Immersion Corp. (NASDAQ:IMMR), the leading developer and licensor of touch feedback technology, today announced TouchSense® Force for gaming. Game developers and peripheral manufacturers can now take their products to a whole new level by easily creating sensations of pushing, pulling, grasping, and pulsing by integrating high-quality touch effects into their games and devices.

Enabling gamers to become truly immersed in the experience, Immersion has been instrumental in creating compelling haptic experiences for games with its tools, software, and services. Recognized also for its efforts in innovating peripheral technology, Immersion also announced today that Performance Designed Products, LLC (PDP) is the first licensee to implement Immersion’s reference design and TouchSense technology in a gamepad ready for release to the market.

“Haptics in gaming and virtual reality (VR) is in need of a creative, design-centered approach, and that is what inspired us to create TouchSense Force,” said Chris Ullrich, Vice President of User Experience and Analytics at Immersion. “By giving developers early access to this technology, we are helping them incorporate high-quality haptic effects into games on multiple platforms that have never felt more real.”

Immersion’s new TouchSense Force product suite consists of two evolutionary technologies that enable greater immersion, and true-to-life experiences, in games and VR:

TouchSense Force for Game Developers

Game developers can now efficiently and precisely design and integrate compelling haptic experiences across varying APIs and controllers offered by the major platforms.

  • Plugin for Unreal Engine: A powerful tool that makes it simpler for studios to add touch effects to their games. Developers can incorporate haptics into their game, feel it, test it, and play it back on multiple controllers in real-time. This maximizes haptic capabilities of game controllers and enables developers to create and implement in-game haptics with minimal coding.
  • API: Allows developers using custom game engines to get complete control over haptic capabilities with TouchSense Force compatible peripherals.

TouchSense Force for Peripheral OEMs

Peripheral manufacturers can offer new and differentiated haptic experiences that create a competitive advantage, making games come to life. Immersion enables OEMs to develop innovative form factors for next-gen peripherals with new actuator technology, including kinesthetic triggers featuring push and pull capabilities and supporting detents and textures. It offers peripheral companies:

  • Reference Design: OEMs can create next-generation peripherals using Immersion’s solutions and expertise for utilizing advanced haptic technologies.
  • Firmware: Offers the most advanced haptic capabilities, giving greater control and higher fidelity with existing haptic hardware. Designed for more than just gamepads, it can support a variety of embodiments.

“Gamers are constantly demanding more realistic game experiences, and with TouchSense Force technology implemented in our controllers, we can deliver,” said Chris Richards, CEO of PDP. “Now the PDP development team will have the ability to expand trigger effects beyond a simple vibration to better match the in-game action.”

Immersion’s Haptic Design & Services

For best-in-class products, Immersion provides design and integration services, making experts available for on-site haptic effect design and integration support, ensuring that developers and peripherals devices will have the most compelling and immersive tactile experience on the market.

Immersion in Gaming

Immersion has a long and rich history in the gaming industry from its early efforts pioneering rumble on the Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox console platforms. For more than 20 years, it has enabled game developers to differentiate their products with high-quality touch effects. Peripheral companies such as Logitech, PDP, Guillemot and Bensussen Deutsch & Associates (BDA) are using Immersion’s haptic technology. Most recently, Immersion announced a multi-year agreement with Nintendo allowing Immersion to adapt its TouchSense technology to the new Nintendo SwitchTM system. Once adapted, game developers will be able to use Immersion’s TouchSense software suite to design games for the Nintendo Switch system.

To learn more about Immersion in gaming, please visit: www.immersion.com/gaming

About Immersion

Immersion Corporation (NASDAQ:IMMR) is the leading innovator of touch feedback technology, also known as haptics. The company provides technology solutions for creating immersive and realistic experiences that enhance digital interactions by engaging users' sense of touch. With more than 2,400 issued or pending patents, Immersion's technologies have been adopted in more than 3 billion digital devices. The company provides haptics in mobile, automotive, advertising, gaming, medical and consumer electronics products. Immersion is headquartered in San Jose, California with offices worldwide. Learn more at www.immersion.com.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that, if they never materialize or prove incorrect, could cause the results of Immersion Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

All statements, other than the statements of historical fact, are statements that may be deemed forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the benefits of Immersion’s TouchSense technology, including TouchSense Force, future collaboration between Immersion and its customers, including PDP, the continuing availability of products incorporating Immersion technology, and the possible commercial release of a PDP gaming peripheral implementing Immersion’s reference design and incorporating Immersion TouchSense technology.

Immersion's actual results might differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements due to risks and uncertainties associated with Immersion's business, which includes, but are not limited to: unanticipated difficulties and challenges encountered in product development efforts (including with respect to Immersion’s TouchSense Technology) by Immersion and its licensees; unanticipated difficulties and challenges encountered in implementation efforts by Immersion’s licensees; adverse outcomes in any future intellectual property-related litigation and the costs related thereto; the effects of the current macroeconomic climate; delay in or failure to achieve adoption of or commercial demand for Immersion's products or third party products incorporating Immersion's technologies; and a delay in or failure to achieve the acceptance of touch feedback as a critical user experience. Many of these risks and uncertainties are beyond the control of Immersion.

For a more detailed discussion of these factors, and other factors that could cause actual results to vary materially, interested parties should review the risk factors listed in Immersion's most current Form 10-K, and Form 10-Q, both of which are on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements in this press release reflect Immersion's beliefs and predictions as of the date of this release. Immersion disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements as a result of financial, business, or any other developments occurring after the date of this release.

Immersion, the Immersion logo, and TouchSense are trademarks of Immersion Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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