Assassin's Creed haptic shirt will make you feel 'exclusive sensations never felt before'

engadget.com:

Did you ever feel that your Assassin's Creed experience wasn't personal enough? Maybe not, but Ubisoft is betting that you'd like to give it a try regardless. The company has teamed up with OWO to release an Assassin's Creed Mirage edition haptic feedback shirt. Put it on and you'll feel parkour, impacts and "exclusive sensations never felt before" — yes, really. You might want to close the door while you're playing, from the sound of it.

OWO's shirt includes haptic points at on your chest, stomach, lower back and arms. The trick is an algorithm that adjusts nine wave parameters to simulate interactions ranging from the wind to a dagger. You can use a mobile app to calibrate sensations in specific games or replace them with your own. Compatible games frequently rely on mods (such as Fortnite and Beat Saber), but there are already a handful of native games like Crisis Brigade 2 Reloaded and Drone War. This is the first major collaboration.

Details of pricing and a release date are yet to come, but the haptic apparel will work with PS4, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC. The game will be released October 12th, and the OWO shirt will include a game code. OWO's Founder Edition shirt sold for €499 ($560), but it was also part of a 2,000-unit batch and won't necessarily reflect the final price.

Wearable haptics for games aren't new, but they tend to be experimental efforts. See Sony's Rez Infinite synesthesia suit from 2017 as an example. The Assassin's Creed collaboration won't necessarily take that tech into the mainstream, but it's coming right as the next generation of mixed reality headsets is coming to market. Don't be surprised if haptics gain some traction as immersion becomes more important in AR and VR games.