HTC VIVE AND IGT PARTNER TO DELIVER WORLD-CLASS VIRTUAL REALITY CASINO ENTERTAINMENT

Exclusive agreement brings HTC VIVE VR content and hardware to casino floors via IGT’s “Virtual Zone” Platform

SEATTLE and LONDON – March 20, 2018 – HTC VIVE™, the leader in room-scale premium Virtual Reality (“VR”), and global gaming leader IGT today announced a partnership whereby IGT will leverage HTC VIVE Studios’ world-class VR content within its “Virtual Zone” platform on casino floors. IGT’s Virtual Zone is a competition arena designed for casino environments that enables casino patrons to compete against each other for cash prizes in spirited VR tournaments, and enjoy competitive VR games in a physical installation. This agreement marks HTC VIVE Studios’ first foray into the casino entertainment industry and the completion of IGT’s first market-ready VR solution.

“Arcade-like installations and experiences are skyrocketing across the globe as VR has proven to be a consistent traffic generator in entertainment venues,” said Joel Breton, HTC VIVE VP Global Content. “By combining IGT’s gaming expertise and the world’s best VR in HTC VIVE, we are launching a combined platform that can deploy the best complete experiences for VR tournaments or stand-alone VR arcades. This is also a huge opportunity for more consumers to be exposed to amazing VR content.”

“IGT’s Virtual Zone represents an exciting evolution of modern-day casino entertainment, and an important step in diversifying IGT’s portfolio with unique offerings that can differentiate our customers’ casino floors and entertain a broad demographic of players,” said Enrico Drago, IGT SVP Global Product Marketing Interactive, Betting & Licensing. “HTC VIVE’s leadership in the VR space and commitment to developing unparalleled VR player experiences made it the ideal partner for IGT’s first commercialized VR solution, the Virtual Zone.”

IGT’s Virtual Zone is now live at Boyd Gaming’s The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The experience leverages HTC VIVE hardware, and solutions for a multiplayer competition allowing players to compete in real time within VR for Slot Dollars.

To support the tournament platform, IGT published a Software Development Kit (SDK), which game designers can leverage to develop VR content for the Virtual Zone. VIVE Studios was the first developer to leverage IGT’s SDK, adapting the Arcade Saga game into a product that is designed to be tournament-ready for casino floors.

“IGT is committed to developing and delivering the most compelling content for our customers across multiple channels and platforms. Arcade Saga is a testament to the usability and relevance of IGT’s SDK. HTC successfully adapted one of its most popular VR titles into a solution that IGT customers can leverage to entertain their players in a new way. We look forward to the further expansion of IGT’s VR content library through this program,” added Drago.

HTC Corporation aims to bring brilliance to life. As a global innovator in smart mobile devices and virtual reality devices and technology, HTC has produced award-winning products and industry firsts since its inception in 1997, including the critically acclaimed HTC U, One and Desire lines of premium and flagship smartphones, and leads the VR industry with the VIVE portfolio. The pursuit of brilliance is at the heart of everything we do, inspiring best-in-class design and game-changing mobile and virtual reality experiences for consumers around the world. HTC is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE: 2498). www.htc.com

VIVE is a first-of-its-kind virtual reality platform, built and optimized for room-scale VR and true-to-life interactions. Built on the SteamVR platform, VIVE delivering on the promise of VR with game-changing technology and best-in-class content, VIVE has created the strongest ecosystem for VR hardware and software, bringing VR to consumers, developers and enterprises alike. The VIVE ecosystem is built around the best VR hardware in market, supported by VIVE X, a $100 million accelerator for VR and related technology start-ups, VIVEPORT, a global platform and app store with the world’s first VR subscription model that operates in more than 60 countries, and VIVE Studios, its VR content development and publishing initiative. For more information on VIVE, please visit www.vive.com.