PC's Elite: Dangerous Adding SteamVR Support This Holiday

UK developer Frontier has announced that its space game Elite: Dangerous will add support for Vive VR, the new virtual reality headset from Valve and HTC, as a free update this holiday season.

The game already supports Oculus Rift, and of course, this applies only to the PC edition of Elite: Dangerous. In a statement, creative director Jonny Watts said Frontier has been "working closely" with Valve in this effort, and has high hopes for the new level of immersion it aims to introduce.

"We're thrilled to announce SteamVR support as part of the ongoing expansion of Elite: Dangerous," Watts explained. "Back in December 2013, we were among the first to support virtual reality with a AAA game, and for me, exploring, trading, and fighting throughout Elite: Dangerous' 1:1 scale Milky Way remains an unequaled virtual reality experience."

For its part, Valve's Chet Faliszek said Elite: Dangerous is a prime example of how a developer can "leverage the versatility of the Vive and Steam VR."

The ViveVR headset will see a "limited" commercial release this holiday, with a wider launch slated for early 2016. Pricing has not been announced, but that information is likely to come soon.

Elite: Dangerous with SteamVR support will be playable this coming week at the EGX convention in Birmingham, UK, at the Elite: Dangerous and HTC booths on the show floor.

To mark this announcement, Frontier has dropped the price of Elite: Dangerous for PC and Mac at the developer's own FrontierStore.net and on Steam. Now through Monday, September 28, you can get the game for just $27, down 40 percent from its usual price of $45.

Elite: Dangerous will launch for Xbox One publicly on October 6; it is currently available on the platform through the Early Access-style Game Preview system. The game will eventually ship on a number of platforms, including PlayStation 4, though VR support for the console editions has not been announced.

The game's first expansion, Horizons, is slated to launch this holiday.