The Witness will have VR compatibility creator Jonathan Blow told iDigitalTimes, so indie game lovers can explore the beautiful world of The Witness in virtual reality. Unless you want to do it with PlayStation VR, then you’re screwed. The Witness will eventually be compatible with VR headsets on PC, but won’t be compatible with PlayStation VR. Blow confirmed to iDigitalTimes there are no plans to make the game compatible with Sony’s VR headset at present.
The Witness has been in development for seven years, way before incorporating VR technology became the hottest trend in the gaming industry. Blow explained the only way to make The Witness compatible with PlayStation VR would’ve come early on in the development process. That said, it’s not too late for PC users to potentially wander around The Witness with the many VR headsets coming to their preferred gaming platform.
“Not on PlayStation VR simply because to support that you would’ve had to design the game from the outset,” Blow said. “We started this game a long time ago way before PlayStation VR was a concept so for for this game. We might do some support for PC based UV because it’s easier to add that in later.”
Before the PC master race elitists toot their tiny little win, Blow didn’t say the game was optimized specifically for VR. Still, Blow believes anyone who wants to experience The Witness on VR will enjoy wandering inside the game.
“The game is also not designed for VR,” Blow said. “I think that the best VR experiences are actually designed for VR. But all that said, I think [ The Witness ] is a really nice world to wander around in VR, so I think they might like it.”
The Witness is a game you can get lost in for hours, but Blow doesn’t want you to feel like you’re stuck. Blow encourages The Witness players to think critically and keep exploring the game to find the mysteries that wait for them. He understands different kinds of people like different kinds of things and approach games in different kinds of ways. He wants gamers to thrive on the thrills of new experiences no matter what platform they choose to play on.
“One of the things that is a very defining characteristic about The Witness is that it leaves you to your own devices,” Blow said. “It’s not one of these kinds of games that’s very popular right now that just serve up this set of linear experiences one after the other on a plate. If that’s the kind of game you’re used to [The Witness] is going to feel very different. There might even be some culture shock. Hopefully people get over that initial moment of culture shock if they have it and just explore.”
The Witness will be released to the PlayStation 4 and PC on Jan. 26.
