HTC plans to complement Steam with its own Viveport VR app store

Steam isn’t the only way you’ll get games for your HTC Vive virtual reality headset.

HTC announced today that it is working on its own VR app store called Viveport for the Vive headset that will launch later this year. This distribution channel will provide anyone with the Vive headset a fast way to access software that has more to do with learning and productivity than games.or entertainment. To ensure every Vive owner can quickly jump back and forth between both Viveport and Steam, the VR system will enable VR users to instantly jump back and forth between each one. Virtual reality isn’t a viable market yet for most developers, but analysts predict it could generate $40 billion in revenues by 2020. Until then, Viveport is part of HTC’s efforts to help studios make money from VR.

“Our mission is to unleash human imagination from the limitations of reality, and Viveport will be an important cornerstone in democratizing access to the world’s most diverse selection of immersive experiences,” HTC chief executive Cher Wang said.

In a conversation with GamesBeat, HTC Viveport boss Rikard Steiber explained that Viveport and Steam are like two sides of the same coin. HTC doesn’t want to take games away from Vavle’s channel, but it does want to provide a place for educators and families to quickly find something with a potential focus on instruction.

“Virtual reality isn’t just valuable to the gamer and early adopter,” Steiber said. “We think virtual reality is valuable to everyone.”

Steiber described to GamesBeat a Viveport that can democratize experiences. He wants to help everyone travel everywhere digitally, and he wants to share those experiences through HTC’s platform.

“My daily life evolves around my kids, and if they can travel back to ancient Egypt to the pyramids being built and even help build it while learning about geometry, and actually remembering what they learned, that’s something special,” he said.

HTC is moving ahead with Viveport immediately. The company plans to launch it into a developer beta soon so that the team can start getting feedback and making improvements.