Project Cars dev Slightly Mad Studios is working on a VR-friendly game console

Project Cars dev Slightly Mad Studios is getting into the game console business with its upcoming Mad Box.

Ian Bell, the CEO of Slightly Mad Studios, announced the upcoming system on Twitter by billing it as a VR-compatible, 4K capable system that is “the most powerful console ever built.” Additionally, he says that The Mad Box offers developers access to a full and free engine to develop games with as well, both for this and other platforms.

Bell elaborated on the plans for the Mad Box in an interview with Variety, noting that current arrangements see the console shipping in around three years' time with specifications “equivalent to a very fast PC two years from now,” though conversations with manufacturers are yet-ongoing so specific specs have yet to be nailed down.

The system aims to offer support for most major VR headsets, including some currently upcoming devices, at 120 FPS. Additionally, the company is currently evaluating offers from unnamed investors to grab the funding needed to see the Mad Box to market, and says that the team is eyeing a worldwide release for the system, which includes, in Bell's words, “areas that are, let’s say, not particularly open to other vendors at the moment.” While Bell notes that demand and ship quantity will have some bearing on the system’s final price, the Mad Box will be “competitive with upcoming console prices.”

For developers, Bell says that Slightly Mad Studios won’t be shelling out for exclusivity incentives since it’s the company’s belief that exclusives are exclusionary, but hopes that the availability of that entirely (but unnamed) free cross-platform engine mentioned before will encourage developers to consider bringing their games to the Mad Box.