Just as we pondered whether Sony had put PSVR2 life support, a surprise announcement has performed a spot of CPR on the underappreciated peripheral.
We all know how good Gran Turismo 7 is with Sony’s headset, but this new officially licensed superbike game could prove the Tourist Trophy to Polyphony Digital’s hit.
Due out on 27th June, VRider SBK drops you “into the heart of the officially licensed Superbike World Championship” where you’ll “lean into every corner and blast down straights at over 200mph across 14 real-world tracks, including Cremona and Estoril, alongside 23 official riders”.
You can watch the official trailer below:
Writing on the PS Blog, Giovanni Bazzoni from developer Digital Tales USA explained:
“Ride five elite machines: Ducati, BMW, Kawasaki, Honda, and Yamaha using next-gen gesture-based controls designed for immersive VR. Go head-to-head in global PvP multiplayer, dominate the solo Tournament mode, or challenge the clock in Ghost races. With its unique ‘simcade’ gameplay blend, VRider SBK delivers blistering speed, unforgiving realism, and pure two-wheeled exhilaration.”
Of course, the big worry here is the kind of impact riding superbikes at lightning speeds will have on your health. Bazzoni promised his team has thought about that:
“We’ve optimised the game with a specific quality setting to ensure a stable frame rate and smooth bike control. In racing games, motion sickness is primarily caused by input lag, the delay between controller actions and what’s rendered in the headset. This is often a result of demanding physics simulations, which require a consistently solid frame rate to avoid discomfort.”
VRider SBK is already available on other VR headsets like the Meta Quest, but as you’d expect this version is taking advantage of PSVR2’s improved horsepower.
Among the improvements, you can expect “an animated skybox, more realistic tarmac, an animated crowd featuring flags and smoke bombs, and more”.
There’ll also be fresh props and scenery, two new tracks, and a full field of 22 AI riders in single player.
Do you think you can stomach a fast-paced PSVR2 racing game? Has the confirmation of new content like this given you renewed hope in the headset’s viability moving forwards? Take a sharp turn in the comments section below.