Some of VR’s biggest names have banded together to establish standards and expand the industry

If ever there was a doubt that virtual reality is here to stay, recent developments in the past week should silence any naysayers. Some of the biggest names in VR have now come together to form the Global Virtual Reality Association (GVRA), a non-profit organization that wants to develop and share best practices, conduct research, and bring the international VR community together.

Members include titans like HTC Vive, Samsung, Google, Oculus and Sony, and the hope is that the GVRA will eventually serve as the go-to resource for consumers, policymakers, and industry players interested in VR.

The message at the heart of the announcement is this – VR is going to continue to assert itself and change the way we do things, and this non-profit is here to ensure that everyone is on the same page and help the industry grow.

That said, there are still glaring names missing from the roster, most notably Valve and Microsoft. This raises the concern that the next development in VR, if not from one of the members of the GVRA, could find itself staunchly opposed by the collective.

And while VR has its roots in the start-up community, the big kids on the playground have been quick to assert their dominance, and the GVRA could be seen as an effort by these entities to more firmly establish themselves at the forefront of VR development. HTC itself has even created two in-house divisions – dubbed Vive Studios and 2 Bears Studios – to create VR content and games.

In its announcement, the GVRA also acknowledged the potential of VR to play a role in sectors like education and healthcare, making clear that it sees VR as encompassing far more than just gaming.

Source: Global Virtual Reality Association

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