Thursday 17 October 2024

Quest 3S Review – Value That Can’t Be Beat, With the Same Rough Edges as Its Siblings

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Quest 3S is here and brings with it an undeniable value considering its price and capabilities. But many longstanding gripes—largely related to Meta’s Horizon OS—apply here just the same.

Quest 3S Review Summary

Image courtesy Meta

Quest 3S is the best value you can find in a VR headset today when considering its $300 starting price, content library, and overall capabilities. It’s an excellent starting point for anyone who wants to check out VR for the first time.

Even though Quest 2 also launched at $300, Quest 3S is an even better value because Meta’s headsets have only become more capable, while the range of games and apps has grown and improved since the launch of Quest 2. The Quest ecosystem overall has drawn the focus of the majority of VR developers, meaning most new VR games are available on the ecosystem. And Quest 3S has the same horsepower as Quest 3, meaning you’ll get to see improved graphics compared to what Quest 2 was capable of.

If you’re new to VR and want to find out what it’s all about, it’s hard to imagine recommending anything other than Quest 3S—especially because it doubles as a PC VR headset, meaning if you happen to have a high-end gaming PC you can also get access to some must-play VR games that are exclusive to PC, like Half-Life: Alyx.

If you’re a VR user who has spent a lot of time using a Quest 2, PC VR, or PSVR headset, and are looking to join the modern Quest ecosystem, we still recommend Quest 3 because its higher resolution and class-leading lenses offer a notably sharper image and slightly wider field-of-view. These improvements will be appreciated most by those who have already spent lots of time in VR.

Quest 2, Quest 3S, and Quest 3 have always been good at playing immersive games, but the underlying Horizon OS software that powers them continues to be rough around the edges as Meta has prioritized adding features rather than polish. Using the main Horizon interface for spatial computing tasks like web browsing, finding and installing apps, and adjusting the headset’s settings is almost never without small bugs, inconsistent interface behavior, confusing layouts, and visual stutters.

It might seem like an odd critique considering that Meta definitely has the most comprehensive and capable software stack of any standalone headset on the market. But just being ‘better than the rest’ doesn’t necessarily make the headset’s core software experience good enough. That’s because Quest headsets don’t just compete with other headsets; they also compete with other forms of in-home entertainment like gaming consoles, smart TVs, tablets, and smartphones, which are often significantly easier to use.

Quest 3S Detailed Review

Before we get started, if you’d like to know how Quest 2, Quest 3S, and Quest 3 specs compare for the sake of context, you can find a detailed comparison here.

Visuals

Photo by Road to VR

Peering through Quest 3S reminds one very much of Quest 2. That’s no surprise considering Quest 3S has the same lenses and same resolution as Quest 2.

Quest 3S’s clarity (the overall fidelity of the image through the lens) feels decidedly ‘last-gen’, largely owed to the Fresnel lenses that make the display less sharp with added glare. The lenses also have a small sweet-spot, which means the clarity from the center of the lens to the edge drops off quickly. The small sweet-spot doesn’t matter too much for most VR games. But when it comes to doing spatial computing tasks like web browsing or using a virtual desktop, it’s noticeable because you need to move your head more often rather than being able to simply peer toward something at the edges of the lens with your eyes alone.

Photo by Road to VR

There are some visual improvements over Quest 2 though. Because Quest 3S has the same processor and power as Quest 3, it generally renders the view in the headset at a higher resolution which improves sharpness a bit. That extra power also means games can run higher graphics settings, often meaning more detailed textures, models, and improved lighting.

Even though Quest 3S can run the same graphical settings as Quest 3, the image through Quest 3—which has both better lenses and a higher resolution—is clearly the winner.

Quest 3S has one other big visual improvement over Quest 2: its mixed reality view. Although they share the same lenses and same display, the cameras on Quest 3S—which show the outside world through the headset—are now color and significantly higher resolution. Quest 2’s cameras were very low resolution, black & white, and didn’t offer a very pleasant view of the world. Because of this, using mixed reality on Quest 2 felt more like a hack than a proper feature.

Photo by Road to VR

With better cameras, mixed reality feels like a real benefit on Quest 3S. The resolution of the mixed reality view is still far from what your eyes see in real life, but it’s just good enough to want to use. By default you’ll be greeted with the view of your own room when you put on the headset (rather than being whisked away to a fully virtual environment). This makes for a much more pleasant transition into and out of VR, a nicer way to do basic spatial computing activities (like web browsing and movie watching), and makes mixed reality games feel much more viable.

