Calling all virtual reality developers: Valve and HTC are giving away a Developer Edition of their Vive VR headset for free.
At least, they will be soon: The companies, which unveiled the joint project early this month, have already handed out kits to some developers, but others will have to wait.
"More info and 'sign up' forms will be available to all interested developers, big or small, via a new site coming soon," Valve told Ars Technica. The company confirmed the report to PCMag, but declined to elaborate. HTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Developer Edition kits—available for free, "at least initially"—will begin shipping this spring ahead of a planned 2015 consumer launch.
The chosen few (there is no word on exactly how many Vive VRs will be dispensed) are only for approved developers, though Valve did not address how folks will be prioritized, or what sort of balance there will be between those developers "big or small."
HTC announced its partnership with Valve during Mobile World Congress in Barceona, where it revealed the Oculus Rift-like Vive. Laden with sensors to enable features like hand-tracking for a more immersive virtual reality experience, the Vive VR also sports a 90Hz refresh rate and 360-degree head tracking.
And, unlike the Samsung Gear VR or LG's Google Cardboard-based VR headset, the Vive will connect directly with computers—similar to the Oculus Rift.
The Facebook-owned Oculus, however, charges developers $350 for a second-generation development kit Rift, which comes with a low-persistence, high-definition display and precise, low-latency positional head tracking.
While Valve's freebie plan sounds great for developers lucky enough to snag one, the press and general public will almost certainly have a much harder time getting their hands on the in-development hardware. Of course, as Ars Technica pointed out, that's pretty much par for the course: Most consumers don't get to sample the product before it hits shelves.
For more, see PCMag's Hands On With the HTC Vive VR Headset and our preview of the Oculus Rift Development Kit (DK2), as well as the slideshow above.