Razer Announces HDK2 Virtual Reality Headset

Razer’s Hacker Development Kit 2 headset is a virtual reality option for those interested in an “affordable open-source hardware to innovate with,” Razer OSVR head Christopher Mitchell said.

The gaming peripheral company will start shipping the HDK 2 for $400 in July. It’s the second Razer headset available as part of its Open Source Virtual Reality Consortium. It reportedly hold up to the Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR, despite being considerably cheaper.

“With the HDK 2 being able to deliver a visual experience on par with industry leaders, we will now be able to represent hardware agnostic VR media and games in all their glory for future headsets to adopt through the open source system,” Mitchell said.

With its open-source features, Razer boasts the headset has a 2160×1200 resolution, dual OLED display, 90hz low-latency refresh rate, and custom lenses. The custom lenses—which, according to the company, give HDK 2 an advantage—serve to fix a VR problem wherein players see “individual pixels inside of VR,” Venture Beat said.

Additionally, Razer is launching a new fund for studios interested in working in the VR market. “We understand content developers have various development challenges, and we’re comitted to helping them get ahead of those barriers,” OSVR director Justin Cooney said.

Razer will continue to sell its original HDK for $300. More information is available on the OSVR site.