cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/20236250

You can use the decky XR gaming plugin to get 3 dof virtual display on steamdeck with XR glasses like the Xreal, Viture, Rayneo, and Rodkid glasses.

The team previously provided a fresh look at the title earlier this month, gradually releasing new teasers. Discussing their upcoming release plans and their ambitions for this intriguing narrative-driven VR adventure, One True Path targets both old and new players interested in old-school paper-and-pencil adventuring. Today's trailer in the XR Indies and Friends Showcase revealed that the first part of the game would be available for free starting today.

Skydance Games, the developers behind the much-anticipated VR adventure Skydance’s BEHEMOTH, announced the game is going to be slightly delayed beyond the original November 14th release date, pushing launch back a few weeks.

Skydance announced the news in an X post, noting the new release date is now set for December 5th, 2024 across all supported headsets, which includes Quest 2/3/Pro, PSVR 2, and SteamVR headsets.

“The positive reception to the game leading up to this point has been incredible, and the strong support from our community has made us all so excited to share what we’ve been working so hard on,” the studio says in the post. “We felt giving our team the extra necessary time to polish and deliver the highest quality game at launch was most important for our players.”

The Three Wrong Assumptions of VR Gaming

VR’s origin in hardcore gaming culture resulted in VR game development being underpinned by three false assumptions about the types of experiences that would (or could) make VR gaming successful. These assumptions were that gamers wanted graphical realism and fast-paced violence, and that they didn’t want casual play experiences.

Over the past three decades, “AAA” game development—a term used in the games industry to signify high-budget games distributed by large publishers—has driven the massive expansion of computing power in consumer gaming devices. Particularly in PC gaming, part of what made a game hardcore was the computing power needed to run it at “maximum settings,” with the most detailed and textured graphics available.

The enormous advances in game graphics over the past 30 years contributed to significant improvements in player experience. This graphical realism became closely entwined with the concept of immersion.

For VR—which sold itself as “ truly immersive”—this meant that hardcore gamers expected graphically real VR experiences. But VR environments need to be rendered smoothly in order to not cause motion sickness, something made harder by a commitment to graphical realism. This aspiration saddling VR games with a nearly impossible compute burden.

One game that sidesteps this issue—and has subsequently become one of the most celebrated VR games—is Superhot VR, an action puzzle with basic graphics in which enemy avatars and their bullets only move when the player moves their body.

Play begins with the player surrounded by attacking enemies, with death immediately returning the player to the starting moment. Play thus involves discovering what sequence of movements and attacks can get the player out of this perilous situation. It’s a learning curve reminiscent of the 2014 science-fiction film Edge of Tomorrow, in which a hapless soldier (played by Tom Cruise) quickly becomes an elite, superhuman soldier while stuck in a time loop.

The attention in Superhot’s gameplay is not to visual fidelity or sensory immersion, but what genuinely makes VR distinct: embodiment. The effect of its conceit is a superhuman-like control of time manipulation, with players deftly contorting their bodies to evade slow moving bullets while dispatching enemies with an empowering ease. Superhot VR provides an experience worth donning a headset for, and it consequently remains one of VR gaming’s top selling titles eight years after its release.

When Immersion Is Too Much

John Carmack’ Doom and Wolfenstein, on which VR’s gaming fantasy was based, are first-person shooters that closely map to hardcore gaming ideals. They’re hyperviolent, fast-paced, and difficult; they have a limited focus on story; and they feature some of the goriest scenes in games. In the same way that VR gaming has been detrimentally entwined with the pursuit of photorealism, VR gaming has been co-opted by these hardcore values that ultimately limit the medium. They lack mainstream appeal and valorise experiences that simply aren’t as appealing in VR as it is in a flat screen.

In a discussion around the design of Half Life: Alyx—one of the only high-budget VR-only games—designers Greg Coomer and Robin Walker explain that VR changes the way that people interact with virtual environments. As Coomer says, “people are slower to traverse space, and they want to slow down and be more interactive with more things in each environment. It has affected, on a fundamental level, how we’ve constructed environments and put things together.” Walker adds that the changes aren’t “because of some constraint around how they move through the world, it’s just because they pay so much more attention to things and poke at things.” Environments in VR games are much denser; on PC they feel small, but in VR they feel big.

