HTC has invested $5 million in Steel Wool Studios, building up the virtual reality ecosystem.

The collaboration between HTC and Steel Wool is expected to grow after this investment. Both companies have reportedly been working together for a while now. The Oakland-based gaming studio made up of Pixar veterans would use the funds to support its game, simulation, and narrative VR experiences. The funding would give the company more freedom to expand its other VR efforts and it includes more narrative-driven experiences in addition to gaming content, TechCrunch reported. 

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Steel Wool is comprised of veterans from high-profile institutions such as Pixar and Telltale Games. The studio was formed by people with decades of combined 3D graphics experience. Steel Wool has already released a VR title on the Vive called “Quar: Battle for Gate 18.” The company is set to release other titles soon, including “Mars Odyssey," which is expected to hit the market on Sep. 9, according to Venture Beat. “Mars Odyssey” is an interactive simulation that tasks players with repairing NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers. 

“The Steel Wool Studios team carries an impressive pedigree of creative talent that has already proven its ability to build cutting-edge content for the nascent VR category. Taking a look at Mars Odyssey and Steel Wool’s other projects under development, it’s immediately clear that this studio will drive VR adoption with great content that balances amazing visual fidelity with strong storytelling,” said HTC CEO Cher Wang.

HTC has been looking to forge ahead with investments in the VR space. The investment in Steel Wool Studios is the latest in a series of partnerships and acquisitions that have defined the company’s stance on virtual reality.

The Taiwanese tech firm is also part of the creation of the VR Venture Capital Alliance, an assembly of 36 investment groups with upwards of $12 billion in deployable capital open to accelerating the growth of virtual reality companies. The group is composed of important members in the VC community such as Sequoia Capital, Redpoint Ventures, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

TagsHTC, HTC Vive, VR, Virtual Reality, Steel Wool Studios, Pixar studio, VR Game, Telltale Games, Quar: Battle for Gate 18, Mars Odyssey