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PlayStation VR arrives October 13 with 50 games

Sony's VR headset, which is powered by a PlayStation 4 instead of a gaming PC, now has a specific release date.

Sean Hollister Senior Editor / Reviews
When his parents denied him a Super NES, he got mad. When they traded a prize Sega Genesis for a 2400 baud modem, he got even. Years of Internet shareware, eBay'd possessions and video game testing jobs after that, he joined Engadget. He helped found The Verge, and later served as Gizmodo's reviews editor. When he's not madly testing laptops, apps, virtual reality experiences, and whatever new gadget will supposedly change the world, he likes to kick back with some games, a good Nerf blaster, and a bottle of Tejava.
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Sean Hollister
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Watch this: PlayStation VR release date set for October 13, 2016

Sony's long-awaited PlayStation VR headset now has a release date: October 13, 2016. We previously knew that the headset would ship this October, but at E3 2016, Sony just announced the 13th as the day you'll be able to plug a PlayStation 4 game console into virtual reality.

At launch, Sony says the PlayStation VR headset will have 50 different games to choose from, and some of the game's industry's heavy hitters are on board.

An entire new Resident Evil game will be fully playable in VR, as well as a new game in the Batman: Arkham series, a Star Wars: Battlefront experience dubbed X-Wing VR Mission and a Final Fantasy XV experience from Square Enix as well.

The PlayStation VR games teased at E3 2016 (pictures)

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Some of those experiences won't be available on October 13th, though: It's unclear when Final Fantasy will be released (the non-VR standalone title is coming in September), and Resident Evil will be out in January.

Sony's VR headset is distinct from the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive in that it's a lot less expensive to get started: $499, £349 or AU$550 for the headset and motion controllers, plus a PlayStation 4 game console. With an Oculus Rift or an HTC Vive, you'll pay $600-$800, not including the $1,000-plus gaming PC they require to run.

You shouldn't expect quite the same graphical fidelity from PlayStation VR though. While we found it one of the most comfortable VR headsets to wear, it doesn't have the same high resolution and the PlayStation 4 simply doesn't have the same graphical oomph. That's likely why Sony is working on a new-and-improved PlayStation.

You can catch up with Sony's entire E3 2016 press conference right here.

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