Introversion launches Defcon VR prototype

Introversion Software, best known for the Uplink Hollywood hacking simulator and recent strategy title Prison Architect, is dipping its toes into the virtual reality water with a prototype port of its nuke-'em-up Defcon.

Released back in 2006 and well received by critics and gamers alike, Defcon is a strategic game based on the classic 1980s film Wargames. Players are put in control of a war room in which they must plot nuclear missile locations and defences, then upon reaching defence condition one (Defcon 1) the missiles fly. The player which takes the fewest casualties wins, but the message is clear: There are no real winners in a nuclear war, as the death toll rises and the sounds of screaming can be heard in amongst the explosions.

Now, there's a new way to experience the horror: in virtual reality. 'Introversion joins the VR party! Defcon VR allows you to spectate Defcon games in the comfort of your own virtual War Room,' the company told members of its mailing list today. 'Join others and marvel at total global annihilation as nuclear missiles arc over the globe on their path to destruction.'

The current release of Defcon VR is described by the company as a prototype, and only allows users to observe a game in process by users of the traditional two-dimensional client software. 'If there's enough interest we may decide to carry on and build a fully playable version of Defcon in VR,' the company promised.

A video of the Defcon VR protoype, which is available on Steam now, is reproduced below.