Overall the visuals in Quest 3S look… fine. It’s perfectly capable for the games the headset can run, but still lower sharpness than you’d want if you planned to use the headset primarily for spatial computing tasks like web browsing, movie watching, and virtual desktop. Quest 3 gets closer to being ideal for those things, but even it still falls a bit short of ideal.

Audio

Quest 3S lacks a 3.5mm jack, unlike Quest 2 and Quest 3. Luckily it shares effectively the same audio quality as Quest 3, which we find is better than Quest 2 and good enough that most people won’t feel the need to add their own headphones. Though, if you want to, you can use your own headphones via USB-C.

We’d still love to see an ‘elite audio strap’ added to Meta’s official Quest accessory lineup, which would ideally combine high-quality off-ear headphones with existing ‘elite strap’ designs.

Tracking & Controllers

Image courtesy Meta

When it comes to headset tracking, Meta consistently has the best inside-out tracking in its class. Aside from annoying software-related stutters, Quest 3S tracking is robust and handles low light situations well enough.

Unlike every Meta headset that has come before it, Quest 3S lacks a proximity sensor inside the headset, which means the screen doesn’t automatically turn on or off when you put on or remove the headset. It feels a little weird coming from other headsets, but it’s not a major inconvenience to just press the little standby button on the side when you pick it up.

Quest 3S uses the same Touch Plus controllers as Quest 3 which are also class-leading in terms of inside-out controller tracking. They’re compact, reasonably high-quality, have decent haptics, capacitive sensing on the thumbsticks and buttons, and excellent battery life. Overall there’s little to complain about regarding the controllers—they do their job well.

However, one downside of the Touch Plus controllers continues to be that they use replaceable batteries rather than rechargeables. Ostensibly this is a cost reducing measure, as Meta solves that problem itself with an official Quest Compact Charging Dock which includes custom rechargeable batteries that enable wireless charging when placed in the dock (the headset still needs to be plugged in). Note that Meta’s previously available Quest 3 Charging Dock also charges the Touch Plus controllers, but will not charge Quest 3S because the headset lacks special contact points on the bottom which are unique to Quest 3.

Image courtesy Meta

The controllers offer impressive tracking which feels equivalent to how they operate on Quest 3. While it’s possible for the controllers to lose tracking when put into blind spots for extended periods (like behind your head or back), the controllers do a good job of compensating if they’re only briefly out of view of the headset. Most VR games today also account for (or outright avoid) interactions that would put the controllers in tracking blind spots for long periods.

Hand-tracking on Quest headsets has gotten better over the years. On Quest 3S it’s a ‘nice-to-have’ feature when you want to do something quick in the headset like click a button, or want to consume media—where only simple inputs like play, pause, and seek are needed—without bothering with the controllers.

But hand-tracking on Quest 3S (and Quest 3 for that matter) can still be frustratingly inaccurate at times. The design of Horizon OS doesn’t help the matter with its poor input affordances, feedback, and targets that are often insufficiently sized given the limited accuracy. This undercuts the headset’s usability when using hand-tracking for basic spatial computing tasks.

Quest 3S improves hand-tracking in at least one meaningful way however. New IR LED lights on the front can invisibly illuminate your hands in front of the headset, improving hand-tracking in low-light scenarios. This makes hand-tracking more usable in dimly lit rooms and at night. Hand-tracking even works well in a pitch black room, which is not the case for Quest 3; this is perhaps the only notable scenario where Quest 3S outperforms Quest 3.

Ergonomics

Photo by Road to VR

Quest 3S is essentially the same size and weight of Quest 2 and Quest 3. Ergonomically speaking, it’s nearly identical too.

Unfortunately that means Meta has paired it with a soft strap out of the box. Everyone has a different head shape, so mileage varies, but we’ve just never found the soft straps of Quest 2, Quest 3, and now Quest 3S, particularly comfortable for long-term use.

In particular, the strap tends to graze the ears instead of going around them, which can be annoying for long sessions. Without any counterweight on the back of the strap, the headset also starts to feel front-heavy pretty quickly. This can be alleviated somewhat by being cautious about how much you tighten the rear strap (instead let the top strap do as much of the lifting as possible, with the rear strap as minimally tightened as possible while still keeping the headset on your face). This is made more challenging by the odd tightening mechanism on the soft strap which makes it difficult to make small adjustments.

