Virtual reality has been a vague and scattered concept for decades now, with various companies offering their own takes on head-mounted displays, motion controls, and integration of the two, to varying levels of success.

The Oculus Rift rekindled interest in VR a few years ago, with the development kit's inexpensive price and relative ease of use. Now virtual reality is growing again, and this time several industry leaders are going to try to unify the different products under one standard.

A consortium of device manufacturers and developers have announced the Open-Source Virtual Reality (OSVR) ecosystem, a collaborative effort between multiple companies to ensure broad cross-compatibility with different VR devices. OSVR will use a standardized device interface that, with plugins, will ensure compatibility with different controllers and head-mounted displays.

Several major names in VR and gaming peripherals are currently supported by OSVR, including devices made by Oculus, Razer, LeapMotion, TrinityVR, and Sixense. OSVR is also compatible with several major game engines, including Unity 3D and Unreal Engine 4. Ubisoft, Gearbox, and the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) have also signed on with OSVR.

For hobbyists and small developers, OSVR is producing the OSVR Hacker Development Kit. The package includes individual modules for the head-mounted display's sensors, screen, and optics, along with a separate belt box for additional connectivity. It won't be a ready-to-use device like the Oculus Rift Devleopment Kits, but will instead encourage working with the different parts of a VR system. It's currently being distributed under limited developer access, and will be available to the public for $199.99 in June.

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