Virtual reality is going to get scary in 2017: The Fox Innovation Lab and filmmaker Ridley Scott have teamed up to make an “Alien: Covenant” virtual reality (VR) experience.
The experience will be available as a paid title on major VR platforms. There’s no word on an exact release date yet, but it’s worth noting that “Alien:Covenant” the movie will be released in May.
What we do know is that it aims to scare the pants off its viewers: The Fox Innovation Lab team describes the experience as “a dread-inducing journey into the depths of the Alien universe.”
The rest of the news release sounds equally unnerving: “Viewers will discover the true meaning of terror as they navigate through horrifying alien environments and a story where every decision could mean the difference between life and death.”
Popular on Variety
The “Alien: Covenant” VR experience will be executive produced by Ridley Scott and directed by David Karlak. It’s a cooperation between Scott’s RSA Films, the Fox Innovation Lab and MPC VR, a Technicolor Company.
This will be the second major VR title from the Fox Innovation Lab. The 20th Century Fox R&D unit unveiled “The Martian VR Experience” at CES in Las Vegas a year ago, and has since released it on HTC Vive, PlayStation VR and Oculus Rift.
Unlike other studios, Fox isn’t looking to just use VR as a way to advertise its movies. “We see VR as a new media opportunity, not just a promotional vehicle,” 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and Fox Innovation Lab President Mike Dunn recently told Variety. “Our intention from the moment we developed our business plan was to be in the commercial VR business.”
