YouTube’s new VR videos let you step inside games like Minecraft and League Of Legends
YouTube have partnered up with game creators and companies to experiment with a new virtual reality experience for gaming videos, taking you inside the game.
Gaming videos on YouTube are massive! Just look at PewDiePie, YouTube’s most subscribed channel for years now, made his come up recording himself playing video games. But now YouTube are looking into how they can make this experience even more unique by putting you, the viewer, inside the game.
All sorts of gaming videos from Lets Plays to trailers are going to start becoming available in virtual reality as YouTube pushes VR across more of their platform. Some videos have already been created using VR technology so you can jump inside the games, including Minecraft gameplay and a live action, game-themed videos like a Call of Duty inspired 360° video.
Even the developers of games have begun getting involved in VR gaming videos with a 360° video for the massive mobile game Clash of Clans by Supercell, and documentaries created by Wargaming, the publishers of World of Tanks. VR videos have been taken up by eSports organisations too with the League of Legends world championship finals having been recorded in 360-degrees for an immersive experience of the tournament’s grand finale.
If you’re in the mood to sit back and relax with something, but still want a virtual experience with a gaming theme, there are videos from series like the classic Halo-based ‘Red vs. Blue’ series and Stampy’s ‘Wonder Quest’.
Whilst you can still watch 360 videos on your smartphone or pc, for the best experience use Google Cardboard or the dedicated YouTube VR feature in Google’s virtual reality hub – Daydream. YouTube have compiled a playlist full of all of their favourite gaming videos with VR capabilities, offering “a good cross section of the kind of gaming videos we offer in VR”.