Valve announces The Lab, a compilation of free VR "experiments"

Valve has announced in a very brief email that it will unveil a series of free virtual reality “experiments,” collectively known as The Lab, at the Game Developers Conference next week.

The Lab will be set in “a pocket universe of Aperture Science,” the home of the Portal games and the SteamVR Performance Test tool that Valve rolled out last month. It will be available free on Steam later this spring, and will offer "multiple ways to enjoy room-scale VR."

No other details were announced, but we'll be speaking with Valve on March 16 at GDC, and we'll be sure to ask them what's up. This year's Game Developers Conference runs from March 14-18. Last week we took a look at some of the early Vive demos here. Mind that monk!

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.