L.A. Noire (2011), the hit neo-noire adventure game for PC and console, is coming to VR in a series of cases taken from the original game that Rockstar says are being “rebuilt specifically for virtual reality.”

Called L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files, the game will deliver seven of the original, self-contained cases from L.A. Noire. Rockstar maintains its new VR game is “rebuilt specifically for a virtual reality experience on the HTC VIVE™ system.” Thanks to the Revive compatibility layer, Oculus Rift will likely see support as well, albeit it an unofficial capacity if it doesn’t eventually show up on the Oculus Store.

The VR game comes alongside new versions of L.A. Noire which are scheduled to release on November 14, 2017 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

image courtesy Rockstar Games

“We’re excited to bring L.A. Noire’s unique mix of real detective work, classic Hollywood atmosphere and thrilling action to these new platforms,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games.  “Now with a choice of spectacular virtual reality, stunning 4K, or the freedom of portable play, these enhanced versions are a perfect opportunity for players to experience this richly detailed world in a whole new way.”

The game’s lifelike characters were created using a type of facial capture technology called MotionScan, a technology that records real actors with 32 surrounding cameras to capture facial expressions from every angle. We can’t wait to see what they look like up close and personal, in a way only a VR headset can provide.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Doctor Bambi

    Totally awesome! L.A. Noire had such a great atmosphere. I’ve come back to it multiple times over the years and the thought of actually being in that world is super exciting. The only aspect of this game that doesn’t lend itself well to VR would probably be the foot chases. I wonder if they’ll find a way to make that work or take them out altogether (perhaps those are the missions they excluded). Everything else from exploring crime scenes, to interrogating suspects, to driving cars should flow nicely into the VR version. Can’t wait to see how this turns out; no Rift support is a bummer though.

    • doug

      I’m looking forward to it, even the foot chases! Several games I’ve played utilize the left trackpad with touch to walk and push to sprint in any direction, and several other games have a climbing mechanics that work well. Finally, there should always be an optional vignette intensity setting for the player who hasn’t adjusted to VR yet.

  • NooYawker

    Seven self contained cases… I originally thought they would put out sections of the environment. So will each case have full access to the same map the regular game has? Or did they just take the case and put it in a smaller environment. How much will each case cost?

  • Get Schwifty!

    Really looking forward to this… L.A. Noire underappreciated game by many folks… I’d love nothing more than tooling around in 1940’s post-war L.A…..

  • Adrian Meredith

    loved this game, really unique and it was fun spotting various actors from tv shows popup at varous parts

  • ShiftyInc

    I highly doubt they give you an open world in VR. Most likely you have a small area that is the crime scene, where you can look around for clues (like batman) And those interrogation scenes. and that is about it. There are only seven of them, so i think they removed the ones with car chases and running after a criminal.

    • Get Schwifty!

      Yeah I bet you are right. Personally, I am hoping for at least one shootout in the new stuff… but not holding my breath.

      • IanTH

        See my comment just above ours for the full quote, but at least it seems like there will be car based shootouts if nothing else. It’d be pretty lame if they just let you fire your gun from your car with no rhyme or reason…so I’m thinking a shootout in the style of London Heist on PSVR perhaps?

    • IanTH

      Well, the Vive blog announcement has this to say near the end:

      “players can use real world physical motions including grabbing, inspecting and manipulating individual clues or using the detective’s notebook to make notes or draw freehand. Experience first person driving in VR with additional real-world vehicle interactions including steering, operating car doors, changing radio stations, shooting from vehicles and much more.”

      So for sure the things you said about the crime scenes & interrogations, but it sounds like we’ll also get at least some variant of the outside world. How open a world remains to be seen – though I’d wager they end up keeping things fairly linear – but at least there will be more to do than just checking out crime scenes!

      • ShiftyInc

        Interesting, missed that part. Well i would not have had anything against just the detective stuff. batman was cool in that regard as well. But being able to drive in some way in the city and shoot sound even better.

  • Thomas Coyote Baxter

    Revive is so VIVE users can use oculus games, not other way about js

  • Luke

    I didn’t understand if and why Oculus owners can not play this game. Will it be relased on Steam? what is happening with Steam isn’t it open to all the VR platfroms?

