Augmented reality company Magic Leap, Inc. and virtual reality company Virtuix (Virtuix Holdings, Inc.) have joined the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). The ESA is a Washington DC-based association of software developers, publishers and distributors dedicated to service the business and public affairs needs of the video game industry.

This news comes after Magic Leap raised a staggering $827 million in Series C funding, increasing its valuation to $3.7 billion to continue its research into producing vivid augmented reality (AR) solutions. Virtuix produces an “Active VR” platform named the Virtuix Omni that “engages the entire body and transforms the gaming experience,” by allowing a person wearing a VR headset to walk, run, strafe, sit or jump in 360-degrees without knocking into furniture or running into walls.

“We’re proud to join ESA during this exciting time of transformation for video games and virtual reality,” said Jan Goetgeluk, founder and CEO of Virtuix.

The year 2016 is expected to become the year of VR and AR with multiple products being launched including the Oculus Rift (with Rift-ready pre-order PC bundles from multiple online merchants), the HTC Vive and SteamVR from Valve Corporation, and the PlayStation VR headset.

Analysts believe that 2016 will become a watershed year for VR technology and predict the potential market for consume VR to reach $10.4 billion by 2020. The video game industry reached $15.9 billion in 2015 in the U.S. and is predicted to hit 20 billion by 2020 (according to Statista).

Michael D. Gallagher, President & CEO, ESA. Source: YouTube video interview courtesy of the ESRB.

“Magic Leap and Virtuix are leading pioneers in augmented, mixed, and virtual reality-entertainment’s newest frontier,” said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of ESA. “These innovations promise to provide exhilarating new ways of experiencing the world. We look forward to collaborating with these highly creative companies as our industry continues to elevate the standards in technology.”

Bringing more up-and-coming VR and AR startups to the mix of the ESA will help prepare the upcoming change to the entertainment industry regarding these technologies.

This announcement also comes right after the ESA sought to rebut claims that the organization is “irrelevant” by SuperData Research Inc CEO Joost van Dreunen. The argument van Dreunen forwarded is that the ESA is too small and too narrowly focused to be of aid and assistance to the video game industry, which is correct: the ESA only has 35 member companies (including the two announced this week).

In response, Rich Taylor, the ESA’s Senior VP of Communications and Industry Affairs, explained that the members of the ESA represented some of “the industry’s largest players,” meaning that the addition of any players from VR and AR (and especially Magic Leap’s $3.7 billion) has strong influence over the ESA’s plans.

The addition of two new companies to the roster of the ESA, and expanding into the VR and AR segments, certainly helps the ESA’s case and broadens its base for the future.

Featured image credit: Ben Andreas Harding via photopin cc