VR veterans Aldin, the indie studio behind Waltz of the Wizard and other early and innovative VR titles, has announced the closure of a $1 million Seed investment. The money will be used to support the studio’s next project which aims to create “believable virtual realities” by fusing VR and AI to push the boundary of interactive storytelling.

Based in Reykjavik, Iceland, Aldin is an indie VR studio which has been an early innovator in the VR game development space with its first two titles, Trial of the Rift Drifter and Asunder, developed well before the first major VR headsets were launched in 2016. The studio’s latest and most successful title is Waltz of the Wizard, launched in May 2016, which is a magical playground of sorts, with lots of satisfying item interactions to experiment with. The title is one of the top rated VR games on Steam, and Aldin says it’s seen more than 250,000 downloads—a success in the world of VR, though certainly helped by the fact that the game is free.

But beyond content, Aldin has also worked on underlying VR technology, like the studio’s ‘Ghostline‘ VR analytics suite, which distils players behaviors into useful data that can aid in improving VR game design. The studio has also developed its own VR locomotion technology called Telepath, which it describes as a “more immersive substitute for teleporting.”

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Today Aldin announced that it has raised a $1 million seed investment, led by Crowberry Capital, with participation by Investa and the Icelandic Technology Development Fund.

The studio says its next step is to “develop believable virtual realities” by fusing VR and artificial intelligence to create new levels of character interaction and storytelling. As part of the investment announcement the studio is teasing a forthcoming, but still unannounced, VR title.

“Aldin’s next title will let users step into a fantastical world and become acquainted with a character in ways that could only happen in VR, powered by XR AI systems that help form personal connections with characters beyond what’s possible with screenbound entertainment,” the studio writes.

Aldin plans to reveal the new title by the end of 2018.

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Ben Lang
Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • Sandy Wich

    Waltz was a cool little demo, but i sincerely hope whatever they make next has significantly more meat and potatoes involved. I am so tired of almost everything PCVR being glorified demos.

    Of course I get why they are a thing considering slow adoption rate, but I think there’s enough PCVR users now for more serious support of this platform.

    “crossing fingers”