Steam Next Fest Hosts 40+ PC VR Game Demos Until October 26th

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Steam Next Fest is live, going from now until October 26th and serving up gads of PC VR demos to play.

We’ve counted 42 VR game demos currently available for download, and among the bunch are a surprising number of greats.

If you’re not sure where to start first though, you should definitely check out VR co-op heist game PAYDAY: Aces High from Fast Travel Games, town-builder strategy game Outlanders VR from Mucho Games, and co-op extraction game DRIFTERS: Blackout Crew from Salmi Games.

Below you find links for each game, including their respective release dates. You can also see the full list of Steam Next Fest demos here.

Steam Next Fest October 2026

Game Name	Developer	Genre	Release Date
RAID VR	FusionPlay	Co-op Sci-Fi Shooter, Action Roguelike	Coming soon
Wurst and Glory	Yaga Studio	Competitive Dueling, Party Game	Nov 2, 2026
MOLY	Molies	VR Simulation, Puzzle	Nov 1, 2026
Arcane Architect	Mayak Studio	VR Tower Defense, Strategy	Coming soon
DRIFTERS: Blackout Crew	Salmi Games	Co-op Extraction Shooter, PvE	To be announced
Sol Protocol	Singular Perception	Co-op Space Sim, Roguelike	November 2026
Rustmourne	Rustmourne Team	Survival Horror, Sci-Fi	To be announced
Magic Color Merge Puzzle VR	Pixelbrain Studio	Puzzle, Casual	Coming soon
Sapphobos	G.I.L.L.E.S.	Psychological Horror, Mystery	Q4 2026
Cloud JourneyVR	YY	Exploration, Historical Puzzle	Oct 27, 2026
Dark Trip	iWorlds	Psychological Horror, Escape Room	Oct 29, 2026
The Last Frame	Patagoniart	Adventure, Environmental Puzzle	Coming soon
Hyperlane Highway	Ryality Studio	Action Roguelite, Hoverboard Racing	2026
Atlas Proxima: Tether	Atlas Proxima Design Studios	Co-op Idler, Exploration	Q4 2026
Board Of The Future	TomyHorst	Racing, Skateboarding Simulation	To be announced
Voxel Playground	Cydream	Physics Sandbox, Arena Shooter	Coming soon
Undead Development 2	Masterstrike	Zombie Survival, Base Building	Nov 3, 2026
MNOZ – My Nuclear Octopus 2	Tea Monster Games	Retro Arcade, Shoot ‘Em Up	Q1 2027
Orb Rush VR	R-S	VR Arcade, Score Attack	November 2026
Dance of Drauganna	Yaga Studio	Rhythm, Dance, Narrative Adventure	Nov 2, 2026
The Rifted Skies	DreamVR	VR Parkour, Action Roguelike	Coming soon
LIMINAL	Cole Heideman (Red Shed)	Action Roguelike, Looter Shooter	December 2026
Re:Red	Sekami	Psychological Horror, Walking Simulator	Q4 2026
PatchWorld	PatchXR	Creative Sandbox, Music, Multiplayer	2026
City of Hunger	MVCAO Studios	VR FPS, Survival Horror	2026
Halls of the Deep	One Studio	Action-Adventure, Archery, Exploration	Coming soon
PAYDAY: Aces High	Fast Travel Games	VR Co-op Heist, FPS	Nov 5, 2026
Ancient Duel	Tree Web Solutions SRL	Turn-Based Strategy, Card Game	Q4 2026
Sunstone of Time	VRKiwi	Historical VR Adventure, Puzzle	To be announced
ASMBL	Carbon Copy Labs LLC	VR Sandbox, Building Simulation	November 2026
Saddlebow	SweetPulse Games	VR Archery, Hunting	Nov 2, 2026
Ghostly Late Night Show	Miltan Digital Ltd	Stealth, Puzzle Adventure	Coming soon
CRASHLAND	LAC Games Ltd	Sci-Fi Arena FPS, Survival	Coming soon
Doodle Figure	Binary Bit Studio	Asymmetric VR, Party Game	December 2026
Bad Grip Club	Theia Games	Co-op Climbing, Physics Adventure	To be announced
Long Trip	Musketeer Studio	Dark Fantasy Action RPG	2026
Parcel Panic	Naughty Pig	VR Arcade, Job Simulation	November 2026
Pin City	Studio217, LLC	VR Bowling, Sports Arcade	December 2026
Outlanders VR	Mucho Games	City Builder, Strategy	Coming soon
ATTACK OF THE EVIL POOP VR	AN Games	Comedy, On-Rails Shooter	Coming soon
STUFFED: Two Foot Hero	Waving Bear Studio	VR Wave Shooter, Tower Defense	Nov 3, 2026
System Critical 3	Old Formulas	VR Platformer, Shoot ‘Em Up	Coming soon

