This VR Tour of Chernobyl Will Go Where Tourists Can’t

The name Chernobyl has become synonymous with urban ruin and the decline of the Soviet Union. The site of the worst nuclear disaster in human history, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone has been abandoned for nearly three decades. Few dare to tread there, and fewer still linger beyond the brief period allowed by tourist visas.

But now, Polish game company The Farm 51 has announced its plan to bring an expansive virtual tour of Chernobyl and Pripyat, the town that housed the power plant's workers, to anyone with a VR headset. The company just released this sneak peek of its Chernobyl VR Project, slated to be released on April 26, 2016—the 30th anniversary of the disaster.

Chernobyl VR Project trailer. Video: The Farm 51/YouTube

This is more than a trip to the standard sites visited by tourists. The Farm 51 developers were able to procure scientific permits to explore and film sites that are off limits to the public. The goal is to "immortalize the polluted zone before it is closed or destroyed, and let the user learn about the events of April 26, 1986," according to the project website.

The development team focused on producing high textural resolution with their stereoscopic 360-degree cameras, in order to preserve intricate details like peeling paint or rust layers. Creative director Wojciech Pazdur also mentions that the tour will include a few "surprises" for users, including phantom apparitions in certain corners.

As if Chernobyl wasn't spooky enough, this app will apparently populate it with VR ghosts.

The release of project is well-timed, not just due to the 30th anniversary, but because tourism to the real-life Chernobyl exclusion zone is definitely experiencing an uptick these days. The power of stepping into an overgrown Soviet settlement, frozen in time after a world-changing disaster, has an undeniable allure that now attracts about 10,000 visitors annually.

But as of April 26, you won't have to buy a plane ticket and a Geiger counter in order to experience the eerie ruins of Chernobyl, nor need you risk disturbing the wildlife populations that have rebounded there in the absence of humans. With the Chernobyl VR Project, anyone with a VR headset can set into a rich facsimile of this infamous, post-apocalyptic landscape. Круто.