20th Century Fox announced today that an Alien: Covenant "VR Experience" named In Utero would be released prior to the launch of Ridley Scott's film.
In Utero isn't a game, but is a type of interactive trailer. Alien: Covenant will be an Oculus exclusive, likely available for both the Rift and the Gear VR. It will launch on April 26, giving fans plenty of time to try it out before the movie debuts in mid-May.
Alien: Covenant, for those who aren't familiar, is a film about a colony ship planning to inhabit what they believe is an uncharted paradise. Naturally, since this is an Alien movie after all, the planet likely isn't as much of a paradise as the colonists expected. What actually awaits on the planet remains a mystery, but odds are the colonists will want to escape just as soon as they figure out what they've gotten themselves into.
For the Alien: Covenant In Utero VR experience, the team at FoxNext VR Studio chose to share a specific sequence which may or may not be in the movie that's particularly visceral. Beware spoilers, for those who prefer to avoid that kind of thing. As the name implies, players will get to experience the birth of an alien. It's not just any alien, as the brief glimpse in In Utero's trailer implies. This is an alien known as a neomorph, according to Fox.
The VR experience's trailer doesn't offer many details, but there's definitely plenty of room for speculation. Alien: Covenant isn't just about several random colonists, it's about several random columnist couples. The goal being that they can begin to populate the new planet as soon as they arrive. Considering the brief images we're shown in the trailer, as well as the title, In Utero, it's rather obvious just how a neomorph might be born.
If Alien: Covenant is like previous VR experiences, it could include a mix of 2D movie footage, interactive mini-games featuring various settings and events from the film, as well as simple on-rails tours of different movie settings. However, judging from what we know so far, In Utero might be somewhat different. The VR experience doesn't require motion controls, for instance, so interactive elements may be absent. It very well might be a simple on-rails experience with 360 degree view, but full of spooky Alien atmosphere.
Alien: Covenant In Utero will be available for Oculus starting April 26. Alien: Covenant will hit theaters starting May 19.