiplayer VR experience that was first unveiled at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World. The team has gone on to create a brand new Wreck-It Ralph experience for The VOID as well.
While Vader Immortal made its debut at an Oculus event, and this trailer ends with the Oculus logo, the series isn't being called "exclusive" so it's possble, even likely, that the series will be available on other VR platforms eventually. Quest may get a window of exclusivity for the episodes before they come available for other Oculus platforms like the Rift and/or the HTC Vive.
Certainly, more details about Vader Immortal will be revealed as we get closer to release. The Oculus Quest headset is scheduled to launch in the spring of 2019, so expect to see Vader Immortal's first episode hit in that same window.
