Oculus VR, EA, Panasonic Create Immersive Technology Alliance

As of March 13, 2014, the Stereoscopic 3D Gaming Alliance will be renamed as "The Immersive Technology Alliance (ITA)."

The group made the announcement on Thursday, revealing the expansion of its mandate to meet the needs of the newly established Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), stereoscopic 3D, gesture industries "and everything in-between."

Thanks to The Khronos Group and The PC Gaming Alliance (PCGA), the ITA will officially re-launch next week in a private session at GDC 2014. "Exciting" tech demos will be on hand as well, the group reports.

"The goal of the alliance is to foster a vibrant and diverse industry that content makers can support on a wide scale," reads the group's announcement. "Accomplishing this goal requires commercial success, industry diversity, great content, compatibility, and a growing consumer base through joint education and outreach."

Included in the group is Oculus VR, Technical Illusions, Electronic Arts, Epson, Virtuix, I'm in VR, Nanoveu, Gameface Labs, Vrelia, The University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Panasonic, Avegant, YEI Technology and a number of others.

This non-profit alliance was originally created back in 2009. At the time, the group said it was 100 percent focused on making stereoscopic 3D gaming possible through education, product adoption and standards.

"The effect of a standards group such as S3DGA is to accelerate the adoption of technology by presenting a forum for members to express, test, and agree on ideas and approaches to educating consumers," the group said at the time.

Neil Schneider, Executive Director of the ITA, says that due to the lines blurring between PC and mobile, organizations like the Khronos Group and PCGA are growing increasingly important. "The launch of the ITA is just another example of their positive influence," he adds.

Press and game developers itching to attend the closed meeting next week can grab the email address here towards the bottom of the page. Space is very limited and confirmation from The ITA is required for entry.