Image courtesy Meta

As with its siblings, an improved headstrap is the very first thing we recommend to anyone thinking about getting accessories to improve their experience. A rigid strap with some counterweight on the back and a dial for tightening means significantly greater comfort.

Quest 3S is compatible with most Quest 3 headstraps | Image courtesy Meta

Fortunately Meta was careful to make the Quest 3S strap attachment point largely identical to the one on Quest 3, which means the vast majority of third-party Quest 3 straps are equally compatible with Quest 3S. And that means there’s already huge variety to choose from—you can find our top Quest 3 (and now 3S) headstrap picks (and other accessories) here.

If you’re coming from Quest 2, you’ll find that the headset inherently feels a little less taxing to use simply because the improved passthrough view of Quest 3S eases the transition into and out of VR. And a new button on the bottom of the headset makes for a convenient shortcut to turn passthrough on and off. On Quest 3 you can activate the same shortcut by double-tapping on the side of the headset, but many people are unaware of the feature, so having a dedicated button is an improvement.

Continue on Page 2: Games, Apps, and Horizon OS »

Games & Apps

Image courtesy Meta

Although it can do more, playing fully immersive games and experiences is definitely the main use-case for Quest 3S and what it’s best at.

While there remains some older PC VR gems that the headset can’t access (unless you have a high-end gaming PC to pair it to), the vast majority of VR games today are released either exclusively on the Quest platform (called the Horizon Store), or concurrently with other platforms. That means Quest 3S has access to a large and growing library of the biggest VR games and experiences being made today.

Compared to the launch of Quest 2, the Horizon Store has only grown in both breadth and depth. You can find viral indie hits like Gorilla Tag or jump into big-named platform exclusives like Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR or Asgard’s Wrath 2.  And between a wide range of games in Early Access or built inside of Meta’s Horizon Worlds social platform, there’s a lot to explore.

Because Quest 3S shares the same performance specs as Quest 3, it can play the same games at the same graphical settings. That means it not only has access to the newest games (like the upcoming Batman: Arkham Shadow) but you can also be confident that it will be supported for as long as Quest 3.

With some exceptions, the vast majority of Quest games on the Horizon Store unfortunately don’t have the scope or polish that you might expect from games on any of the big three game consoles. So if you’re looking for polished experiences, you’ll need to do some research to sort through the huge library to find the content that scratches that itch.

We’ve got our own recommendations for the first Quest games you should consider buying, and for the best free Quest games you can find.

The Horizon Store is also home to many interesting non-game apps that span the gamut from education to travel to meditation, and much more. If you’re the creative type, you can find a number of interesting tools for creative endeavors like sculpting, painting, and animating in VR.

Horizon OS

Image courtesy Meta

Horizon OS is the name Meta uses for the core Quest software—the interface and features you use when not inside of an immersive app.

The company has been rapidly adding to the Horizon OS feature set. You’ll find a full-blown web browser, a virtual desktop for using your headset as a display for your Mac or Windows computer, a media player for viewing side-loaded content like photos and spatial videos, and more.

Recent changes enable free-form window management, allowing you to, say, open a web browser to pull up a YouTube video and maximize it like a huge TV, then open another browser window and pull it into your lap to browse twitter like a tablet.

Image courtesy Meta

On paper, Horizon OS has a lot of built-in capabilities. In reality, the OS continues to feel overtly clunky. Using it often feels like using a bolted-on smart TV interface rather than the streamlined interfaces you’d expect from a smartphone or tablet.

Issues with Horizon OS are broad, generally falling into three categories: poor design, inconsistent behavior, and bugs. It would take an entire series of articles to dig into the details, so here I’ll just say that Horizon OS continues to have poor usability. It does more today than it ever has, but cramming more features into the OS doesn’t always mean a better user experience if the features aren’t actually polished and easy to use.

This is a real shame because these issues are largely software and design based—things that aren’t constrained by the headset’s hardware. And the clunk of the user-facing software layer really diminishes the incredible things the headset is actually doing under the hood (the invisible stuff like head tracking, world tracking, passthrough, rendering games and apps with incredibly low latency, etc).

If Meta can figure out how to make real usability improvements to Horizon OS, it could greatly increase the value of Quest 3S over time. But, having seen these issues persist since Quest 2, we aren’t holding our breath.