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What do you think is worth playing? Let us know in the comments below!

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OpenXR Takes a Page From Apple With New Cross-Platform Spatial Multitasking API

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OpenXR is an open, royalty-free standard which provides a single, unified interface for developing VR and AR applications. Most XR platforms support it—excluding Apple, which uses its own APIs for Vision Pro. While that hasn’t changed, OpenXR seems to have taken a page out of Apple’s playbook with a new multitasking spatial app framework.

The Khronos Group, which leads development on OpenXR, announced it’s set to roll out a set of extensions soon that include new “spatial containers.” Spatial containers are system-managed spaces where apps can display XR content, similar to how traditional apps draw 2D content within windows on a desktop.

As seen in the short clip below, this will essentially allow for apps to switch between a “bounded” mode for multitasking and an “immersive” mode that takes up the full screen, The Khronos Group says.

It’s admittedly very similar to how visionOS handles multitasking via its Shared Space function, which is basically a spatial desktop that allows multiple 3D applications to live side-by-side and be moved around by the user. Apple Vision Pro has had this feature since launch in 2024.

This comes in contrast to how multitasking works on Quest today, wherein only one spatial app can run at a time, albeit alongside system-level stuff, such as the dashboard, browser, and other multitasked 2D windows.

The Khronos Group says the new extensions have been ratified and published, with implementations expected to begin rolling out across the OpenXR ecosystem during 2026.

Granted, its release doesn’t mean all existing headsets will immediately support it, although it’s a good bet we’ll begin seeing implementations soon from the cadre of OpenXR-supported headsets, which thus far include Meta Quest, SteamVR-compatible PC VR headsets and Steam Frame, Android XR-based headsets, Varjo, Magic Leap, and XREAL glasses.

You can check out the full list here, which of course doesn’t include Apple.

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‘PAYDAY: Aces High’ Releases November 5th on Quest, Steam Frame & PC VR, Playtest Now Open

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PAYDAY: Aces High, the VR game set in the Payday universe, is officially set to launch across Quest, PC VR headsets, and Steam Frame next month.

Payday: Aces High is an upcoming VR co-op heist game from Fast Travel Games which lets up to four players take on some pretty classic heisting: infiltrating banks, museums, and even a luxury penthouse apartment.

Like all Payday games, you can also build out your own unique loadout—weapons, gadgets and special skills—as your team decides to go in hard and fast, or with a more tactical approach.

Now, Fast Travel Games says Payday: Aces High is coming November 5th, priced at $25, which you can now wishlist on Steam and Quest. Notably, the Steam version includes both the PC VR version and the Steam Frame native version for standalone gameplay.

Check out the new gameplay trailer below:

You won’t have to wait until November 5th to play the game though. The studio is also holding its final playtest, which runs from today until October 26th, with a Steam demo available as part of Steam Next Fest. Players can also join on Quest 3/3S.

Fast Travel Games notes that players who join the final playtest will receive an exclusive in-game Kitty Mask in the full game when it launches next month. Check out the game’s website to learn more.

Courtesy Fast Travel Games

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Steam Frame OLED Version Surfaces in Source Code, Suggesting a Possible Hardware Refresh

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Valve’s Steam Frame is barely out the door, but now data mining has reportedly surfaced that an OLED version may already in the works.

The News

As reported by Steam Frame Hub, Valve may be working on a new version of Steam Frame, which much like Steam Deck, may include OLED panels instead of LCD.

