HTC Vive celebrates its birthday with a Netflix-like service for VR games

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You can save money on the headset too

On Wednesday April 5, HTC Vive will be celebrating its first anniversary with ‘Vive Day’ – which will see a number of discounts on the popular virtual reality headset's hardware and software.

The day will also mark the launch of the Viveport Subscription service, which offers HTC Vive owners a Netflix-like experience. For a monthly subscription of £6.99/$6.99/AU$9.99 you can choose five virtual reality apps or games from a curated list to download and install. 

You’ll have unlimited access to the apps you select, or you can swap them each month to try something new. If you find an app or game you want to keep outright, you can buy the app as well.

Explaining the company's move to a Netflix-like service, Rikard Steiber, President of Viveport at HTC Vive, said: “Introducing a subscription model to VR is a natural evolution of where this market is going, and as film, music and TV have proven it’s becoming the preferred way customers want to explore and experience entertainment content.”

When we spoke to Steiber he explained how getting people to experience virtual reality, and the various applications it can be used for, is essential to maintaining the technology's success – and that the Viveport Subscription service is a good move for ensuring this.

More birthday presents

HTC Vive has also lined up some other gifts for Vive Day, with £100 ($100, around AU$130) being knocked off the asking price of the HTC Vive headset.

Also on April 5, HTC Vive will make its VR action game Arcade Saga available to download and keep for free. This game, which includes a number of games based on pinball, table tennis and archery, features boss battles and online multiplayer, and is usually sold for £14.99 ($14.99, around AU$19).

It’s nice to see HTC Vive mark its first anniversary with offers that benefit existing owners, while tempting potential newcomers to VR , and the Viveport subscription service could prove a key differentiator between the HTC Vive and its competitors.

Matt Hanson
Matt Hanson
Managing Editor, Core Tech

Matt is TechRadar's Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there's no aspect of technology that Matt isn't passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. He’s personally reviewed and used most of the laptops in our best laptops guide - and since joining TechRadar in 2014, he's reviewed over 250 laptops and computing accessories personally.