Disclosure: Meta provided Road to VR with a Quest 3S headset.

The post Quest 3S Review – Value That Can’t Be Beat, With the Same Rough Edges as Its Siblings appeared first on Road to VR.



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‘Dig VR’ Delays Quest Launch in Fear of Being Steamrolled by ‘Batman: Arkham Shadow’

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Every game developer fears the dreaded ‘launch day flop’, which is doubly worse when the game is actually good but being ignored because of poor timing. That’s what Dig VR developer Just Add Water and publisher Wired Productions are trying to avoid, as the big digger sim was previously scheduled to arrive just two days after Batman: Arkham Shadow.

Batman: Arkham Shadow is shaping up to be a really promising game. As seen in our hands-on back in August, it packs in tense combat, gritty narrative, and some thoughtful VR-native design—which will rightfully grab Quest 3 users by the eyeballs because every new Quest 3 and Quest 3S is being bundled with the game for free.

Cooler heads have prevailed though, and Dig VR developer Just Add Water, known for Sniper Elite VR (2021), announced it simply won’t compete with one of this year’s biggest VR titles.

Batman: Arkham Shadow’s Camouflaj was technically the first to publicly announce its game, which is coming October 22nd. Still, it wasn’t actually assigned a release date until after the Dig VR team were assigned their own. In short, it was just bad luck.

“Following late-night discussions with our friends at Meta, it became clear that Batman: Arkham Shadow, which was not scheduled for release when Meta assigned our launch date, might just be a pretty big game. As a small indie team, we need every available opportunity and chance to get our game seen. In addition to that, we really want to play Batman too, and wouldn’t have the time otherwise,” the studio says.

The humble digger game—also coming exclusively to Quest—features authentic, immersive controls that recreate the feeling of driving a real digger. It features a campaign mode, but also fast-paced, multiplayer mini-games and sandbox mode.

The studio released a message on X detailing the reasons behind the delay, which is pushing the game’s Quest launch to November 14th. TLDR; the only real reason is to not get thoroughly steam-rolled by the Batmobile:

Dear players,

With a week to go until launch, we have to move the release of DIG VR. We could say it’s to make the game better or to add polish, but the truth is the game is already great and ready. The reason, however, is one we could never have predicted… it’s Batman’s fault.

Following late-night discussions with our friends at Meta, it became clear that Batman: Arkham Shadow, which was not scheduled for release when Meta assigned our launch date, might just be a pretty big game. As a small indie team, we need every available opportunity and chance to get our game seen. In addition to that, we really want to play Batman too, and wouldn’t have the time otherwise.

So, what does this mean? We’ll be moving our release date to 14th November (check out our trailer this afternoon for something special!), and to make it up to the players who have been waiting, we’re now offering a 25% discount through a pre-order program. Previously, there was no discount, and we hope this pre-order and saving go some way towards making up for the extra wait.

So TL;DR, Batman made us move the date. The shift in the release date allows everyone (us too) to dive into Batman: Arkham Shadow and save the streets of Gotham, knowing that once the dust settles, DIG VR will be there to restore the city.

Thank you, as always, for your love and support in the indie scene. We’re nothing without our players.

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‘Skydance’s Behemoth’ Gets First Quest 3 Trailer Ahead of December Release

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Skydance’s Behemoth is coming to all major VR headsets in December, promising to be one of the biggest VR game releases this year. Now we got a peek at the game running on Quest 3, and it’s really looking the part.

Initially targeting a November 14th release, developer Skydance Games announced last month that it was delaying Behemoth to December 5th to give the team more time to polish what’s been couched as its next “AAA” VR title.

Launching across Quest 2/3/ProPSVR 2, and PC VR, Behemoth promises loads of exploration, combat, environmental puzzles, and plenty of hard-won VR-native design pioneered in the studio’s most successful VR game, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners.

While we’ve had a steady stream of trailers over the past four months, all of them ostensibly focused on PSVR 2 gameplay and gameplay captured on PC. To boot, the studio has only ever shown the game working on PSVR 2 and PC VR (via Quest 3) across its various demos.

We’re of course saving judgement for whenever the studio shows off native Quest 3 support in the wild, although it could easily shape up to be one of the most important releases this year alongside Batman: Arkham Shadow and Metro Awakening.

