‘Pistol Whip’ Studio Reportedly Developing “impossible to ignore” Multiplayer VR Game

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Veteran VR studio Cloudhead Games, developer behind hit rhythm shooter Pistol Whip (2019), is ostensibly deep in development of their next title, which according to a recent job listing could be a multiplayer VR game that may also have a flatscreen mode.

The studio’s listing for a new Social & Community Strategist is looking for someone who is “obsessed with multiplayer and co-op games (2D and VR),” and someone who can “spot great player moments, jump on trends, or define your own.”

“We’re looking for someone to help make our next game impossible to ignore,” the listing says.

Although the studio hasn’t publicly confirmed it’s indeed developing a hybrid flatscreen/VR game, it would certainly be a first for the British Columbia-based studio.

Founded in 2012, Cloudhead got its start with the release of single-player VR adventure games The Gallery – Episode 1: Call of the Starseed (2016) and Episode 2: Heart of the Emberstone (2017), later releasing arguably its most popular title in 2019, the single-player rhythm VR game Pistol Whip.

The new job posting suggests Cloudhead is looking to make a big splash too, as the studio hopes to campaign across TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, Discord, Reddit, Steam, Instagram, and X. The studio says it also wants applicants to lead playtests, announcements, engagement, and work with creators and streamers on all of the above.

Adding essentially a ‘viral marketing’ position to the mix also suggests the studio’s next game is pretty fairly far along. In 2024, Cloudhead announced it was working on two new VR games, although the studio has been mum on the specifics since then.

Whatever the case, the studio appears to be attempting a significant rebound after it was forced to lay off 70% of staff, making for 37 affected employees. And, if the job posting is anything to go by, one of VR’s most senior (and successful) studios may hope a hybrid flatscreen/VR multiplayer could be the ticket.

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Meta Closes Smart Glasses Privacy Loophole With New Camera-Killing Update

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Meta is rolling out an update to its line of smart glasses that will disable the camera if the device’s capture LED has been tampered with or destroyed.

Since the rollout of Meta’s second-gen Ray-Ban Glasses in 2024, physically covering the white capture LED on any of the company’s current smart glasses shuts off the onboard camera, something the company did to curb casual misuse.

Before Meta’s mandatory v26 update—which is rolling out now to all Meta Ray-Ban, Meta Oakley and its new $300 Meta Glasses—some users got around the software check by simply drilling out the capture LED hardware itself. Granted, that was already against Meta’s terms of service, which state:

“You may not tamper with the Glasses or otherwise obscure or modify any of the features on the Glasses that signal to others that the Glasses are recording.”

Meta Glasses | Courtesy Meta

Still, that wasn’t much of a deterrent, since the hardware check failed to notice when the capture LED was physically disabled, and not just covered up by a piece of tape.

Speaking to The Verge, Meta VP of Wearables Alex Himel says the privacy-focused update was meant to follow the release of the company’s cheaper Meta Glasses, which notably lack Ray-Ban or Oakley styling. At the time, Himel told The Verge Meta was aware of increasing misuse amid growing adoption.

Meta doesn’t seem to be outright bricking glasses with drilled-out capture LEDs, however not having the camera severely limits what people can do with them, since they don’t include any sort of display, which ought to be deterrent enough for now.

Lacking a display has essentially forced Meta to invest in use cases beyond the comparatively straight forward expectation of taking photos and video, as the company has released updates that bring camera features such as continuous Live AI capture, which lets Meta AI see what you’re seeing so it can help out with tasks or otherwise identify things directly in your filed-of-view.

And while Meta appears to be distancing itself from one of the least savory consumer segments by putting an end to surreptitious public recording, it’s also seemingly frontrunning increased legislation in a growing number of US states and cities, such as New York state and Philadelphia. Public court houses there have recently banned smart glasses of any type, even those with prescription lenses.

Scrutiny around privacy seems to be coming from all sides though, as a recent Wired report maintains Meta has essentially baked in facial recognition to its smart glasses, which is notably still unreleased at this time.

