Creative company Framestore, the name behind some of the special effects in blockbuster movies like Blade Runner 2049 and famous characters such as Geico Gecko, has signed on to be one of the earliest content production partners for the mysterious Magic Leap. The somewhat secretive mixed reality company has outed its first-generation hardware late last year and when it’s finally released, Framestore will be one of the first companies making content for it. There are no specific announcements as to exactly what types of content will be hitting the upcoming system, but it’s a safe bet that it will be something spectacular that’s meant to show the potential of the platform.
What Framestore did say about its partnership is that it will open the doors for “brands and customers” to take advantage of the platform, which means that it may or may not produce some sort of original content that’s Magic Leap-exclusive, but it will certainly be working with customers and clients as it always has, which means that games, advertising, movies, and premium shows and experiences featuring beloved characters or stories dreamed up by well-known studios are definitely on the table. The company is currently working on Lockheed Martin’s Field Trip To Mars VR experience, as one example of a very plausible tie-in to the Magic Leap ecosystem. The studio also helped with HBO’s Game of Thrones: Ascend the Wall VR experience, so HBO content is another possibility for Magic Leap.
The Magic Leap One will reportedly be out sometime this year, albeit as an early-model “Creator’s Edition.” The hardware consists of a pair of glasses tied to a wearable puck that takes care of computing, along with a controller that’s not entirely unlike existing VR accessories. The Magic Leap One has a number of sensors that allow it to “see” the environment around it, so it’s quite possible that you’ll be able to interact with content with both the controller and your bare hands, or whatever else you may have handy.