Can you believe that the Oculus Rift, an actual VR headset, is going to launch in the first quarter of 2016? That information still somehow shocks me every time I think about it, this must be older folks felt when everyone started getting smart phones all of a sudden.

My "old man" musings aside, the Oculus team has announced that EVE: Valkyrie is going to be bundled with the preorder version of the Rift and to commemorate the occasion there was an alpha gameplay video released, you can find it embedded below.

Eve: Valkyrie, from all of the overviews I've seen, seems to be the most complete and functional VR based game which isn't really surprising given that every single VR demo has it prominently displayed. As you can see from the trailer its a relatively simple, but very pretty, dogfighting game that might've been just average without VR support but when you add the feature to actually "be" inside the cockpit it elevates it to something truly special.

Whether I consider this good news or not I'm not sure, but EVE: Valkyrie will not be tied to the EVE MMO so you won't have to worry about company politics, betrayals, ambushes and everything else that makes EVE an interesting game to read about, if not play. Perhaps in the future a sequel of some sort might link it all together so EVE will have every spectrum of gameplay under its wing, now that would be a sight to see.

On the topic of the Oculus Rift, it is expected to come in the first quarter of 2016 and preordering it will grant you EVE: Valkyrie for free. Here's what the Oculus team had to say in the announcement:

“EVE: Valkyrie is one of the most anticipated virtual reality games, and one of the first true VR games to go into development. It perfectly captures the promise of immersive gaming, shooting you into a sci-fi adventure as you pilot a spaceship in search of combat. Battling your friends (and enemies) in multiplayer space dogfights is the ultimate VR thrill, and we’re excited to partner with CCP to bring this experience to Rift owners everywhere.”

Do keep in mind however that they've never actually stated EVE: Valkyrie won't be bundled with all copies of the Rift so while we only know about the preorder bundle it is possible that it will still be shipped with all copies of the Rift. Maybe an overly optimistic thought but you can never know.

If any further information does pop up I'll make sure to keep you updated.