Epic Games has today announced official support for Google’s recently announced Daydream head-mounted display (HMD). Available now via Github, a new plugin for Unreal Engine 4 allows developers to get started prototyping their ideas for the new virtual reality (VR) platform immediately.
Daydream is a new mobile VR platform set for release later this year. A rival to the Oculus VR and Samsung collaboration, Gear VR, Daydream is set to support a wide range of smartphone handsets and comes with a standardised input device. Developers already familiar with the Gear VR are likely to be keen to work with Daydream, and as such Epic Games has ensured that Unreal Engine 4 is capable of supporting development for the device as soon as possible.
Revealed by Kim Libreri, Epic Games CTO, and the currently ongoing Google I/O, Mountain View, the plugin was developed in conjunction with Hardsuit Labs. Though available via Github now, the plugin will be rolled into the standard binary tools for Unreal Engine 4.12, now confirmed for launch on 1st June 2016.
“At Epic our mission is to give developers the very best tools for building immersive and visually impressive experiences with great performance on every platform we support. We have been creating VR experiences for many years now that not only push visual fidelity but what’s possible in terms of input, interaction, characters and gameplay mechanics,” states Libreri in an update to the official Unreal Engine blog. “Every project we work on extends the capabilities of Unreal Engine, and we pass these improvements to developers on a daily basis. Today we’re proud to be part of this new chapter in VR history.”
The official documentation for Daydream integration into Unreal Engine 4 is available now. VRFocus will continue to follow Google I/O and keep you updated with all the latest details on Daydream.
