Virtual reality, a darling of the technology industry, has become the subject of many a conference, summit and track. Now, this technology space is about to be gifted a new conference, the Develop:VR, a one-day B2B conference and expo dedicated to both VR and augmented reality.
Tandem Events, the organizers behind the well-known Develop: Brighton conference, are creating this similarly branded standalone event. Develop:VR will take place on November 24, 2016, in London to focus on the new commercial opportunities in VR and AR, and highlighting the tools and tips needed to take advantage of it. The conference will feature three tracks: two focused on VR for games and one on how to develop for VR in non-gaming sectors. Speakers brought on board the inaugural conference include hardware and software pioneers who have successfully produced VR content.
Expect to see, in the expo, the latest dizzying (hopefully not too much) array of headset manufacturers and studios showing off their VR games and apps, plus tools, platforms and other services to bring VR and AR content to fruition. To top it off, networking opportunities will be sprinkled in to the event to light up possible connections between folks involved in all aspects of these emerging technologies.
“Virtual reality has offered video games developers with some unique opportunities,” commented Andy Lane, managing director of Tandem Events. “The potential for developers within the games industry is apparent, but virtual reality also opens doors to other industries. We’ve curated Develop:VR to help developers harness these prospects, provide a platform for learning and to showcase their talent.”
VR is an industry on the rise, which is why it’s become a hit topic at events. Still, because the technology is in its early days, it’s also a volatile market as well. SuperData just trimmed its growth predictions for virtual reality by 30 percent this year, to $3.6 billion, which is still nothing to sneeze at. The downward adjustment doesn’t affect the longer-term prediction for $40 billion in market spending by 2020.
Keep an eye out for the Develop:VR website and ticket prices to be announced later this year.
