id veteran Steve Nix starts VR/AR studio

Steve Nix, a former id Software and GameStop executive, is venturing into the world of virtual reality. In a Facebook post, the games business veteran unveiled that his new Dallas-based studio is called ForwardXP. The "XP' part of the name, as in many games, stands for experience, and Nix is aiming to provide not only VR but augmented and mixed reality experiences to players.

"VR headsets are finally starting to arrive in quantity, and AR/MR will be the next major wave and eventually even larger than VR. Our mission at ForwardXP is to build content that ultimately reaches the billions of users across these emerging devices, and not just the millions who have experienced some form of VR/AR to date," he said.

"While focused on experiences, we strongly believe that the interactive process and design philosophies we have learned over decades in game development are critical to reach these goals. Interfaces will need to be effortless, content will be connected and social, and we need to solve for experiences that any user will want to return to daily. We want to build content that improves lives."

Nix said that ForwardXP will not only work on longer-term prototype content but will be happy to develop content with partners. "We will also be working with emerging indie developers to use our development, publishing and marketing experience to bring their content to market with the highest chances of success," he noted.

Nix does have some VR experience already, as he recently served as GM of VR & Interactive for ReelFX. Prior to that, he was the CEO of Yvolver, an engagement and analytics platform that he co-founded. Nix is the latest veteran from the AAA space to enter the VR/AR sector, joining the likes of Survios, Drifter and others.