In March, it was revealed Meta was facing a class action lawsuit in the US over privacy concerns tied to its smart glasses, as the company is accused of sending private camera footage to a Kenya-based subcontractor for manual review to train its AI models.

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HTC’s Revenue Stabilizes as XR Pioneer Pins Hopes on AI, Smart Glasses and Enterprise

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HTC has been attempting a second act as an XR and AI hardware company for a few years now with mixed results. And while the once-dominant smartphone company is still the midst of a protracted revenue decline, HTC seems to have stabilized.

As reported by Taiwan’s Financial Express News, HTC revealed at its annual shareholders meeting a consolidated revenue of NT$292 million (~$10 million) for June 2026, showing a year-over-year decrease of 8.5% and first-half revenue decrease of 9.7% year-over-year.

Although that doesn’t sound particularly encouraging, the decline actually represents a rare degree of stability for the Taiwan-based company, which has battled significant revenue losses since as far back as 2013.

Granted, HTC is now a fraction of its previous size, which was before selling a significant portion of its smartphone engineering team and IP to Google in 2018, and a number of XR hardware talent to Google in 2025.

Still, HTC appears to be settling in at a much lower revenue base, as the company is ostensibly pinning its hopes on AI, smart glasses, its VIVERSE metaverse platform, and its usual smattering of enterprise hardware and services.

VIVE Eagle | Courtesy HTC

Notably, HTC Chairman Cher Wang stated at the company’s recent shareholders’ meeting that AI has become one of the most important trends it’s following, with the company’s first AI-powered smart glasses, the VIVE Eagle, expected to arrive in the US and Europe sometime in Q3 2026.

Wang also highlighted the company’s metaverse platform, VIVERSE, which has transformed into a user-generative platform since last year, having attracted over 1.7 million month active users in May, with more than 32,000 pieces of content and at least 14,000 creators joining.

However, HTC’s main challenge remains converting these user numbers and strategic initiatives into meaningful revenue growth, something the company hasn’t clearly demonstrated since making the pivot from smartphones to XR.

Outside of XR, HTC telecom subsidiary G REIGNS also made progress in industrial applications, as its partners Taiyang Technology and Alaska-based Microcom are working on an end-to-end open radio access network (RAN) solution, which is currently aiming at the US market and remote areas. G REIGNS is also introducing AI, 5G private networks, and edge computing technologies to Taiwan’s deep-sea fishing industry, which launched a smart fish-finding solution to help fisheries improve fish search efficiency and real-time decision-making capabilities.

One area not discussed was HTC’s XR headset strategy, which seems to have stalled somewhat following the 2024 release of its VIVE Focus Vision standalone in September 2024. As the successor to VIVE Focus 3, the $1,150 Focus Vision was primarily aimed at enterprise XR and enthusiasts.

That said, HTC has managed to survive the collapse of its smartphone business while staying afloat in XR amid Meta’s domination of the segment, which is no small feat. Still, its next big test will be to see whether it can efficiently build off these revenue streams in the coming years, and maybe, just maybe reclaim some of its former glory.

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Smart Contact Lenses Move Closer to Reality as XPANCEO Expands JBD Display Partnership

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Dubai-based smart contact lenses startup XPANCEO announced it’s expanding a partnership with China’s JBD to co-develop a new micro-display designed specifically for smart contact lenses.

Previously, the companies co-developed a printed circuit board with integrated micro-display, as well as a unique optical system capable of forming a near-eye image for easy focus.

Now XPANCEO is deepening ties with JBD, the Shanghai-based micro display company, to co-develop the tiny displays that could one day be in consumer smart contacts of the future.

Notably, JBD is behind some positively miniscule XR displays; one such display we saw back at CES 2020 was smaller than a penny, but capable of a blinding 3,000,000 nits.

Smart Contact Prototype (2026) | Courtesy XPANCEO

The companies say the partnership will focus on scalability and manufacturability, which could lead to their first mass-market production run of specialized contact lens microdisplays. That said, the pieces are still coming together.

