Somnium Space, makers of the upcoming Somnium VR1 PC VR headset, announced it’s partnering with TG0, the team behind the unique finger-tracking motion ‘etee controller’ that launched out of Kickstarter in 2020.

The companies announced they’re are releasing a hardware bundle deal featuring both the Somnium VR1 headset and the etee controllers from TG0.

Customers who reserve a Somnium VR1 headset, starting at €1,900 (~$2,060 USD), will receive a 20% discount code for a pair of SteamVR-tracked etee controllers, which are typically priced at $492.

The controllers feature full finger-tracking​ and an open-hand design that allows you to pinch, point, and swipe while doing stuff in 6DOF, which is thanks to the modular SteamVR-compatible tracking arm that snaps onto the controller body. Take a look at the unboxing below to see it in action:

As you’d imagine, etee controllers aren’t really targeting hardcore gamers who need reliable binary button input, like you might find on Meta Touch or PSVR 2 Sense controller, but rather things like training, art, therapy, social XR, and more. Check out our Q&A with the company’s interface product design specialist Mick Lin to learn more.

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While it’s still not certain exactly when Somnium VR1 is set to ship, it seems we’re getting fairly close, as the company announced its first slate of headsets have left the factory floor and will be used as R&D devices as the company dials in assembly and manufacturing tolerances.

Somnium VR1 | Image courtesy Somnium Space

Featuring a 2,880 × 2,880 QD-LCD with Mini LED panels, a wide 130-degree horizontal field of view, and SteamVR tracking, Somnium VR1 is primarily targeting high-end gaming and professional applications.

Thanks to its modular design, users can customize their headset with a number of components, which includes high-resolution passthrough cameras, eye-tracking unit, and hand-tracking add-ons.

You can check out more specs and reserve a base VR1 headset, or ones kitted with the components mentioned above exclusively through Somnium’s website, while you’ll find all versions of the etee controllers over on TG0’s etee contoller website.

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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.
  • Nevets

    I guess that with potential access to the Meta game library, new HMDs will become more interesting. I can't think of why anyone would buy a HMD that wasn't launching in conjunction with a major games library, i.e. Meta or Steam.

    • ViRGiN

      Meta on the box is definietly a plus, but dead SteamVR? Nope. It's pathethic to tie yourself to an unsupported and abandoned platform, like PSVR2 did.

  • Can't WAIT to put this on the shelf
    right next to my DecaGear & Pimax12K ….

  • Arno van Wingerde

    I wish such small companies would partner with meta… not just because of access to the games library as @disqus_iKIoQM5O52:disqus writes, but to partner in the large minefield that is VR software in general. I foresee a kind of Pimax-like development where the company is not large enough to build an entire ecology around the hardware, does not have the userbase to encourage software developers to make stuff for this set and hence an automatic fail – even provided they get the hardware right!

    • ViRGiN

      I wish such small companies never existed. Their marketing was scammy and pathethic, and they publicly crapped on anyone who had any concerns, including me calling out their BS "estimated timeline" which in the end got delayed by like what, 2-3 years? When Covid hit, it was clear nothing is gonna get done anytime soon and they still wanted your money.
      Nobody uses etee. Not even its developers.

    • Zombie

      if they all sided with meta, meta would have a monopoly.
      that's not good for anyone

  • XRC

    Etee controller have incredible material sensing technology, made my Index controllers grip and finger sensing feel primitive in comparison.

  • ViRGiN

    lmao Etee is a complete failure, just like Somnium.

    I find it absolutetly pathethic that you Scott Hayden, just like tech analyst and YouTuber Brad ‘SadlyItsBradley’ Lynch, are compeltly quiet about the background of the company. Somnium has never achieved anything, and the only thing they are known for is Somnium Space, the failed Metaverse from 2018, which has been averaging 1 user monthly for the past several years, and peaking at just 48 back in early 2020!
    Brad has been invited by Somnium to "test" and "give feedback" about its prototypes, and all he ever did was just nod to every fairly tale Arthur has told him. Funnily enough, they already dropped him completly as since Brad got his AVP, he doesn't care about anything else anymore.

    The headsets, which are exclusively available so far just to two biggest VR shills who are VR tourists – MRTV and VR Flight Sim Guy – are obviously AMAZING, with super CLARITY blablabla and all the other words that PCVR elitists/"simmers" need to hear.
    These advertisers obviously fail to mention all the actually relevant stuff. It's supposed to be "open source" but that just means no software was written for it. There is no "mixed reality" support at any tier, there is only sort of "green screen masking" to show passthrough instead of game render.

    The pricing is also insane lol. Somnium also "invested" into Lynx, another detached from reality "VR pioneer" who is still yet to deliver headsets to even a quarter of it's backer-customers, already years late. Stan Larroque always have great news to share, but hey don't forget VR is hard and we are small team! Last Kickstarter update was back in 2023. These people have no respect for anyone who allowed them to actually exist in the first place.

    Arthur loves to call anyone who has different views as "haters", and he constantly strikes his ego by saying stuff like "oh they are hating on us so much, that means we are doing something right!" lol.

    Maybe he will even come to this comment section like he did previously. So for you Arthur – "hahahaha thanks for reading and commenting! :)"