‘Microsoft Flight Simulator’ PSVR 2 Gameplay Revealed Ahead of April Update

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Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is getting its ‘Sim 5’ update soon, which is slated to bring PSVR 2 support to the PS5 version of the game.

MFS ’24 has been available on PC with full VR support since late 2024. Late last year though, developer Asobo Studio revealed that the PS5 version of the game would be getting PSVR 2 support some point after launch.

Now, the studio revealed PSVR 2 support is slated to arrive with the free Sim 5 update coming in April.

Note: the video below is a compilation of clips revealed in the PS blog post.

In a PS blog post, Head of Microsoft Flight Simulator Jorg Neumann details just what went into creating the PSVR 2 mode:

“Cockpit interactions in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 are complex. There are so many different instruments, knobs, and switches to interact with. Every interaction model had to be redesigned to fit the PS VR2 Sense controllers to action them in a natural and intuitive manner,” says Neumann.

While Sense controller-supported cockpits add a layer of complexity, Neumann explains that maintaining a smooth framerate for such a visually demanding game was a challenge in its own right.

“Getting foveated rendering with Flexible Scaled Rasterization right was quite a challenge,” says Neumann. “It impacts the entirety of the rendering pipeline, and subtle off-by-on-pixel bugs during development could result in dramatic quality issues.”

The PSVR 2 mode, which is said to support the game’s 125 different aircraft, also relies on frame duplication to increase perceived frame rate, Neumann says.

“Another tech developed specifically for PS VR2 support was frame duplication, where the render thread would iterate twice for one frame of the main thread, updating the camera position in-between. This technical approach was another key in achieving the framerate needed for PS VR2 support.”

The studio says Sim 5 should launch as a free update sometime in April, although there’s no exact release date yet.

Simulation Daily got a chance to go hands-on with a beta version over the weekend at the MSFS 2024 booth during FSWeekend 2026 in Lelystad, Netherlands, which includes a 10-minute video of their impressions.

“I wasn’t expecting the level of spectacle you’ll see in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on a $4000 PC, but the PS5 version absolutely punches above its weight when paired with PlayStation VR2, likely in part due to the headset’s technological prowess,” Simulation Daily’s Giuseppe Nelva notes.

You can check out Nelva’s hands-on below, which notably was shown working with the standard DualSense gamepad.

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Meta Shows Confidence in EMG Input for Wearables by Funding Six External Studies

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Meta announced it’s tapped six external teams to receive a research grant in order to advance work on its surface electromyography (sEMG) based wristband controller.

Meta revealed in a blog post it’s launched a research funding initiative focused on improving how users learn and interact with sEMG systems, having chosen six universities out of 70 global submissions.

Each research group is set to receive $150,000 in funding, which includes teams at the University of Central Florida, University of South Florida, University of California, Davis, Newcastle University, University of British Columbia, and Northwestern University.

Meta’s wrist-worn neural interface relies on sEMG, which detects electrical activity in the wrist and hand and translates it into digital commands. As Meta Ray-Ban Display’s main input device, the company hopes to answer a few questions with the studies, namely: how do people learn new sEMG-based controls, and how can onboarding be streamlined?

Wrist-worn XR Controller seen with Orion | Image courtesy Meta

The funded projects explore a range of challenges. Some focus on improving learning methods, such as comparing gamified training with step-by-step instruction, or developing systems that adapt to individual users over time.

Others aim to expand what sEMG can do, like enabling silent speech generation by translating muscle signals into synthesized voice, or increasing the ‘bandwidth’ of communication so users can issue more complex commands without disrupting natural hand movement.

A number of the proposed research topics include assistive applications, such as helping stroke survivors regain muscle control, or improving prosthetic limb operation through co-adaptive systems that learn alongside the user. You can see more about each study here.

This follows the release of Meta Ray-Ban Display last September, the company’s first pair of smart glasses with a built-in display. Priced at $800 and only available in the US for now, the smart glasses make use of the same input scheme first paired with Meta’s Orion AR prototype, which was revealed in late 2024.

This ostensibly shows Meta is pretty confident in the control scheme, viewing it as reliable enough for future (likely AR) devices. We’re looking forward to learning more as the research projects progress. Typically, we see papers either highlighted or released during SIGGRAPH, which is taking place in Los Angeles, California this year on July 19th – 23rd.

