Swedish game studio pays $2 mil for InfinitEye

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The StarVR headset uses two built-in display screens instead of one for a wider field of view. It is intended to compete with the Oculus Rift as a peripheral for the PC. (Image courtesy Starbreeze.)
The StarVR headset uses two built-in display screens instead of one for a wider field of view. It is intended to compete with the Oculus Rift as a peripheral for the PC. (Image courtesy Starbreeze.)

Press release: Starbreeze launches VR venture with the acquisition of InfinitEye

STOCKHOLM — Starbreeze AB, an independent creator, publisher and distributor of high quality entertainment products, announced its virtual reality initiative with the acquisition of French company InfinitEye VR SAS for US $2 million  in cash. InfinitEye is developing a virtual reality head-mounted display with a uniquely wide field-of-view and high resolution image.

Starbreeze has formed Project StarVR, where InfinitEye`s hardware expertise and capabilities are combined with Starbreeze game and entertainment software development skills. The project places Starbreeze in a unique position to develop virtual reality experiences with an integrated vision. By committing to be a fully integrated party supporting the Steam OpenVR framework within Starbreeze proprietary game and entertainment industry engine Valhalla, Starbreeze aspires to become one of the first virtual reality publishers parallel to being the go-to catalyst for publishing titles on the Steam platform.

InfinitEye is a French company with nine employees at its offices in Paris, dedicated to engineering and developing hardware for virtual reality. Its head-mounted display is at prototype stage and is being developed for video games as well as movies.

When revealed in 2013, the head-mounted display won both appreciation and accolades for its unique design that combine special optics with dual screens. The head-mounted display has a field-of-view of 210 degrees, which is wider than the visual fields of all other known head-mounted displays under development.

The Oculus Rift and the Project Morpheus headset, StarVR's chief competitors, both have a field of view of about 100 degrees -- half that of StarVR. (Image courtesy Starbreeze.)
The Oculus Rift and the Project Morpheus headset, StarVR’s chief competitors, both have a field of view of about 100 degrees — half that of StarVR. (Image courtesy Starbreeze.)

“InfinitEye`s team is extremely dedicated and competent,” said Bo Andersson Klint, CEO of Starbreeze. “The ultra-wide field-of-view in their HMD corresponds to man`s own, which lays the foundation for an authentic experience. By bringing InfinitEye into Starbreeze and together with our newly acquired Valhalla engine, we will be able to create great entertainment of a kind that has not been experienced before.”

InfinitEye will be incorporated into Starbreeze and be renamed as Starbreeze Paris. The acquisition is expected to have limited impact on Starbreeze`s accounts, primarily due to its size but also because the companies have collaborated for some time.

To read up on more information about Project StarVR, please visit www.starvr.com.

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