This in part explains why few games originally designed for flat screens and “ported” to VR have been successful. The rapidly paced hyperviolence best characterized by Doom is simply sensory overload in VR, and the “intensity of being there”—one of Carmack’s aspirations—is unappealing. In VR, unrelenting games are unpleasurable: Most of us aren’t that coordinated, and we can’t play for extended periods of time in VR. It’s physically exhausting.

Casual Virtual Reality?

Beat Saber is a prime example of a game that might be derided as casual, if it weren’t the bestselling VR game of all time. Beat Saber is a music rhythm-matching game, a hybrid of Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero, and Fruit Ninja. In time with electronic music, a playlist of red or blue boxes streams towards the player. Armed with two neon swords—commonly described as light sabers—the player must strike these boxes in the correct direction, denoted by a subtle white arrow.

Striking a box releases a note in the accompanying song, resulting in an experience that is half playing an instrument, and half dance. Well patterned songs create sweeping movements and rhythms reminiscent of the exaggerated gestures used by Nintendo Wii players.

Beat Saber’s appeal is immersion-through-embodiment, also achieved by disregarding VR’s gaming fantasy of hardcore experiences. With each song being, well, song length, Beat Saber supports a shorter, casual mode of engagement that isn’t pleasurable because it is difficult or competitive, but simply because playing a song feels good.

Gaming in VR has been subjected to a vicious self-reinforcing cycle wherein VR developers create hardcore games, which appeal to a certain kind of hardcore gamer user, whose purchasing habits in turn drive further development of those kinds of games, and not others. Attempts to penetrate this feedback loop have been met with the hostility of VR’s online gaming culture, appropriated from gamer culture at large.

As a result, the scope of VR games remains narrow, and oblivious to the kinds of games that might take VR to its billionth user. Maybe then, the one thing that could save VR gaming is the one possibility that VR enthusiasts decried the most when Facebook purchased Oculus in 2014: Farmville VR.

Meta has finally revealed its latest headset, Quest 3S. Although it retains some of Quest 2’s flaws, it creates much needed parity in power and features, all at an unbeatable price: $299.

There’s no getting around the fact that the Fresnel lenses in Quest 2 (and now Quest 3S) are worse than the class-leading lenses in Quest 3. It’s not even so much the lower resolution, but mostly the glare and smaller sweet spot—which are almost completely absent on Quest 3—that are so visually reminiscent of Quest 2. These artifacts really impact the clarity of the image coming from the display.

Unfortunately this means that doing basic things in the Horizon OS interface—like navigating through your app library, browsing the web, and playing videos—will look nearly identical on Quest 3S as it does on Quest 2.

Five years ago, we announced to the world that we were building AR glasses. We don’t think people should have to make the choice between a world of information at your fingertips and being present in the physical world around you.

That’s why today, we’re unveiling Orion, which we believe is the most advanced pair of AR glasses ever made. Orion bridges the physical and virtual worlds, putting people at the center so they can be more present, connected and empowered in the world.

Beginning today at Connect and continuing throughout the year, we’re opening up access to our Orion product prototype for Meta employees and select external audiences so our development team can learn, iterate and build towards our consumer AR glasses product line, which we plan to begin shipping in the near future.

Developed by MoonHood, a new studio formed by former Zoink (Fe, Lost in Random) developers Olov Redmalm and Klaus Lyngeled, The Midnight Walk sees you play as The Burnt One. After digging yourself out of a muddy grave to find a purpose, you soon reignite a dormant lantern creature called Potboy and bring them back to life.

This isn't the first time we've heard about The Midnight Walk, though this is the first time it's been officially named. You may recall that MoonHood announced its partnership with Fast Travel Games almost exactly one year ago, providing an early look at the clay characters being transformed into 3D models.

The Midnight Walk arrives on PC, PS5, SteamVR, and PlayStation VR2 in Spring 2025.

Developed by Vertigo Games, Awakening promises an origin story for this post-apocalyptic series set five years before Metro 2033 that's written by Metro's creator, Dmitry Glukhovsky. Previously revealed back in January, a new trailer in today's PlayStation State of Play presentation confirmed the upcoming narrative adventure launches on November 7.

