‘VR Funhouse’: Nvidia Launches Its First-Ever Video Game

Nvidia Corp.’s graphics cards have long been a household name around the world, or at least in houses with gamers in them. And now, the company has finally taken a step into gaming proper, launching its first-ever game Thursday.

Titled "VR Funhouse," the game is a virtual reality collection of seven arcade-style mini games and has been designed with two purposes in mind. In a blog post, Nvidia said: “It was created with a dual-purpose. First, we wanted it to be fun. To be enjoyed by people of all ages, whether or not they’ve tried VR, whether or not they’re an early adopter. Second, it was created to show how immersive VR can be when physics simulation is fully integrated into an experience.”

The game is built on Epic’s Unreal Engine 4 and using Nvidia’s PhysX SDK (software development kit), integrates “physical simulation into every aspect of the game.” Combined with graphics and haptic feedback, it is meant to “make you feel like you are at a carnival.”

Nvidia also said it will release "VR Funhouse" as open source later in the summer to allow developers to experiment with the SDK that will enable enthusiasts and artists to build their own mini-games.

For now, "VR Funhouse" can be downloaded for free from Steam. It requires Windows 7 or above as operating system, a fast processor, at least 8GB of RAM and a high-end graphics card. And of course, a compatible VR headset, like the HTC Vive.