The codename ‘Plano’ has appeared in Valve’s publicly released Steam Frame kernel source code, describing a ‘Deckard’ (codename for Steam Frame) with a 3,552 × 3,840 per eye resolution OLED, and refresh rate of up to 90Hz, and 120Hz experimental mode.

That comes in contrast to Steam Frame’s 2,160 × 2,160 per eye resolution LCD panel, which includes 72-120Hz refresh rate (144Hz experimental).

Courtesy Steam Frame Hub

Steam Frame Hub maintains that while native pixel counts are impressively high, essentially the same as Samsung Galaxy XR, the default resolution appears to be half that: 1,776 × 1,920.

That would essentially allow Valve to hit roughly the same performance target as the standard Steam Frame, as the kernel source code appears to show Plano uses the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset as the current model.

Development on the repository reportedly continued through October 2nd, 2026, weeks after Steam Frame pre-orders opened on September 14th. That suggests the project remained active after the headset’s launch, although it doesn’t establish whether Plano is a separate product or an experimental hardware configuration.

My Take

Valve may well be following the same playbook as Deck, which was first released in February 2022 with an LCD version, followed by an OLED version in November 2023. Still, there are a few possible explanations beyond a mid-generation Steam Frame OLED refresh.

An alt display config could have been evaluated during development, and subsequently abandoned. Valve may also be simply internal testing right now, which doesn’t mean it will necessarily be productized—soon, or ever.

Road to VR

Notably, the name Deckard appeared more or less the same way, albeit in 2021. That’s ‘Valve Time’ for you, so hoping for a speedy release of an OLED version of Steam Frame really isn’t something I’d count on right now.

As it is, Steam Frame backorders have already stretched in 2027. If Valve wants to follow the same playbook as Deck, the company would ideally need to ramp up production, catch up with demand, make it available without reservations, and establish strong appetite for another Steam Frame before it can release anything else. A lot of that hinges on the device’s popularity, which still remains to be seen since there are still so few in the wild.

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XREAL Announces ‘1 Pro+’ Flagship AR Glasses, Now Available & Priced at $599

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XREAL today announced XREAL 1 Pro+, a hardware refresh of its One Pro flagship AR glasses.

Launching today at $599, Xreal 1 Pro+ includes a modest set of improvements over the original One Pro, which launched in early 2025. Principally, Xreal 1 Pro+ includes brighter displays, as well as improvements to spatial viewing and comfort.

Like One Pro, the new model includes XREAL’s X1 spatial computing chip, three degrees of freedom (3DOF), 57-degree field of view (FOV), and the same 1,920 × 1,080 per eye resolution via Sony 0.55″ micro-OLEDs.

However with the 1 Pro+ hardware refresh, the display now reaches up to 1,200 nits of peak brightness, up from 700 nits peak brightness. It also adds AI-driven high dynamic range (AI HDR) to improve perceived image quality across supported content.

XREAL 1 Pro+ | Courtesy XREAL

Notably, Xreal’s marketing imagery shows the glasses without a cable, however this is not a standalone device, as the glasses tether to external devices via USB-C cable with DP Alt Mode, such as laptops, mobile devices, and game consoles.

And while the body of the device is seemingly unchanged from the older One Pro, the new 1 Pro+ introduces a newly designed ergonomic nose pad system, which the company says will “improve wearing stability and comfort while helping users maintain a consistent and complete field of view.”

Additionally, Xreal 1 Pro+ is getting an fps increase its automatic 2D-to-3D content conversion, from 30 now to 60fps, which should make converted 3D content more fluid.

You can find Xreal 1 Pro+ available for purchase starting today at XREAL.com, priced at $599, with global retail stores to be added later.

Here’s a quick comparison chart, detailing what’s the same and what’s changing on the Xreal 1 Pro+:

Feature	XREAL One Pro (2025)	XREAL 1 Pro+ (2026)
Display	Sony 0.55″ Micro-OLED	Sony 0.55″ Micro-OLED
Resolution	1,920 × 1,080 per eye	1,920 × 1,080 per eye
Peak brightness	700 nits	1,200 nits
Dimming	Electrochromic dimming	Electrochromic dimming
Spatial chip	XREAL X1	XREAL X1
Degrees of freedom (DOF)	3DOF, 6DOF with Eye accessory	3DOF, 6DOF with Eye accessory
Field of view	57°	57°
Refresh rate	Up to 120Hz	Up to 120Hz
HDR / picture modes	No AI HDR at launch	AI HDR; Standard, Movie and Reading modes
2D-to-3D conversion	Up to 30 FPS	Up to 60 FPS
IPD	two IPD versions | 57-66 mm & 66-75 mm	two IPD versions | 57-66 mm & 66-75 mm
Fit	Adjustable temples; existing nose pad design	Adjustable temples; redesigned nose pad geometry
Audio	Sound by Bose	Sound by Bose
US launch price	$599	$599

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Valve is Building a Deluxe Audio Strap with Hot-swappable Battery for Steam Frame

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If you were hoping for better audio and battery life from Valve’s recently released Steam Frame, the company has confirmed it’s creating a headstrap to solve just that.

Valve confirmed with PC Gamer (via Skarred Ghost) that it’s working on a new headstrap with hot-swappable batteries and Balanced Mode Radiator (BMR) drivers which are said to match the off-ear speakers seen in Valve Index.

Index, which was just discontinued, has long been the audio bar for VR headsets since its release in 2019.

Valve Index | Courtesy Valve

PC Gamer says the upgrade will be “swap-in.” Valve hasn’t released any further info, however it’s likely to make use of the display portion’s ability to completely detach from the existing headstrap and facial interface.

This is set to fix two real issues with Steam Frame at the moment: middling battery life, as it provides about 1-1.5 hours of mixed use, and the headset’s built-in audio, which admittedly sounds quite good overall, but predictably lacks bass due to being integrated into the headset. You can learn more from our deep dive review of Steam Frame here.

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Notably, Steam Frame lacks a 3.5mm headphone jack so you can’t hardwire directly with your favorite wired cans, although you can alternatively use a USB-C to 3.5mmm adapter with built-in DAC, or Bluetooth headphones.

Whatever the case, Valve may be taking its sweet time to release, as backorders for Steam Frame have now stretched into 2027. Beyond that tip-off in the PC Gamer article, the company hasn’t given any indication of when the audio/battery headstrap is coming, or at what price.

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Sandisk is Releasing Official ‘Made for Meta’ Expandable Storage for VR Glasses

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The launch of Meta VR Glasses next year will mark the first time any of the company’s standalone headsets has featured expandable storage. Now, Meta and Sandisk have partnered to offer official ‘Made for Meta’ microSD and USB-C flash drive storage options.

The News

Sandisk is set to be the exclusive provider of flash storage solutions for Meta VR Glasses, which are slated to launch in Spring 2027, priced at $1,300.

Meta VR Glasses (128GB internal storage) are said to support microSD cards up to 1TB, although there’s still no word on what the recommended speed class should be for expandable storage.

Courtesy Meta

As an official ‘Made for Meta’ accessory though, both the Sandisk microSD Express memory cards and USB-C flash drives have been tested and certified to work with Meta VR Glasses, so you can bet we’ll learn more about storage standards closer to launch next year.

And while there’s still no word on pricing, or what range of storage options will be available, official imagery shows the microSD in 1TB. An equivalent storage and speed option (without Meta branding) is priced at $360 direct from Sandisk.

Provided the USB-C flash drive is similar to (if not a reskinned version of) Sandisk Extreme Fit USB-C, it would include USB 3.2 Gen 1 and up to 300MB/s read performance, and range in storage options from 64GB to 1TB.

My Take

Fitting VR Glasses with expandable storage is a shrewd maneuver by Meta. If we weren’t in a RAMpocalypse, and NAND flash memory weren’t so expensive, the company may have even offered its usual storage ladder, although it makes sense why it hasn’t.

Nowadays, flash storage is likely a much larger component in the device’s bill of materials than in headsets past, which may have left Meta reticent to offer additional storage options beyond 128GB; outfitting with anything higher could have made the price of the headset significantly more expensive, and possibly even invite comparison to its biggest competitors.

Expandable storage, meanwhile, lets Meta keep the entry price at $1,300 while leaving consumers to pay for additional capacity only if they need it. And with an emphasis on casual content consumption, multi-monitor screen mirroring for productivity and casual VR games, many may simply not need it anyway.

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