The post ‘Skydance’s Behemoth’ Gets First Quest 3 Trailer Ahead of December Release appeared first on Road to VR.



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Wednesday 16 October 2024

Meta CTO Confirms Mixed Reality Glasses Project, AI Earbuds with Cameras & Cancellation of High-End Quest

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In an interview with The Verge, Meta CTO and Reality Labs chief Andrew Bosworth confirmed a number of projects previously subject to speculation, detailed the company’s strategic shift toward AI, and confirmed plans to deepen its partnership with Ray-Ban parent EssilorLuxottica.

Meta reorganized Reality Labs earlier this year to better focus on wearables, such as Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses and AI-driven wearable tech, like the newer version of its wrist-worn controller revealed last month alongside Meta’s Orion AR glasses prototype.

Meta’s Orion AR Glasses Prototype | Image courtesy Meta

To get there though, Bosworth outlined the company’s multi-phase process for product development. In a nutshell: a “pre-discovery” team prototypes novel concepts. Some ideas move to the “discovery” phase for feasibility and industrial design evaluation. Prototyping follows with more extensive executive involvement, and products that pass engineering validation may go to market.

In the interview, Bosworth confirmed a number of claims made in recent reports, including rumors that Meta is exploring earbuds with cameras, similar to what we’ve heard is currently going on at Apple, and a pair of mixed reality goggles which recently entered the discovery phase, described as “steampunk-like.”

Although Bosworth didn’t confirm this, a previous report from The Information maintained those mixed reality goggles could arrive as soon as 2027—assuming they successfully pass both prototyping and engineering validation phases.

Bosworth also confirmed a previous report that Meta has canceled a high-end Quest headset, codenamed La Jolla, which was initially expected to become the Quest Pro 2. The cancellation of La Jolla was likely due to tepid consumer responses to high-priced headsets like the Quest Pro and Apple Vision Pro.

Meta Quest Pro | Image courtesy Meta

It also seems reports were correct surrounding Meta’s plans to take a noncontrolling stake in EssilorLuxottica, the company behind Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses. Meta is seeking volume while the eyewear giant seeks margins. “That’s the tension, and we found a good solution to it, so we’re pretty excited about it,” Bosworth told The Verge.

Meanwhile, Meta is increasingly focused on AI-powered devices, aiming not to be outpaced by competitors like Apple. To boot, Meta is now developing multiple products simultaneously, a marked shift from its early days.

“We definitely don’t want to be outflanked by someone who came up with some clever, integrated wearable that we hadn’t thought about,” Bosworth says. “If there’s a part of your body that could potentially host a wearable that could do AI, there’s a good chance we’ve had a team run that down.”

This comes as Meta has just released Quest 3S, its new $300 mixed reality headset that undoubtedly hopes to replicate Quest 2’s success by packing in Quest 3’s chipset and full-color mixed reality capabilities alongside last-gen displays.

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Tuesday 15 October 2024

One of the Best Mods for ‘Half-Life: Alyx’ is Becoming a Full Game Next Year

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Half-Life: Alyx (2020) is one of the most moddable VR games out there, which has spawned high-quality DLC and some impressively detailed levels. Now, the developer behind the ‘Gunman Contracts’—one of the best HLA mods out there—says we’re getting a full, standalone title next year.

Called Gunman Contracts – Stand Alone, the single player game is heading for Steam Early Access sometime next year, which is said to include core features such as customizable weapons, shooting challenges, and demo areas.

While initially announced last year with release targeting early 2024, Gunman Contracts mod developer ‘ANB_Seth’ announced they’re now teaming up with games publisher 2080 Games, which was founded by Mike from YouTube channel Virtual Reality Oasis.

2080 Games is partially funding the development of the title, allowing the solo developer to focus on creating the game full-time.

ANB_Seth says the first mission is currently in progress, however the game is expected to evolve over two to three years with player feedback guiding updates. The full version aims to include five to six contracts and various game modes. Initial Early Access pricing is said to start low and increase as more content is added over time.

Notably, the action-movie-inspired shooter will be playable both in VR and in non-VR, letting you become a professional hitman who takes on “ruthless forces in the criminal underworld, bringing justice and order in the world beyond the reach of law – one contract at a time,” the game’s Steam page says.

