X

No, Netflix Is Not Releasing Its Own VR Headset, but Here's What's Going On

The streamer's immersive display on show at CES 2024 is meant to give you something to talk about.

Headshot of Kourtnee Jackson
Headshot of Kourtnee Jackson
Kourtnee Jackson Senior Editor
Kourtnee covers TV streaming services and home entertainment. She previously worked as an entertainment reporter at Showbiz Cheat Sheet, where she wrote about film, television, music, celebrities and streaming platforms.
Credentials
  • Though Kourtnee hasn't won any journalism awards yet, she's been a Netflix streaming subscriber since 2012 and knows the magic of its hidden codes.
Kourtnee Jackson
woman wearing unmarked chrome VR headset.

Netflix's 3 Body Problem puts VR technology at the heart of its story.

 Netflix/Screenshot by CNET

Virtual and augmented reality tech is everywhere at CES 2024, with Netflix offering its own immersive experience at this year's event. Though it may seem like the streaming service has plans to roll out its own branded VR headset, it's actually an interactive exhibit for 3 Body Problem, a new sci-fi series slated for release this spring. The company dropped a short teaser -- complete with logistical coordinates for a CES showroom in Las Vegas -- urging audiences to learn more. 

Based on Liu Cixin's book trilogy Remembrance of Earth's Past, which includes the novel The Three-Body Problem, the upcoming show blends mystery, science and drama while hopping across timelines and locations.

Netflix first shared a sneak peek during Geeked Week in November that revealed a shiny chrome headset capable of bending time and reality. "There's no screen. There's no headphone jack. There's not even a fucking charging port," says Jack (played by John Bradley). "And usually there'd be logos all over it if it was a Sony or Oculus or whatnot. It's probably a beta tester." 

CNET's team had a chance to check out Netflix's version of the "beta tester" at CES, and while fun, it's fictional.

3 Body Problem comes from Game of Thrones' co-creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, along with True Blood writer Alexander Woo. It stars Benedict Wong and a bunch of GoT alumni like Bradley, Liam Cunningham and Jonathan Pryce. Viewers can stream eight episodes on Netflix when the show premieres March 21.

Watch this: VR and AR in 2024: Apple, Samsung, Google, Meta, AI and a Quest for Function