The latest leaks concern the Quest 3, which is almost a year old, and the more affordable Quest 3S, which will be unveiled on Wednesday.

VR blogger Cezary Sobociński on X claims to have learned the following about the devices:

The Quest 3S will be available with 128GB and 256GB of storage and the two SKUs will cost $300 and $400 respectively. The price of the 128GB model was leaked a few days ago. Meta will end production of the 128GB model of the Quest 3 in mid-November, only the 512GB model will continue to be sold. Both SKUs of the Quest 3 (128GB and 512GB) will be temporarily discounted by 5-10 percent until the 128GB model is sold out.

The new price of the 512 GB model is not known, but there are rumors that the price will be reduced to $500 (the current price of the 128 GB model). The current price of the 512 GB SKU is $650.

This is.... very unexpected. A Foss application releasing it's VR variant exclusive to a completely proprietary platform. This will be great for people who specifically have the quest 3 or pro, but all other VR enthusiasts and tinkerers like myself, must hope that this gets a pcvr OpenXR release soon.

A group of fans were working to revive the VR game Marvel Powers United, which was released in 2018 and discontinued by Meta in 2021. However, Meta has now shut down the project due to copyright infringement.

In a statement on the project's Discord server, the team behind the revival announced that the project will be completely removed in the coming days.

"Unfortunately, we regret to announce today that the “Powers Revival Project” will be closed and completely removed in the following days. While we, in good faith, wanted to help legitimate game owners download the game as most had already uninstalled it at Meta's request after shutdown, that ultimately ended up being a terrible decision as we were unintentionally infringing on the copyrighted files belonging to Meta Platforms (MP). As would be expected, they've kindly asked us to take down this project and any infringing files. Unfortunately this also means that we will not be releasing our multiplayer servers that were very close to being finished."

The Quest Touch Pro controllers now cost $250 instead of $300 The controllers are compatible with Quest 3 and 2 and are included with the Quest Pro, which will is still sold by Meta for $1000.

In addition to the controllers, the box includes:

Compact Charging Dock 2 Meta Quest Touch Pro Controllers Meta Quest Touch Pro Stylus Tips HMD USB-C Short Charging Cable 45W Universal Power Adapter

The Meta Quest Pro launched in October 2022. Meta has been selling the Touch Pro controllers separately since late 2022.

The Resident Evil franchise has had a pretty solid run in the world of virtual reality. Taking a bold first step, Resident Evil 7 launched with PSVR compatibility, allowing headset owners to play through the entire game in virtual reality. In October 2021, a VR version of the oft-remastered, ported, and remade Resident Evil 4 hit the Meta Quest, and it's still widely considered to be one of the best experiences for the headset almost three years later. And just last year, both Resident Evil Village and Resident Evil 4 Remake were given free PSVR2 updates.

It seems likely that Capcom will want to continue pursuing its VR ventures with the Resident Evil franchise, but it might be some time before the next mainline entry or remake releases. Instead, Capcom could look to Resident Evil's past for more VR content. There's one RE spinoff that would perfectly suit a VR makeover, and it could land at the ideal time.

Released in November 2009 – just a few months after Resident Evil 5 – Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles is a Wii light gun shooter. Players are given four lengthy scenarios to play through, each of which has them blasting classic Resident Evil enemies with the Wii remote or the Wii Zapper that was bundled with certain versions of the game. Though VR games have evolved quite a bit since the early days of on-rails shooters like Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, that type of gameplay still suits the VR format well.

The Immersed IRL event, held yesterday in Austin, Texas was the company’s big moment to showcase its upcoming headset and build confidence that it was on track to deliver on the promise of an ambitious headset. But a botched demo may have done the opposite.

At the end of the keynote, Bijoy said that the headsets were being updated to a new firmware, and that the start of promised demos might be slightly delayed. I headed to the demo line, scheduled to be part of the first demo group at 11am. At 11:30, a harried-looking group of Immersed employees pressed quickly through the crowd with headsets cushioned in styrofoam and disappeared behind the black curtain screening off the demo area.

For the next couple of hours, we waited patiently, getting occasional hints from event workers that setup was still in progress, and that demos should start soon. Eventually, a voice over the intercom announced that demos were starting, but that software issues meant that they would be “hardware only” demos.