And since it’s a standalone title, you won’t technically need to own Half-Life: Alyx—but you probably should anyway. Although born from the developer’s work on Gunman Contracts – Chapter 1 & Chapter 2, Gunman Contracts – Stand Alone is said to be new from the ground-up, which includes all new missions, selectable and configurable from the gunman’s base of operations where you’ll store all of your pistols, rifles, shotguns, knives and even archery kit.

While initially targeting PC VR headsets, ANB_Seth says the connections and expertise of 2080 Games will make future ports of the full release version “actually realistic” on Quest or PSVR 2.

In the meantime, you can follow along with development over on the Gunman Contacts Discord channel (invite link) for the all the latest info.

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‘Clamb’ is a VR Game With Sledgehammer Locomotion, Which is Just as Insane as it Sounds

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Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy (2017) is deceptively simple: move up an increasingly surreal mountain using only your trusty sledgehammer. In this Steam Next Fest demo, you can basically now do it in VR too.

From indie studio OP Softworks comes Clamb, an upcoming VR game that maroons you on an island with one goal: clamber up the mountain with your sledgehammer—that, and don’t fall.

You’d think things would actually be easier in VR than controlling the wibbly 2D sidescroller original because you have more direct control and have more flexibility in your movements. But after having played the free SteamVR demo, I can safely say that’s not true. At all.

Image courtesy OP Softworks

Confession: I haven’t make it to the top of the lighthouse yet, which is provided as a vertical slice to the full game coming at some point. I was however left with a surprising appreciation for the independent VR take on Getting Over It, and think it might actually have legs—despite not having any virtual legs to speak of.

For one, it’s not a puke fest. From the short gameplay vids out there which show off the unique locomotion method, it definitely could have been.

Image courtesy OP Softworks

Thankfully, both snap-turn and automatic vignettes come standard in the demo, which means I had little excuse to shy away from being extreme with the weird, wonky movement scheme. You’re basically free to focus on the task at hand of bouncing and scraping around, and pushing the limits of just how far you can blast yourself without falling off the edge.

While the oddly-shaped tool can be used to ‘row’ yourself in short hops forward, more often you’ll be using the head of the hammer and its handle to gingerly latch onto the game’s craggy geometry, which offers ample opportunity for failure. Because the hammer is physics-based, and offers multiple surfaces and edges, the skill floor is unexpectedly high, even from the outset.

Visually, the demo also looks pretty great, replicating everything you’d expect from a faithful 3D reimagining of Getting Over It too, including oversized assets of all sorts scattered around, making for a ton of varied terrain to traverse.

I’m not such a massive glutton for repeat failure, but if you are, you can nab the free demo now for Steam VR headsets during Steam Next Fest, which runs until October 21st.

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‘Starship Troopers’ VR Game Delayed Last-Minute, New November Release Dates Announced

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Sony Pictures Virtual Reality and XR Games unveiled Starship Troopers: Continuum last month, the film franchise’s very own VR co-op shooter. The studios now say it’s coming in November.

Previously set to arrive on Quest 2 and 3 on October 17th, and PSVR 2 on October 31st, Starship Troopers: Continuum still needs time in the oven, it seems.

The studios announced via an X post it’s now coming November 14th on Quest, and November 25th on PSVR 2, citing the need for “extra playtesting, polish, and [bug] fixes.”

Here’s that message in full:

Starship Troopers: Continuum will now be coming out on November 14, 2024, on Meta Quest, and November 25, 2024, on PlayStation VR2.

This is to allow further time for extra playtesting, polish, and fixes, to help ensure the best experience on Meta Quest and PlayStation VR2.

We appreciate the community’s patience and support, and look forward to seeing everyone on the battlefield this November.

Set 25 years after the Battle of Klendathu, where film protagonist Johnny Rico first saw action against the giant Arachnid inhabitants, the online co-op shooter will let you and up to two other players become experimental soldiers with advanced psychic powers in your battle against the bugs.

Considering the game’s developer XR Games only just recently released Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded (2024) on Quest last month, which was widely panned for both its poor visual quality and game-breaking bugs, it makes sense Sony doesn’t want to see another critical misfire with its own IP, which has made somewhat of a resurgence as of late.

This comes amid the launch of the franchise’s latest flatscreen online shooter Starship Troopers: Extermination (2024)which arrived on PC, PS5, and Xbox X|S on October 10th. On Steam, the game garnered an overall user rating of ‘Very Positive’, tallied from more than 26,000 user reviews.

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