Virtual Athletics League announces the Winter Games, a month-long Olympic-style event of VR esports tournaments, giveaways, and a total prize pool valued at over $15,000. From February 19 through March 20 the Winter Games will feature some of the largest studios and most critically acclaimed games in the realm of virtual reality.
Similar to the successful VR Fitness Summit hosted by Virtual Athletics League (VAL) last summer, various game genres are represented across VR esports and VR fitness. While increasing numbers of average consumers are becoming more familiar with virtual reality, events such as the Fitness Summit bring awareness to the fact that this technology can be used for health and fitness as well as entertainment, social interaction, competitive opportunities, and more.
The Winter Games will be held online and organized through platforms such as Discord, Reddit, YouTube and Twitch. Major competitions throughout the month as well as panels and featured speakers will be broadcast through appropriate media channels. The setup ensures that participants and spectators can enjoy the Winter Games from the comfort of their own homes within recommendations for social distancing.
Competitions
With over 30 titles participating, there will be numerous competitions and opportunities to earn prizes and glory. This industry is growing rapidly so it’s pretty cool to earn bragging rights with any of the “firsts” in VR esports and fitness.
Whether you decide to participate in 30 competitions or stick with one or two of your favorite titles, it’s certain to be a fun event. VR Fitness Insider will cover more opportunities as the event progresses, but for now here are a few of the many things to look forward to.
Eleven Table Tennis will hold a tournament with a $2,250 prize pool, the largest to be featured in the Winter Games. For Fun Labs’ Eleven Table Tennis is an immersive table-top tennis game that has received overwhelming positive reviews for its realistic simulation of this fun sport and it maintains an active, passionate community with engagement from the game’s developers.
VZfit will once again translate real-life motions into game actions through the use of a stationary bike or elliptical machine. Exercise enthusiasts are certain to enjoy simulated bike rides and full body workouts provided by this pair of fitness apps from VirZoom.
For those interested in using VR for physical and mental fitness, NeuroTrainer’s recently-released REAKT Performance Trainer will be featured at the Winter Games. Based on technology originally developed for athletes, REAKT encourages improved cognitive performance by boosting reaction times and hand-eye coordination, providing real-time feedback, and encouraging progress.
One Arena
Virtual Athletics League will launch their new Steam key retailing platform, One Arena, during the Winter Games. Many titles participating in the Winter Games will be have a simultaneous launch on One Arena. For every purchase made during the Winter Games, Virtual Athletics League will donate 10% of each game sale to Extra Life, a non-profit organization that supports Children’s Miracle Network hospitals.
“The goal of One Arena is to build a more sustainable platform to support VR esports and fitness developers,” states Ryan Burningham, founder of Virtual Athletics League.
Some games will be discounted during the One Arena launch and there will be a Winter Games closing celebration to honor the winners and conclude festivities on March 20.
- Visit One Arena.
How to Register
Registration for the Winter Games will be held through the Virtual Athletics League’s main website.
- Register at www.valvr.com.
Participating Titles
We encourage you to check out all the Winter Games titles listed below and tag VR Fitness Insider as you try new games or have fun with some of your favorites. We’d love to hear what you think about VR esports, VR fitness and the very first Winter Games from Virtual Athletics League!
- Arizona Sunshine
- Audio Trip
- Dance Collider
- Eleven Table Tennis
- Groove Gunner
- Holofit
- In Death: Unchained
- MarineVerse Cup
- Ninja Legends
- Pistol Whip
- PowerBeatsVR
- Propagation VR
- QuiVr
- Ragnarock
- REAKT Performance Trainer
- RealFit
- Song Beater
- Star Shaman
- Starblazer
- SWORDS of GARGANTUA
- Swords of Gurrah
- Swordsman VR
- Terje Haakonsen’s Powder VR
- The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners
- Until You Fall
- Vertical Shift
- Virtual Battlegrounds
- Virtual Fighting Championship
- VOID Racer: Extreme
- VZFIT
- Walkabout Mini Golf
- VRWorkout