What that ended up meaning was that we could look at and handle the headsets, and we could even put them on our heads to feel the comfort and weight. But that none of the headsets would actually be powered-on. I asked if we could at least power them up to see the quality of the displays, even if we couldn’t use them running a proper virtual environment, but was told no. Questions to determine when an actual demo might be possible—late in the day? Tomorrow?— were met with discouragingly noncommittal responses.

What makes Beyond the smallest and lightest shipping VR headset is the same reason it takes longer to ship. Each unit has its lenses fixed to match the distance between the customer's eyes and a face pad molded to the shape of their face, based on the iPhone face scan they provide when ordering.

When Bigscreen started shipping the first Beyond headsets to preorder customers just over one year ago, new orders faced many months of waiting from submitting the scan to having the headset, with even preorders slipping by months.

If Beyond's claim of now shipping within one week of the scan is true, it represents a significant milestone for custom-fitted headsets.

At Meta Connect 2024, Meta announced not only the new Quest 3S VR headset, but also a new avatar system that will offer graphically more sophisticated models starting October 1.

According to Meta, there will be more customization options. These will now include details such as eye size, nose shape, body shape, and more. The movements and expressions of the avatars will also be much more lifelike than before.

To achieve this, Meta has overhauled the entire avatar system. In the future, developers will have access to a more detailed avatar skeleton, which will give them greater control over avatar movements and expressions.

In the course of next year, Meta wants to make it possible to use generative AI to generate new outfits through text input.

Subside’s realistic graphics continue to impress in the game's full release on Steam. After a successful demo period that caught the attention of VR enthusiasts, A2D’s VR diving sim has officially launched and we dove back in to soak up more of its amazing underwater visuals.

From our first dive Subside’s realistic underwater world is what stood out and the full release expands on the demo’s captivating environment, offering even broader and richer underwater scenes to explore and enjoy.

Build your own Bundle from 2 for $14.99. Add games to start saving. The more you add, the more you save! 4 + Games $7.25/Per item. Skyrim, Fallout, I expect you to die 3, etc.

Delayed Demo

At the Immersed IRL event, our goal was to demonstrate the full capabilities of the Immersed app running on the Visor hardware. Unfortunately, due to unexpected technical issues with 6DoF (six degrees of freedom) tracking that surfaced just before going live, we were unable to deliver the live demo that everyone was eagerly awaiting. This instability forced us to cancel the demo entirely to avoid risking a malfunction during the presentation.

‍‍We sincerely apologize for the lack of a live demo, especially considering the effort many of you made to be part of this event. Please know that our team is working closely with our tech partners to resolve these firmware issues as quickly as possible. Below, you can find videos showcasing the current working status of the app in 6DoF, as we continue to address the issues that were causing the experience to fail. While the software is nearly complete, we cannot ship a product that carries any risk of firmware instability. We are currently in the integration and quality assurance phase to ensure the entire experience is smooth.

‍We understand the disappointment, and we deeply appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through these final steps. You can expect the next update from us within the next week or so. Thank you again for your continued support.

‍Real device, Real displays, Real chipset

‍Once the firmware bug is fully fixed, we will release videos of real working demos with external parties as well.

(Do you believe them?)

It's been a year since Meta launched the Quest 3, its first major attempt at integrating mixed reality into a consumer-focused VR headset. At Meta Connect 2024 today, we're expecting the company to further expand out its headset family with a cheaper Quest 3S (likely replacing the Quest 2). And judging from the slew of rumors this year — and a bit of a tease from Mark Zuckerberg himself — Meta will likely show off its Orion AR glasses. And don't forget about Meta AI: Expect to hear more news about AI features in the Ray-Ban smart glasses, as well as throughout the company's apps.

Join us right here at 1PM ET, where we'll be covering the Meta Connect 2024 keynote live!

Reddit user Vast_Front259 posted a recording of the Peacock running on their phone that they say they took with their laptop webcam because the streaming service's DRM prevents screen recording. It's a Quest 3 ad we've seen before, but at the end a render is shown of it alongside Quest 3S, Meta's repeatedly leaked next headset, alongside the text "Starting at $299.99".

The smallprint below the renders reads "Meta Quest 3S 128GB is $299.99. Content sold separately." below an Amazon logo. Listing the storage suggests that like Quest 3 and Quest 2, multiple storage variants of Quest 3S will be offered.

