Star Force is an adaptation of B.V. Larson’s popular Star Force series and will focus on the series’ first novel, Swarm, in which Earth must overcome a swarm of alien attacks.

Cemtrex Inc. announced that the virtual reality (VR) adaptation of B.V. Larson’s Star Force is now fully in production with a playable BETA release for select testers slated for this summer. Character design and core gameplay mechanics were finalized in the last two weeks, allowing the team to move forward with full production, story development and in-depth VR development of environments, characters and other key components.

“B.V. Larson’s novels have garnered millions of readers and we are thrilled to bring his stories to life in a groundbreaking and compelling fashion,” said Saagar Govil, CEO and Chairman of Cemtrex. “The ability to bring the written word into an immersive and engaging medium like this VR experience is unlike anything that’s been done on this scale. We see this as a revolutionary form of storytelling and Star Force is an excellent title to begin with.

“We have put many of our resources that were allocated and assets developed for the previously announced Ultra85 into this game not only to expedite the Star Force release, but also to ensure we provide the best experience possible for VR gamers and Star Force’s loyal fanbase alike. In doing so, we have decided to focus on Star Force solely and put Ultra85 on hold for now.”

“We firmly believe that VR & AR will change personal computing in profound ways as the technology reaches a critical mass over the next few years. We are positioning Cemtrex to be a key content creator and software provider for these markets by getting into these markets at the ground floor. Similar to how the mobile gaming industry quickly evolved into a multibillion-dollar market we see parallels in VR gaming as well. In 18 months, we created a new business unit with SmartDesk that is now gaining traction and our goal is to have an equally attractive VR business unit with multiple products 18 months from now,” continued Mr. Govil.

The VR market is growing rapidly: IDC projects a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 69.6% over the next five years. According to IDC, the growth of virtual reality will impact numerous sectors, including consumer services ($1.6 billion), retail ($1.56 billion), and discrete manufacturing ($1.54 billion) in 2019. By 2025, Grand View estimates that VR gaming will reach $45.09 billion USD.

Star Force’s VR adaptation is scheduled for release in Fall 2019, and will be available for the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive as well as the forthcoming Oculus Quest.