HTC has promised to “forever transform the ways in which people interact with the world and communicate with each other” with its new HTC Vive virtual reality headset, produced in conjunction with video game studio Valve.

The Vive is clearly designed to be a serious rival to Facebooks Oculus Rift and Microsofts upcoming HoloLens, with the partnership with Valve, who run the Steam game distribution platform, giving the headset a significant boost when it comes to accessing the gamer market.

The Vive will run using the upcoming SteamVR platform and while it requires a PC to tether it, reducing its portability, this will also enable it to run more powerful programs with real-time 360 movement and clearer, crisper imagery.

The developer edition of the Viva will launch this spring, with a consumer edition planned for the end of 2015, which could see it on the market before either the Oculus Rift or the HoloLens, both of which are yet to announce consumer-ready models.

The Vive comes with a new wireless VR controller designed to make users feel at one with the virtual environment, and to be versatile enough to work with a wide range of VR experiences. HTC has also partnered with Lions Gate Entertainment and HBO to bring content to users.

“Vive creates an exciting opportunity for all developers and content creators, to help us bring virtual reality into the mainstream with an end-to-end solution that completely redefines how we entertain ourselves, communicate with each other, learn and, eventually, how we become more productive,” said Cher Wang, chairwomen of HTC. “HTC Vive is real, it’s here and it’ll be ready to go before the start of 2016.”

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