This apparent leak comes less than a week before Meta Connect, the company's annual conference where it's expected to launch Quest 3S.

HTC has unveiled the HTC Vive Vision — an upgrade to the Vive Focus 3 with core elements that are sure to appeal to the business community. I got to try out the new headset at the recent Shift Medical, an XR medical conference in Heidelberg, Germany, where we were on hand to share our expertise.

As mentioned at the beginning, this headset is not for XR enthusiasts. Even if HTC advertises it differently and wants to grab a piece of the consumer market, I see these VR headsets being used primarily in the business sector with customer contact.

They are rugged, easy to use, and designed for continuous use. I think the evolution from Focus 3 to Focus Vision with better pass-through, more stable processing in critical areas and permanent eye tracking is a good decision.

The use of the 3 year old XR2 instead of the current XR2 Gen 2 is a shame, but I think HTC knows its numbers and knows that its target audience is either using highly customized entertainment software anyway, or will switch to PC streaming in a heartbeat. Both are true for my customers who might be interested in this device.

The technical capabilities of the XR2 are rarely pushed to their limits in research projects or education. If it is, it is usually due to poor optimization or unfinished applications. Even an XR2 Gen 2 would not change that.

I think it's great that HTC is another consistent manufacturer in this market and is consciously trying to differentiate itself from other devices to find its niche within the niche. I wish them good luck because this is precisely what the VR market needs.

The fast approaching Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is landing on PC and Xbox consoles November 19th. While it wasn’t clear at its initial unveiling last summer whether Asobo’s next-gen flight sim would include VR support, the studio says it’s definitely coming, and even showed it off in action.

Asobo confirmed in a developer Q&A earlier this year that VR support was indeed coming, and that, in Executive Producer Martial Bossard’s words, it would be “spectacular.”

And while you still won’t find mention of VR support buried anywhere in the marketing material, the studio showed off VR support in action during the MFS 2024 Preview event, letting press and creators fly around using a Pimax Crystal Light headset.

An Austin-based startup best known for its VR and mixed reality workspace software for other companies’ headsets now has hardware of its own. The Immersed Visor appears to sit somewhere between a Vision Pro Lite and Xreal Plus: a lightweight head-worn device that creates a high-resolution spatial computing environment on the cheap (well, relatively speaking).

Teased to death for months, Immersed founder Renji Bijoy finally unveiled the Visor at an Austin event on Thursday. The device, a bit more than glasses but much less than a full headset, gives each eye the equivalent of a 4K OLED screen. It has a solid 100-degree field of view. It supports 6DoF tracking (meaning it responds to motion on different axes, not just simple head rotations), and it offers hand and eye tracking and support for over five screens in a virtual or mixed reality environment.

In the presentation, Bijoy revealed that the Immersed Visor only weighs 186g, slightly less than an iPhone 16 Pro. It’s 64 percent lighter than the Meta Quest 3 (515g) and around 70 percent lighter than the Apple Vision Pro (600 to 650g). Weight and ergonomics have been drawbacks for many early adopters of VR and mixed-reality tech. (That includes some customers of the $3,500 Vision Pro.) So, trimming the Visor’s weight to about the same as a high-end smartphone could, in theory, help it succeed where competitors struggled. Part of that comes from (in borrowing a trick from Apple) a wired battery pack you stash in your pocket.

But unlike those devices, the Immersed Visor doesn’t include an app store or onboard experiences like games. Instead, it’s tailored for work: link it to your Windows, macOS or Linux computer (wirelessly or wired), and get stuff done on its immersive array of virtual screens. Its 6DoF tracking means you can stand up, lean or twist, and the virtual screens will remain planted where you put them, rather than awkwardly following you through space.

Like the company’s workspace app for Meta Quest and Vision Pro, you can operate either in a passthrough view of your space or an entirely virtual one. (It includes pleasant virtual environments like a mountaintop ski resort by a cozy fire.) You can also work with others in a shared space.

The device runs on the Qualcomm XR2+ Gen 2 chip, which debuted at CES 2024. The chip supports up to 4.3K per-eye resolution and can handle content up to 90fps.

