Today Razer is announcing a $5 million OSVR development fund which the company will use to incentivize support of its open-source VR platform.

With tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars being invested by Oculus and HTC into content for their respective VR platforms, Razer hopes to offer a similar style of support to encourage developers to build for the OSVR platform. That encouragement comes in the form of the $5 million OSVR Developer Fund which will be used to guarantee an agreed number of game keys be pre-purchased from developers who create VR experiences compatible with the OSVR platform. This gives developers a minimum expectation of ROI when building for OSVR and incentivizes Razer and OSVR to help co-market developers projects in order to sell those pre-purchased keys.

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While the number of pre-purchased keys will vary on a case by case basis, Razer says that both indie and major studios will be considered for the program and that they will retain full creative control and sales control, with the only requirement being that OSVR support be integrated, even if the developer plans to sell on other platforms as well, like SteamVR or Oculus Home.

Razer launched OSVR back at the beginning of January 2015 in collaboration with HMD manufacturer Sensics. The organization’s goal is to function as a sort of open-source standard for interconnecting VR hardware and software. Since the initial launch, the open-source VR initiative has grown to more than 350 partners avowing support for the platform. Still, OSVR has had a hard time harboring the same enthusiasm seen for commercially-focused VR platforms backed by major players like Facebook, HTC/Valve, and PlayStation.

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While Razer (one of the founding members of OSVR) is priming the OSVR Developer Fund with its initial $5 million, it’s also seeking partners interested in joining in and committing additional funds to the cause.

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Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • DiGiCT Ltd

    Where to apply for it ?
    I tried long time ago via their website but never got any respond.
    Even i wanted to buy one of their sets this year they did not help me getting it here in mainland China.
    I think their device is good enough to make games and expierences on, just dont know how i can get started with it , people at razor dont replied my mails although we had a discussion.
    If any of them could contact me again it would be nice, as now I use the HTC vive, which was no hassle at all to order for me during preorder and even delivered nicely too.

    Money is not the biggest issue but getting the device is for me, if they want me to add OSVR at least they can give me 1 or 2 devices so i can even check multiplayer mode with it.
    I am pretty sure they make them here in Mainland China, as is the Vive .