Packing everything into a contact lens form factor is a major feat, with XPANCEO noting it should be around the thickness of a human hair to ensure optimal comfort and wearability.

Another critical challenge is brightness management, since light levels must be carefully balanced to ensure ocular safety while remaining strong enough to see clearly and comfortably. Since images are projected directly onto the user’s retina, prospective smart lenses can make use of lower brightness than smart of AR glasses, the companies say.

In May, XPANCEO revealed it struck a similar partnership with France-based solid-state battery startup ITEN, which aims to solve another big challenge in ocular wearables; conventional batteries are thick, not durable enough, and aren’t suitable to be used in in devices worn directly on the human eye.

And while XPANCEO has its work cut out for it, the company seems to be in the best possible position, as the company secured its Series A financing round in July 2025 to the tune of $250 million, garnering it a $1.35 billion valuation.

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Smart Glasses Startup Even Realities Secures Unicorn Status with $150M Funding Round

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Even Realities, the China-based smart glasses company, has officially secured unicorn status with its most recent Pre-B financing round, bringing the company $150 million and a $1 billion valuation.

The round, which was led by Meituan and Tencent, is said to be primarily directed toward the development of Even Realities’ next-gen smart glasses platform, the deepening of AI integration, and the scaling of global operations.

The latest round brings the company’s overall funding to $159 million; its initial $9 million Series A round included investment by CDH Investments, Cyanhill Capital, and China Growth Capital among others.

Even G2 glasses and Even R1 ring | Courtesy Even Realities

Unlike Meta’s slate of camera-clad smart glasses, Even Realities builds frames that incorporate binocular, monochrome green displays, critically omitting any sort of camera. And its flagship smart glasses, Even G2, is one of the leaders in the quickly growing ‘display glasses’ segment, incorporating user input through its health-tracking Even R1 smart ring.

“Every generation of computing has brought information closer to people, from the desktop to the laptop, from the laptop to the smartphone,” said Will Wang, founder and CEO of Even Realities. “We believe smart glasses are the next step in that progression. The future isn’t about pulling out a device every time you need information. It’s about having the right information available exactly when you need it, while remaining fully present in the world around you. This investment has shown us that our investors share the same belief that good technology should extend life, not interrupt it. We will continue building toward that future.”

The financing comes as smart glasses enter a new phase of growth, with companies such as Google, Meta, Apple, and Samsung investing heavily in the consumer segment.

Even Realties says its new funding will support continued investment in hardware and software development, deepen AI integrations, and expand global operations to meet growing demand. The company says it also plans to accelerate product innovation as it continues building “a new generation of smart glasses designed to make information more accessible in everyday life.”

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Veteran VR Shooter ‘Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades’ Finally Leaves Early Access

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VR shooting simulator Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades (H3VR) launched its 1.0 release over the weekend, exiting early access after more than a decade on Steam.

Veteran VR studio Rust Ltd has finally brought H3VR out of early access on July 4th—a fitting release date for the hyper-American shooting sandbox’s big 1.0 update.

Studio founder Anton Hand says in a Steam update that while H3VR has been in in “Absurdly Late Access for a very long time,” the game’s 120th update was released to make sure the creator community “had the best options moving forward with a solidified codebase, tools and toys.” You can see the full release notes in the update linked above.

This follows a major overhaul to the game’s main game mode ‘Take & Hold’, which included new modes, challenges, characters, equipment and more. In May, the studio also included initial support for Steam Workshop, which lets you share user-generated levels and content.

Released in early access on April 5, 2016, the game technically went live on Steam for the big release day of original HTC Vive, which at the time was the only consumer VR headset to natively feature motion controllers.

Over the years, the game has grown from a simple VR firearms sandbox into one of VR’s deepest sims, adding hundreds of meticulously modeled weapons, dozens of new environments and game modes, and extensive interaction systems.