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Ubisoft Ends Game Development at Studio Behind ‘Assassin’s Creed VR’

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Ubisoft is ceasing game development at Red Storm Entertainment, the long-running studio behind Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR (2023).

According to an internal memo viewed by GamesIndustry.biz, Ubisoft is shutting down game development at Red Storm Entertainment, which includes the loss of 105 jobs.

While the studio is technically staying open, it’s no longer developing games, as remaining staff will be tasked with working on Ubisoft’s Snowdrop game engine, along with IT and customer relations.

Star Trek: Bridge Crew | Image courtesy Ubisoft

Founded in 1996 by Tom Clancy and Doug Littlejohns, the North Carolina-based studio is best known for developing the original Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six (1998), which helped define the modern tactical first-person shooter genre.

Acquired by Ubisoft in 2000, Red Storm went on to release Ghost Recon (2001) along with a long list of Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon titles in the following years—its last being Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (2012).

Notably, Future Soldier was the studio’s last flatscreen game as well, as Ubisoft seemingly re-geared Red Storm to begin producing VR titles, which included the release of VR party game Werewolves Within (2016), co-op space sim Star Trek: Bridge Crew (2017), and Quest exclusive Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR (2023).

While we don’t know precisely what Red Storm was working on before Ubisoft pulled the plug, at least two games were publicly cancelled over the past few years, including a Splinter Cell VR game for Quest, cancelled in 2022, and Tom Clancy’s The Division Heartland, a free-to-play shooter, which was cancelled in 2024.

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Meta to Keep Existing ‘Horizon Worlds’ VR Experiences on Life Support for Time Being

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Meta previously announced it was shuttering the VR version of Horizon Worlds, but now it seems the company has changed course, revealing that some experiences will still be accessible on Quest moving forward.

Meta said earlier this week that it was removing Horizon Worlds and Events from the Store on Quest on March 31st, and shutting down VR access to the app entirely by June 15th—essentially making it a flatscreen-only experience for mobile and PC.

Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth took to Instagram yesterday in one of his usual Q&A sessions though to announce that some worlds will, in fact, remain VR-accessible for the time being.

Image courtesy Andrew Bosworth

“We have decided, just today in fact, that we will keep Horizon Worlds working in VR for existing games to support the fans that’ve reached out […], who really care about that,” Bosworth says.

According to Bosworth’s statement, it appears Horizon Worlds legacy worlds will be VR-only, suggesting that it’s going to be a hard platform split.

“The Horizon Unity runtime games—they’re not going to work on mobile, they’ll just be working in VR. We’re not bringing new games. Again, most of our energy is going towards mobile and the Meta Horizon Engine there. The reason for that is that’s where most of the consumer and creator energy already was, and so we’re kind of leaning into that,” Bosworth says, noting that the legacy version of Horizon Worlds app will be VR-accessible for “the foreseeable future.”

Notably, all of Horizon Worlds was based on the Unity game engine from its 2021 launch up until very recently. At Connect 2025 last September, Meta announced that its own Horizon Engine would be replacing Unity, which is said to speed up loading times and allow “well over 100” users in a single space.

At the time of this writing, Meta hasn’t released more detailed plans on how it’s going to accomplish the platform split. We’ll update this article as soon as we know more.

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Meta is Permanently Shuttering the VR Version of ‘Horizon Worlds’ in June

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Last month, Meta announced Horizon Worlds was going “almost exclusively mobile”, which included removing Worlds suggestions and generally deemphasizing the immersive social platform on Quest. Now, the company says it’s pulling the plug on Quest support entirely in June.

Released in 2021, Horizon Worlds was meant to be Meta’s flagship metaverse app, essentially serving as the impetus for its rebranding away from Facebook and Oculus. The platform struggled early on with low retention though, which translated to limited appeal among VR users, prompting Meta to open it up to mobile users in 2023.

Now, Meta announced via its official Discord (invite) that come March 31st, Horizon Worlds and Events will no longer appear in the Store on Quest. This is said to include the removal of Horizon Central, Events Arena, Kaiju, and Bobber Bay worlds from Quest access.

Image courtesy Meta

What’s more, come June 15th, Meta is removing the Horizon Worlds app entirely from Quest, which means that worlds will no longer be available in VR in any capacity after that date.