Hands-On Visor Demos @ Immersed IRL 2024 Sept 19 @ Zach Theatre, Austin, TX (shipping starts right after)

Today sees the launch of the new VR MMORPG Freeland for Meta Quest 3, Quest 2, Quest Pro and SteamVR. The free-to-play multiplayer adventure will initially launch in Early Access and aims to be one of the largest open-world VR adventures. In Freeland, you explore a vast online galaxy threatened by the villainous Ventax. You must forge alliances, fight battles, and uncover secrets to save Freeland. The game features open world exploration, dynamic combat, social interaction, dungeons and PvP combat. You can race cars on tracks, complete quests such as wingsuit flights between skyscrapers, customize your avatar and explore four planets. Additional worlds will be unlocked over time.

Organizers behind the VR Games Showcase last month announced they’re putting on a new livestreamed games event next week focusing on independent developers and studios “both big and small.” Just in time for what will certainly be a rush of XR news.

Called the XR Indies & Friends Showcase, the livestream is slated to kick off on September 25th at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET (local time here), coming just a few hours ahead of the 2025 Meta Connect keynote from CEO Mark Zuckerberg at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET.

A hybrid standalone PC VR headset with full-body tracker support, base station-free.

In-box items VIVE Focus Vision headset

Gasket spacer

Face cushion

Rear cushion

Battery

Top strap

Controller (L)

Controller (R)

Lanyards x 2

30 W AC adapter

Splitter cable for charging

Lens cleaning cloth

Quick-start guide QR code

Safety guide

Warranty card

Size reference card for eyeglasses Headset specs Screen LCD panels x 2 Resolution 2448 x 2448 pixels per eye (4896 x 2448 pixels combined) Refresh rate 90 Hz Field of view (FOV) Up to 120 degrees Audio Dual microphones with noise cancellation and echo cancellation Dual driver with patented directional speaker design x 2 Privacy mode for minimizing external sound leakage 3.5 mm audio jack output Inputs Headset button Volume +/- buttons Processor Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ XR2 Memory and storage 12 GB LPDDR5 RAM 128 GB ROM Up to 2 TB expandable storage via MicroSD1

1. MicroSD card not included. Connections USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port x 1 USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port with DisplayPort support x 1 Bluetooth 5.2 + BLE Wi-Fi 6, 6E2

2. Wi-Fi 6E support is country dependent.

View PC VR system requirements Sensors Tracking cameras x 4 Eye-tracking cameras x 2 High-resolution full-color passthrough cameras x 2 G sensor Proximity sensor Depth sensor Infrared floodlight Gyroscope Eye tracking 120 Hz gaze data output frequency (binocular) 0.5° to 1.1° accuracy within 20° field of view 5-point calibration Automatic IPD adjustment Ergonomics Perfect weight balance for comfortable long-lession use Magnetically attached front and rear cushions with cleanable PU leather trim 150 mm wide facial interface for accommodating wide eyeglasses Automatic eye comfort adjustment supporting IPD of 57 mm to 72 mm Patented quick-release headstrap design with easy-to-use adjustment dial Battery Removable, swappable battery with battery life of up to 2 hours Up to 50% charge in 30 minutes with included 30 W adapter Hot swap supported with built-in reserve battery for up to 20 minutes of extended standby Controller specs Sensors Hall sensors on Trigger and Grip buttons Capacitive sensors on Trigger, Joystick, and Thumb-rest area G-sensor Gyroscope Inputs Ergonomic grip button Analog trigger button A and B / X and Y buttons System / Menu buttons Joystick Battery Controller battery life of up to 15 hours3 Integrated rechargeable battery (charged via USB-C)

*We’re thrilled to announce EXOcars – VR racing game from XOCUS Studio!**✨

The game has been in development for over a year by the Xocus team, known for creating Z-Race and Omega Pilot. Specializing in racing games, this will be their first release on the Main Meta Store.

🚗 Strap into EXOcars and compete against real players in single-player races and real-time multiplayer. With exciting driving feedback, advanced physics, and high-quality graphics, this VR buggy racing experience is unlike any other.

🚦 Specifically designed for VR, the game targets the core VR racing audience by delivering an immersive experience with realistic car physics.

