Varjo Partners with Alpine Esports for Unforgettable Sim Racing Experiences
March 2, 2023 – Helsinki, Finland – Varjo, the leading virtual and mixed reality (VR/XR) company on a mission to redefine reality, and Alpine Esports, the esports arm of the iconic French sports car manufacturer of the Renault Group, have announced a partnership for building better, more immersive sim racing experiences. The partnership was revealed during the inaugural Alpine Esports Sim Racing Expo. This year, the expo focused on the state of the sim racing industry, which is forecast to be worth over $13B by 2026, up from $4B in 2018.
As part of the partnership, Varjo becomes an Official Supplier and VR Partner of Alpine. Varjo is already an active member of the sim racing community, and Varjo’s headsets are a perfect match for sim racing, setting them apart from other headset providers. With crystal clear edge-to-edge clarity, advanced ergonomics, and a built-in cooling system, the Varjo Aero reduces the effects of motion sickness, while the XR-3 headset is the first and only headset of its kind to be created with human-eye resolution to immerse drivers in a mixed reality driving experience.
Varjo’s XR technology will be used for the wider Alpine Business Unit while the Varjo Aero headsets will offer immersive experiences to fans and drivers. Varjo will supply Alpine Esports with Varjo Aero VR headsets, named the best VR headset of 2022, to be used at events and in the new Alpine Esports Content Room, a new facility built to support immersive content.
Guillaume Vergnas, the Head of Esports, Gaming & Web3 at Alpine said: “Sim racing is an important part of Alpine’s DNA. We see the crossover between real-world racing and sim racing continue to blur where it can support how we conduct testing of our cars providing us with realistic data. It also allows us to engage with new audiences. Our line-up of partners allows us to support our competitive ambitions for our F1 Esports team and Le Mans Virtual Series Team, engage with fans in completely new ways, and support our Business Unit. We’re excited to work with Varjo who also sees the potential of sim racing and whose products are a natural fit for our needs.”
“We’re thrilled to team up with Alpine eSports to bring the world of sim racing to life with the power of our highest-end virtual reality,” said Rune Huse Karlstad, Head of Racing Simulation at Varjo. “Together, Varjo and Alpine can immerse drivers in the heart of the action and push the limits of what’s possible in VR/XR esports. We can’t wait to see what kind of pioneering experiences we can create together, and we look forward to driving the future of virtual racing together with Alpine eSports.”
About Alpine:
Founded in 1955 by Jean Rédélé, Alpine has set itself apart with its French-style sports cars. In 2018, the brand presents the new A110, a sports car faithful to Alpine’s timeless principles of compactness, lightness, agility and driving pleasure. In 2021, the Alpine Business Unit was created. It thus became the brand dedicated to innovative, authentic, exclusive sports cars of Renault Group, benefiting from the heritage and craftsmanship of its historic plant in Dieppe, as well as the engineering mastery from Alpine Racing and Alpine Cars teams.
About Varjo:
Varjo (pronounced var-yo) makes revolutionary VR/XR hardware and software that together allow you to see and experience virtual and augmented content just as clearly as you see the analog world around us. Our virtual and mixed reality headsets take you to another level of performance and emotional immersion – recreating the exact feeling and conditions of real life, allowing you to perform better and learn faster. www.varjo.com
