Viveport Developer Beta also Launches Today, Offering an Exclusive Developer Preview into The Global Virtual Reality App Store

San Francisco — August 25, 2016 — Today, the Viveport team announced the Global Viveport Developer Awards (VDAs) , which showcase, celebrate, and reward developers for their VR creations. In 2016, the first tranche of awards consists of a total pool of $500,000 in cash and prizes, which will be awarded early next year for apps published on Viveport. The awards will span across the recently announced Viveport pillars of Discover, Create, Connect, Watch, and Shop. Announced earlier in August, Viveport is The Global App Store and destination for VR experiences featuring a broad range of immersive content across education, design, art, social, video, music, sports, health, fashion, travel, news, shopping, creativity tools, and more. Viveport’s mission is to democratize access to the world’s most diverse selection of immersive experiences and grow the VR ecosystem by empowering developers to reach and engage a fast-growing global audience.

"The Viveport developer community is driving innovation by creating inspiring experiences; enriching customer’s everyday lives in virtual reality. The VDAs are an important way in empowering developers to define the future of VR," said Rikard Steiber, SVP of Viveport.

Titles published on Viveport from today may be eligible for consideration, subject to the acceptance of the terms and conditions of the contest. Five nominees will be selected per category based on customer engagement and the VR experience. All nominees are winners and a soon-to-be announced jury will decide the final prize winners in early 2017.

"I am thrilled to see how Viveport is passionate about creating success for developers," said Gil Baron, CEO and Co-Founder, Visionary VR. "The Viveport Developer Awards is an excellent opportunity for developers like us to feel appreciated, and benefit from the global marketing and promotion."

The Viveport Developer Beta and Community also opened today for developers and content creators around the world. Viveport is already available in China and will roll-out to all customers later this Fall enabling them to discover, create, connect, watch, and shop for the things they love and need in VR. The Viveport developer community now has the opportunity to:

• Get a First Look : Viveport developers will receive first access to the updated features enabling them to fine-tune their apps and experiences.
• Have a Voice : Developers can directly share their feedback to help shape Viveport in the new community forums. These community discussions will directly influence the platform development and become a part of the journey to democratize VR.
• Be Informed : Developers will receive regular announcements of new features, as well as new promotional and monetization opportunities.
• Reach VR Customers in China : Since April, Viveport developers are distributing their apps and experiences to the world's largest customer base of VR fans.

"The Viveport Community already includes over 7,000 registered developers and we cannot wait to showcase and celebrate their creations through the Viveport Developer Awards," added Steiber.

Registered developers can find out more about the Viveport beta and the VDAs at http://community.viveport.com, and new developers can sign up and get whitelisted for the Beta at http://developer.viveport.com.

About VIVE Vive is a first-of-its-kind virtual reality platform designed by HTC and Valve. Uniting passion, talent and innovation, Vive delivers on the promise of VR with game-changing technology and best-in-class content. Unveiled during HTC’s Mobile World Congress keynote in March 2015, Vive has since been recognized with over 30 awards, including best of CES 2016.