🏁 Play solo or with friends in multiplayer mode! Different game modes, tournaments with real prizes, challenges, and seasonal events await you in EXOcars.

🏎️ Customize your car, unlock new tracks and locations. Featuring ramps, drifts, and natural obstacles, it makes you feel like a real driver of a roaring buggy, speeding through breathtaking landscapes! And this is just the beginning!

🎮 Long-term support. We plan to expand the game throughout late 2024 and into 2025, aiming to create the best off-road racing experience in VR. Updates will include new tracks, and vehicles, including a buggy with unique physics, and cosmetic upgrades. Seasonal events, tournaments, ongoing balance, and QOL improvements based on player feedback are also planned.

Wishlist EXOcars:

Meta Quest Store: https://www.meta.com/experiences/8057795767629913/

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2898310/EXOcars/

PS VR2: https://store.playstation.com/en-us/concept/10012101

If, like me, you started out with just a Meta Quest headset and did not have a powerful gaming PC available, it’s hard to look at what’s possible on PCVR and not feel some envy. But building a capable VR ready PC can get expensive and maybe you just want to try it instead of investing a lot of money into new hardware. If that’s the case then you should look into a service called Shadow PC which claims to stream VR games over the cloud.

Cloud gaming has come a long way in the past decade, and whilst it will never compete with playing on a local machine, it is getting close at this point. As long as you have a good enough internet, game streaming is a viable way to play in VR at this point.

The only company really offering VR game streaming at this point is Shadow PC. While Shadow PC is not the cheapest, it does deliver on its promise of giving you a VR capable PC anywhere you have access to a strong internet connection. As I mentioned, Shadow PC is not the cheapest, there are 3 pricing options starting at $19.99 for, but the priciest and most powerful option clocks in at $49.99. The first month is discounted so you can try it out for $9.99, but it is still going to be expensive after that, especially if you want to play games at higher settings.

As you can see in the specs table below only the POWER option offers a modern GPU capable of playing modern VR games. If you go for the more economical option you will be constrained by an older GTX 1080, which is capable of playing VR but you will need to lower the settings on most games if you want a smooth frame rate, and a smooth frame rate is more important than anything when it comes to VR games.

The first three generations of Spectacles were launched as consumer devices from 2016 to 2019 but lacked any kind of display or speakers. They functioned solely as camera glasses, similar to today's Ray-Ban Meta glasses but without the audio out and AI capabilities.

Fourth generation Spectacles were unveiled in 2021 with waveguide displays for true AR, but were only made to select developers with very limited availability. They were a standalone AR device in true sunglasses form factor, featuring a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR1 chipset, a tiny field of view, and an active battery life of just 30 minutes.

The new fifth generation Snap Spectacles offer a wider field of view, longer battery life, a more powerful processor, and higher transparency to allow bystanders to see the wearer's eyes. And this time Snap will offer them to any developer for $99/month.

Modder Ashok has developed an extensive VR mod for the remake of System Shock, which adds support for 6DOF motion control to the game. This allows you to experience the classic shooter in virtual reality with full range of motion.

The mod includes the following features:

6DOF motion control Gestures for motion controllers Improved object interaction Room scale and physical ducking support

Many other bug fixes and improvements for VR It consists of a UEVR profile and a C++ plugin bundled together. UEVR Nightly 940 or later is required for use. There is also an optional PAK mod that adapts the buttons to the Meta Quest Touch Controller.

Kayak VR: Mirage (2022) is amazingly immersive, packing in a ton of environments to explore in both single player and asynchronous multiplayer racing modes. You never could paddle through the glaciers or meander around tropical coasts with a friend in real-time though. But now, thanks to today’s update, you can.

Initially released as in beta on Steam in mid-August, developer Better Than Life today announced that real-time multiplayer is finally here for Kayak VR: Mirage on all supported platforms, which includes Steam and PSVR 2.

If you're ready to dive into the world of immersive digital experiences, investing in a virtual reality headset is the way to go. Whether you're into gaming, virtual workouts or exploring incredible 360-degree environments, a VR headset can transport you to places you’ve never been – all from the comfort of your own home.

