Bethesda is days away from hosting the 21st annual QuakeCon in Dallas, Texas, and the company just announced the roster of attractions at the show. Along with the QuakeCon announcement, the company’s top brass also revealed the release dates for its three upcoming AAA VR titles.
Virtual reality hardware is readily available these days, but top-quality AAA games are still few and far between. There are a few notable exceptions, such as Arizona Sunshine, Lone Echo, and Killing Floor: Incursion, but you could still make the argument that VR content is lacking. However, that’s about to change thanks to Bethesda’s efforts at bringing three of its top franchises to the new medium.
At the E3 conference in 2016, Bethesda brought two impressive VR demos to its booth. The company created playable demos of Fallout 4 and Doom in virtual reality, and it confirmed that Fallout 4 VR was in development. This year at Bethesda’s E3 2017 press conference, the publisher announced that Fallout 4 VR would arrive before the end of the year. It also revealed that Doom and Skyrim would make their way to virtual reality platforms this fall.
Fallout 4 VR would debut on the HTC Vive, Skyrim VR would arrive for the PSVR, and Doom VFR (we all know that the "F" stands for) would be available on both platforms. Bethesda had little to say about Oculus Rift support, likely due to the ongoing legal troubles between Oculus and Bethesda’s parent company, ZeniMax.
During E3, Bethesda declined to state the release date for either game, although it committed to a 2017 release window for all three titles. Now we know exactly when you can immerse yourself into the expansive world of Skyrim VR, fight demons from Hell in Doom VFR, and explore the post apocalyptic wasteland of Boston, Massachusetts in Fallout 4 VR.
Skyrim VR is coming first--on November 17, to be exact--and Bethesda said that this is the full game that you’ve come to love over the years. You can pre-purchase the game now through the PlayStation Store for $59.
Doom VFR is next on the list. It will be available on December 1 for PlayStation VR and HTC Vive (through Steam). Doom VFR isn’t a remake of Doom 2016 for virtual reality, though; it’s a new game with a new story and new locations. You can pre-order the game for $29 on both the PSVR and HTC Vive platforms.
Fallout 4 VR lands on December 12, also on Steam. The virtual reality version of Fallout 4 is a complete rebuild of the 2015 game. As such, Bethesda is seeking full price for the title. Fallout 4 VRis available for pre-order for $59.