Additionally, Meta is removing its spatial ‘Hyperscape’ captures from Horizon Worlds come March 24th. “Your existing captures will remain viewable within the Hyperscape Capture (Beta) app, which is available in your Quest app library,” Meta says. “You can continue capturing new Hyperscapes, but sharing, inviting, and co-experiencing Hyperscapes with others will no longer be supported.”

Notably, Meta shuttered its work-focused Horizon Workrooms platform last month, which allowed Quest and non-Quest users to interact in an immersive environment.

This comes amid a wider shift in Reality Labs, which recently saw layoffs affecting 10 percent of the XR division in addition to the closure of three first-party XR studios which resulted in multiple game cancellations.

Meta has said it’s still funding third-party titles in addition to its current plans to release two new VR headsets, which include a possible successor to Quest 3 as well as a thin and light headset that tethers to a compute puck.

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VR Games Showcase Returns March 24th With ‘The Boys: Trigger Warning’, ‘Wrath: Aeon of Ruin VR’, and More

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The VR Games Showcase is returning for its first show of 2026! Our Direct-style celebration of new games, trailers, and updates goes live on YouTube and right here on Road to VR on March 24th, 9am PT (convert to your timezone), with our indie pre-show kicking off shortly beforehand at 8:40am PT (convert to your timezone).

We’re lining up one of our best shows yet, featuring over 20 games. That includes fresh looks at some of the biggest upcoming releases, including The Boys: Trigger Warning from ARVORE and Wrath: Aeon of Ruin VR from Flat2VR Studios, as well as updates on hits like Triangle Factory’s Forefront, Bootstrap Island from Maru VR, and Dimensional Double Shift from Owlchemy Labs.

We’ll also have one of our biggest game announcements to date, as well as previews from the team at Creature and top VR studios including Innerspace, Spectral Games and more. And there’s over 10 titles in our pre-show, highlighting some of the best independent games.

In other words, it’s a packed show. Plus, our continuing partnership with the team at Road to VR will bring you expanded coverage of the show, including a wrap up of everything announced, and potentially some in-depth guest articles focusing on specific games after launch too.

So, once again, that’s March 24th, 9am PT (convert to your timezone) for the core VRGS show, with the pre-show returning at 8:40am PT (convert to your timezone). We’re looking forward to showing you what’s in store for VR in the coming weeks and months!

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Road to VR is proud to be the official media partner of VR Games Showcase

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PSVR 2 Reportedly “jailbroken” for PC, Hackers Claim Eye-tracking and Haptics Unlock

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A hardware hacker group previously behind the PSVR2Toolkit says it’s effectively “jailbroken” PSVR 2 for PC.

When Sony released its PC adapter for PSVR 2 in 2024, it released the headset from PS5 exclusivity, allowing users to play SteamVR games on VR-ready PCs for the first time.

Still, Sony didn’t release enable every hardware capability, with tethered PC gameplay notably lacking features such as eye-tracking, HDR, and headset rumble.

Now, the hardware hacker group previously associated with the PSVR2Toolkit—an open source driver toolkit interfacing with Sony’s PSVR 2 PC support—claims to have “jailbroken” the PSVR 2.

IPSVR 2 PC Adapter | mage courtesy Sony

“[W]e can enable HMD vibration and eye tracking camera feed on PC,” says group member ‘tinybnuuy’, who also credits fellow programmers ‘supremium’, ‘tomoeko’, and ‘ShinyQuagsire’.

“[T]his has been 5 months in the making, we hope to release this soon so that everyone can play with it,” tinybnuuy says.

Sony’s official PC support for PSVR 2 (via SteamVR) disables key features like eye-tracking, HDR, and haptics. Early efforts however managed to pull eye-tracking data in some respect, but it was notably uncalibrated and not broadly usable.

By mid-2025, tools like PSVR2Toolkit enabled eye-tracking and controller haptics through a modified driver layer, although it still didn’t feature proper OpenXR integration (i.e., no universal foveated rendering), as mentioned previously by UploadVR.

Provided the team’s work truly is a ‘jailbreak’, we would expect to see full access to cameras, headset haptics, and possibly even an HDR pipeline sometime in the near future.

That is, provided Sony doesn’t see the jailbreak as a threat, as the company appears to have intentionally disabled those features on PC, effectively keeping them exclusive to PS5.

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