    • psuedonymous

      Same as with the initial release of Google Earth, and with a lot of stuff released via Viveport: HMD use can be actively blocked. In addition, cotnrol schemes do not always translate well between a zero-order controller (Vive touchpads) and a first-order controller (Touch analog sticks). With many using the Vive touch-pads as extra buttons due to the lack of physical buttons, which can make use with a stick awkward or impossible (to way to move a stick to the top before ‘clicking; if the ‘click’ has been defined as a capacitive contact event, for example).

      • Andrew Jakobs

        And then they bitch about Oculus and it’s “exclusives”…

        • Get Schwifty!

          Yes – posted on this earlier or so I thought but it appears to have not gone through or worse, deleted.

        • Ethan James Trombley

          This isn’t an exclusive funded or encouraged by Valve this is simply a developer choice. Oculus is actively attempting to create a walled garden, HTC is not. I’m sure the game will eventually come to Rift in an official compacity though.

          • Luke

            Oculus is a garden itself with “Oculus Home” but isn’t a garden itself when it works on Steam. I bought Oculus this summers’s sale to buy games on Steam as many people did. It’s just a peripheral, a complex monitor 2.0 basically, it’s a pain to see developers giving exclusives to some monitors instead than others. To be honest I’m angry with this really narrow minded. People like me just committed sacrifices to buy Oculus Rift and give trust to the new VR market in general, and now the first AAA games such L.A. Noire, Fallout 4, Doom VFR, are just off the official Rift suppot on Steam. As a customer I wish to run in the opposite direction. Maybe I had to wait before jumping into the vr market. I couldn’t afford a vive and I wouldn’t because they are going to replace their controllers design, so I bought the Rift for a better price and it is awesome, it could make run/display those AAA games very very well.
            I see/feel like if I’m in a situation of being abandoned. Is it like this? I hope someone can do something. Maybe just letting our voices reach the right people could count.

          • Get Schwifty!

            Same problem, either you are committed to supporting all environments or you aren’t. You simply cannot argue against exclusives while developing for one platform.

    • NooYawker

      If it’s on steam anyone with a Rift can play it, but like psuedo said the control mapping can get wonky sometimes.

  • silvaring

    Cough* PS4 pro *cough. what gives?

    • Andrew Jakobs

      Yes, it will get a special version for the PS4 Pro, just like it will get one for the xbox one X..

      • IanTH

        Perhaps he’s miffed that the VR cases aren’t coming to PSVR? I own Rift & PSVR, but if I still only had the latter I’d be kinda miffed.
        ——
        I do hope they end up supporting Rift, or at least the controls don’t bind weirdly from Wand to Touch lol. I liked LA Noire enough back in the day, so seeing that world & the really solid mo-cap up close could be rather cool – for the right price :-p

  • Andrew McEvoy

    Ahh cool! Im down for this game rebooted for VR. Nice one.

  • θεός

    The main problem with the original release is that the game is 30fps capped, you can use tools to unlock 60fps but it causes issues. Hopefully they have fix it to have 90fps without gameplay issues.

  • Nadim Alam

    Well i know exactly which version i will be buying :D HTCVive ofcourse!!!! Rockstar please please please add trackpad movement controls in this and definetly not teleport!!!

    Its a shame that we cant play through the full game in VR, but im sure you guys know what your doing as you always do, and im thankful that atleast youve created some VR content!!

    Quite excited to play this game, only ever played and completed it once, hardly remember much of it now so it will still feel a bit fresh!!

  • yag

    Rockstar coming to VR is huge, now we talk about AAA games…

  • Jerald Doerr

    Awsome… Anyone with common sense knows what this is….. It’s a test to see how much the VR community wants the next GTA too (fully) suport VR.
    I think thay might be afraid to tarnish there number one hit with a (fad) like VR…. BUT…. anyone who owns a VR unit knows it’s here to stay unlike the ones we all played 20+ years ago blasting terradactuls or friends on checker boards at 5$ a pop.

    Anyone know the name of that game? Time to Google!

  • Ragbone

    Oculus…

  • PJ

    Hope it gets official Rift support, it’s very strange to see a Vive controller in game when your holding a touch controller