Virtual Reality Paranormal Activity Revealed At E3

There’s often a lot of crossover where films and video games are concerned, but prepare yourself for what could be the scariest of all.

It’s been announced at E3 that a virtual reality ‘Paranormal Activity’ game will be released in 2016, embodying an ambitious idea that uses, amongst other new technologies, Oculus Rift.

Paramount Pictures are pursuing the venture through VRWERX, a division of Beast Media Group, that specialise in virtual reality content.

Russell Naftal, Co-Managing Partner at Beast, believes integrating the ‘Paranormal Activity’ franchise into video games – specifically virtual reality – will create the ultimate experience in terror.

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“’Paranormal Activity’ is the perfect property for VRWERX. This franchise represents a huge audience that loves visceral, unbridled terror, which we intend to intensify through the incredible immersion that only virtual reality enables,” he says.

“Our goal is for the ‘Paranormal Activity VR’ video game to not only be the scariest game you’ve ever played, but the scariest experience you’ve ever had!” And his words could indeed ring true, with the original 2007 movie terrifying audiences as it exceeded all expectations at the box office, so could it translate well to the gaming world?

Scheduled for 2016, it will be released on all head-mounted compatible gaming equipment which includes HTC Vive, Sony’s Project Morpheus, PC, mobile, as well as consoles, including Xbox One and PlayStation 4. But the one that’ll whet the appetites of most gamers will be the development for Oculus Rift.

Above: The upcoming instalment, titled ‘Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension'.

LeeAnne Stables, President of Consumer Products for Paramount Pictures, believes it’ll provide the ultimate interactive experience within the movie world.

“Virtual reality provides exciting new ways for audiences to interact with our film franchises.” The idea of wandering the spooky house we see in the film is a spine-tingling prospect, but it’s unclear just how it’ll fit with the story we saw in the cinema. Will we be forced to lie down and sleep each night until something untoward happens, or will we skip to the nail-biting moments and be constantly scared out of our wits?

She went on to say, “’Paranormal Activity’ is an ideal fit and we look forward to further terrifying our fans through these new technologies and platforms.”

As a horror fan in both films and video games, the suggestion of a virtual reality ‘Paranormal Activity’ is an intriguing one. But quite how it’ll effectively work and scare the player into feeling that immersive experience is something we’ll have to wait until early next year to find out…

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Picture credit: Paramount Pictures