If you’re still on the fence about whether a VR headset is for you, there are plenty of reasons you might want to explore virtual reality. Maybe you're looking for a more immersive gaming experience, or perhaps you want to use it for fitness, meditation, or even virtual travel. VR headsets can also be great for work, offering virtual meeting rooms and collaborative spaces that go beyond standard video calls.

Now more than in years past, there’s something for everyone thanks to more VR headsets being on the market at various price ranges. The Meta Quest 3, for example, offers fantastic all-around performance at around $500, while the Apple Vision Pro is packed with cutting-edge tech, but it'll set you back a hefty $3,500. We’ve tested and reviewed a number of the most popular VR headsets on the market to help you figure out which are the best for your needs (and budget).

On the occasion of the extensive “Sandboxxer” update, I finally took the time to take a closer look at Underdogs. The VR title from One Hamsa transports me to a dark future where only one human city still exists: New Brakka. To get in there, I have to prove myself in illegal mech fights and earn the respect of the street.

In Underdogs, I slip into the role of one of the two brothers who have to flee their homeland. My younger brother King always stands by my side with advice and support. At least when he's not busy hacking my enemies to pieces while I smash opponents in my multi-ton mech named Rilla. The relationship between the brothers is one of the core elements of the story and contributes a lot to the dense atmosphere of the game.

My conclusion on Underdogs is completely positive. The game is a successful mix of sweat-inducing action, roguelike-typical progress and a lot of style. If you've always wanted to take a seat in a mech yourself and really dish it out, there's no way around Underdogs.

With the “Sandboxxer” update, the title has what it takes to be one of the best VR games of the year. The sheer endless possibilities to create your own content and share it with friends promise long-lasting fun. In addition, the new achievements and the open battle mode provide additional motivation. Creative minds and action fans can access it without hesitation — Underdogs is simply a lot of fun and, not the least thanks to the big update, has a lot to offer. Brattas and Sistas, grab your mech and dive into the fray!

Ember Souls takes you into a fantastic world full of adventure and danger. As the last immortal, you must face an ultimate battle against the mysterious Shadow Sultan in this VR hack-and-slash game. This involves not only sword fights, but also parkour, climbing and tricky environmental puzzles. Find out how the demo of the title inspired by Prince of Persia and Assassin's Creed plays in this article.

A magnificent palace full of mystery My adventure begins on a boat, slowly drifting towards an island. Even from a distance, I can see magnificent buildings with golden domes that remind me of the architecture in Prince of Persia and immediately catch my attention. I disembark at a jetty, grab a sword and make my way to an imposing palace.

Standing in front of a closed gate, a shimmering blue bird invites me to pet it. In a brief conversation, it tells me how to get over the walls and into the palace. On my way there, I smash barrels and vases and find a useful sign — an incentive to explore my surroundings further.

I’m a big survival game fan. I love punching trees or picking up rocks and sticks to make tools. However, these games often discount the greatest tools humans were ever gifted with: your own two hands. Fortunately, Bootstrap Island makes full use of them.

At Gamescom, I played the latest version of this early access SteamVR game from Maru VR Productions. The studio recently added a simple building mechanic, though you can only make fences and gates right now. There are plans to expand this mechanic while adding features like food spoilage, boots, and new bosses this fall.

Like many survival games, I find myself stranded on a desert island. I love pirates, so I like to think I'm one who got blasted overboard during a ship capture gone awry. Unlike most survival games, rather than gathering resources to build tools, I can use my hands to do everything I want.

If I need to drink, I can smash a coconut against a boulder and rip its rind off if I need to drink. Then I'll bash it into the boulder again to split the coconut in two, drinking the sweet water within by holding it up to my face. I could also poke holes in the top with a knife I found in a locked chest. This method stopped any water from spilling out when it cracked open. I could also eat the flesh, piece-by-piece with my hands, by holding it up to my gob.

Opening the locked chest involves finding a rock to whack it open. Seeing the sparks flying off the metal gave me an idea. I gathered the spent coconut rind and placed some nearby sticks and planks on top of it, then got the rock in one hand, locked chest in another, and created sparks until I had a roaring bonfire going. That’s the beauty of creating intuitive systems like this.

Spin Rhythm XD, Thumper, Pistol Whip, Ragnarock, & Synth Riders. Rhythm and dance games are perfect for VR, offering a truly immersive experience—enjoy great games while supporting Direct Relief!