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StarVR puts its developer headsets on hold amid financial woes

It had barely started taking sign-ups for its latest VR program.

StarVR's headset plans are facing a serious setback. The company has confirmed to UploadVR that it's putting its StarVR One developer program "on hold" a month after starting sign-ups due to both problems with its "key overseas shareholder" and while it's in the midst of becoming a private company. One of StarVR's main stakeholders, Starbreeze, both filed for reconstruction (akin to bankruptcy) in Sweden and had to grapple with an arrest for insider trading. StarVR itself, meanwhile, has delisted itself from the Taipei Exchange Emerging Markets over concerns about the state of the VR industry.

It's not clear when StarVR might resume the program, assuming the issues are only temporary. Acer owns roughly two thirds of the company, so it's not in immediate peril.

This won't be good news if you're a fan of public VR experiences, though. StarVR has been making a concerted push for VR in arcades, museums and the workplace. With the developer program freeze, it's possible you might not get to use one of its advanced headsets (which include wide fields of view and eye tracking) for a while longer.