HTC Viveport will be a new destination for non-gaming VR experiences on the Vive

HTC is going to launch a dedicated virtual reality app story for HTC Vive, called the Viveport, this fall. The Viveport, which was announced earlier this year, was launched in China as Steam is not such an established player there. The Viveport will be available on the web, mobile, Windows as well as within the Vive. HTC Vive has been traditionally using the SteamVR as its main content provider. Steam is quite popular with gamers and is a relatively mature platform. But according to HTC, it wants to complement the SteamVR platform which is geared more towards gaming related apps, to a non-gaming approach with the Viveport. The Viveport plans to be a one-stop shop for Vive developers who are developing non-gaming apps. HTC will have non-gaming content in the form of video, art, educational content, travel, experimental projects and more. The Viveport app marketplace will be rolled out globally this fall. HTC has already opened up registrations for app development on the Viveport. The site has Vive user guides as well as SDKs for SteamVR, plugins for Unity and Unreal engines. Viveport SDK will support paid apps as well as in-app purchases. This move by HTC is not meant to replace the SteamVR platform says senior vice president of virtual reality for HTC, Rikard Steiber. It is meant to cover content other than games and other types of VR applications.