Hand maintains the 1.0 release “isn’t the END end,” as there are still bugs to fix, work to be done on creation tools, support hooks for Valve’s upcoming Steam Frame standalone, and a credits scene that still needs inserting—all while creating the game’s sequel, which was revealed in May.

While Hand calls the 1.0 release “the end of a chapter/act of a larger story,” he’s ultimately “crazy excited about what’s to come despite the melancholy of this particular moment.”

Undoubtedly now the studio’s main focus is on H3VR 2, which unlike its mostly sandbox-style shooting sim forbear will be a “full fledged” extraction shooter. There’s no release date yet beyond the previously announced 2026 window, however H3VR 2 is set to launch across coming to Quest 3 and 3S, as well as PC VR headsets via Steam.

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‘MemoMind One’ Display Smart Glasses Blast Past $500K Crowdfunding Mark

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MemoMind, a new AI hardware brand from projector manufacturer XGIMI, launched a crowdfunding campaign for its first smart glasses last week, the MemoMind One, which include dual displays, microphones, and open ear speakers—but no built-in camera.

The News

First shown at CES 2026 in Las Vegas in January, MemoMind One launched a Kickstarter last Sunday hoping to attract a nominal $80,000 HKD (~$10,100 USD) for its first pair of smart glasses, which serve up dual green micro-LED displays (2,000 nits), integrated audio, and a host of AI-assisted actions, such as real-time translation, note taking, contextual assistance, navigation, and more.

At the time of this writing, MemoMind One’s Kickstarter has already blasted past the $500,000 USD mark, now approaching $4.6M HKD (~$586,000 USD).

MemoMind One (Nomad) | Courtesy XGIMI

MemoMind One (Archive) | Courtesy XGIMI

MemoMind One (Gotham) | Courtesy XGIMI

The China-based company, which is best known for its range of home projectors, is offering MemoMind One in three frame styles: Nomad (Square-Round), Archive (Round), and Gotham (Square), and promises seven customizable color options. They also support prescription lenses, as XGIMI aims to deliver all-day usage with its “up to 16 hour” battery life.

While MemoMind One includes a range of AI-powered features without needing a subscription, such as on-device AI assistant, navigation, translating more than 26 languages, and displaying teleprompter text, the company is also set to offer a monthly ‘Memo+’ subscription service priced at $20 USD per month.

Real-time translation on MemoMind One | Courtesy XGIMI

The Memo+ subscription is set to include a longer-term memory that can search across your captured meetings, conversations, and moments. Notably, deposit holders will get 12 months of Memo+ for free while Kickstarter backers get six months.

MemoMind One is available to pre-order through Kickstarter, with shipments expected later this summer. Pricing starts at $400 for the Standard Edition, rising to $499 with prescription lenses. A Custom Edition starts at $449.

My Take

Meta and hardware partner EssilorLuxottica have been pretty vocal about the success of their camera-clad Ray-Ban smart glasses over the years. The growing segment has shown that there’s definitely a market out there for people who want stylish glasses that put AI front and center, and also pack in a pretty okay camera and pair of built-in headphones too.

For some, the camera is a bit of a sticking point though, as it understandably can weird people out at the thought of being constantly recorded, or being misidentified as that guy—the one who followed the YouTube tutorial on how to disable the capture LED so people know when you’re actively recording. That said, if Meta’s, Google’s or Samsung’s continued investment in the space is any indication, the weird guy phenomenon hasn’t poisoned the well just yet, as there seems to be enough good will out there to not elevate things to “Glasshole” levels of moral panic.

While not the first to offer dual displays (albeit monochrome green), MemoMind One seems to be flanking the smart glasses segment from a decidedly much safer approach, one that’s critically without any whiff of controversy thus far. And in the process, it’s also looking to undercut some of the display smart glasses market leaders too, like Even Realities G2, which are priced at $600 before adding prescription lenses.

We haven’t gone hands-on with MemoMind One yet, although it’s interesting to see that consumers will soon be able to choose between display-clad smart glasses and audio-only smart glasses for more of less the same price.

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