Hubris, Cyborn's visually stunning PC VR action-adventure, releases on PSVR 2 next month.
Developed by Cyborn, Hubris is an original sci-fi adventure that first appeared on PC VR in December. You play as a space marine, traversing this alien world to find a missing member of the OOO (Order of Objectivity) while taking down enemies. Cyborn revealed more about the PSVR 2 port alongside the release window, discussing haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, 3D audio and foveated rendering.
Dive into Hubris, a sci-fi adventure coming to #PSVR2 next month.
Speaking on PlayStation Blog, the team claims they've adjusted the weight of your guns, letting them simulate "an impactful feel" that complements the adaptive triggers. Gun reloading and aiming are also revamped, new enemy variations have been introduced, while balancing has also been refined between difficulty settings.
We enjoyed Hubris in our PC VR review last year. Though we enjoyed this action-adventure and highly praised its visuals, we criticized the enemy AI and lack of combat variety. Some of these issues were later addressed in Update 1.2.
The game shines in some areas, such the visuals and well thought out mechanics, but is average in others, like the combat and storyline. Beyond the eye candy, Hubris probably won’t leave a huge lasting impression, but it’s still a standard action-adventure shooter that’s enjoyable enough to keep you playing through to the end.
Hubris arrives this May for PSVR 2, though a specific release date remains unconfirmed. It's available now on PC VR platforms, including Steam, while Cyborn previously confirmed release plans for Vive XR Elite and Quest 2.
Phantom Matrix brings a room-scale theatrical puzzle game to PC VR this Summer, arriving through Steam Early Access.
Developed by Cybertail Games, Phantom Matrix describes itself as a "theatrical, physics-based, stealth puzzle action game." With your friends kidnapped, humanity gone and only cats available to assist, each chapter ends with a boss fight, who grants new abilities upon being defeated. Requiring 2.25m² space for room-scale gameplay, here's the official description:
Phantom Matrix is a theatrical, physics-based stealth puzzle VR game. As a game developer, your mission is to seek the truth after all mankind has been possessed. Armed with your wits and the "game" power, it’s time to save your game and friends.
“The first patch of early access provided the game of the prologue and half of the first chapter," confirms CyberTail in a Steam FAQ. "The full version of Phantom Matrix will feature 7 chapters full story, 7 bosses, 7 abilities and a functional level editor.” The team anticipates they need "approximately 15 to 18 months" to complete Phantom Matrix, advising the level editor might need more time.
Phantom Matrix arrives on July 24, 2023 on PC VR in Steam Early Access, and a free demo is available now.
Reading the credits of Vertigo 2, it’s hard to comprehend just how much of it came from one person – 22-year old Zach Tsiakalis-Brown, creator and sole developer of Zulubo Productions.
It's almost everything – visuals, coding, writing, music, game design, you name it. So when sitting down to chat about Vertigo 2’s development with Zach, the first thing I want to clarify is exactly what parts of the game he's responsible for, in his own words.
His answer is telling. “What’s easier is going over what I’m not responsible for.”
Vertigo 2 released last month. We called it one of the best PC VR releases in years and gave it a spot in out list of the best VR games across all platforms. Without any knowledge of the development process, any VR enthusiast would likely enjoy Vertigo 2. It’s a polished, funny and memorable experience with a sprawling Valve-like single player campaign.
However, once you realize that Zach is almost solely responsible for bringing this game to life, you start to appreciate it on a whole new level. It shows a level of proficiency across multiple facets of different media types – graphic design, music production, script writing, narrative structure, dialogue, comedy, directing, production, computer programming and the medium of virtual reality itself. In creating Vertigo 2, Zach has dipped into each with a high degree of success, not just on a technical level but a creative one too. The end product is a great game, but also a stunning achievement for a 22-year old working by himself.
So what parts of the game was Zach not responsible for then? “Me and a couple friends came up with the story and the concept of the world back when we were in high school,” he explains. “And we did a lot of drawing, concept art writing the outline of the story. And then after I left high school, they went their separate ways, so I just took it from there.”
Those friends are credited for their contribution to Vertigo 2’s world, but almost every other aspect of the game and its development was handled by Zach. There are only a few exceptions, such as the voice actors he contracted performances from, the community playtesters who provided early feedback and some stock animations that Zach used. Over roughly six years of on-and-off development, Zach brought this game to life. “It's definitely been a lot of work.”
Zach has been working in VR since 2013, at which point he was just twelve years old. Since then, he’s released the original Vertigo, Vertigo Remastered, worked with Valve on The Lab Hands-On, and has now released Vertigo 2.
It’s his biggest project yet and operates on a scale much larger than the original. “The response was way more positive than I could have ever expected. I guess I expected something closer to Vertigo Remastered … but the bigger scope, the more ambitious nature of Vertigo 2 definitely made it more of a hit than Vertigo 1.”
When I asked why he thinks he’s been able to competently cover so many bases, he credits getting started in VR development at in middle school. “That was like my hobby and that was what I spent all my free time on. Sometimes I'd get up at six o'clock in the morning so I could do some coding or 3D art before school … I don’t know if I wanted to be a game development at that point, but I definitely knew I loved computers.”
It's not just coding and game development that Zach has experience in though – I asked about the game’s soundtrack, which he wrote and produced himself. Coding a game is one thing, but creating a soundtrack that's as professional as the one in Vertigo 2 is a whole different skillset. “Yeah, I’ve been really into producing music since I was even younger, playing around with GarageBand on my parent’s computer at like eight or nine years old. That has been a hobby of mine on the side for a long time. I’ve been able to really explore it more through games, which is what I love so much about games. I get to dip my toes into so many different art forms.”
Breaking down the development timeline for Vertigo 2, Zach spent 2017 to 2019 working on a vertical slice, but otherwise hadn't made much of the game at all. In 2020, he reached a turning point. Not only did he release Vertigo Remastered that year, but he also dropped out of college just as the COVID-19 pandemic was starting to ramp up. He partly didn’t want to switch to online classes, but also just wanted to “get Vertigo 2 done.”
Around the same period, two VR games released that gave him a bit of pause. “It was Half-Life: Alyx and Boneworks that were the two big moments for me.”
For Zach, both games presented interesting ideas about the possibilities of VR that he hadn’t considered before. “For Boneworks, it was physics. After I played Boneworks, I pretty much scrapped my whole interaction system and rewrote it to be more physics-oriented.”
“The big part about Half-Life: Alyx is that big budget level of polish and rich detail everywhere.” While that level of detail isn’t something Zach could achieve as a one-man team, he nonetheless found it inspiring to see Valve’s approach to various elements in its first large-scale flagship VR release. “It was very useful to see how the world reacted to Half-Life: Alyx – what they liked, what they didn't like and how I could push things further.”
From 2020 onward, Zach went on to develop the game's levels largely in sequential order – “not the best way to make a game,” he reflects, in hindsight. He continued until he finished the game's final level last fall.
One of the highlights of the final game is its fantastic arsenal of weapons, each of which is a delight to use and offers creative reinventions of traditional gun archetypes. “[The guns] received a huge amount of attention during development,” he says. “Lots of them were completely scrapped and reinvented multiple times.” The shotgun is one such example, which Zach scrapped twice. The one in the final release is the third iteration of the weapon, and the original iteration is hidden in the game as a secret weapon.
The guns were continuously improved and amended. Originally, they didn't have any physics applied to them, which changed as Zach improved his physics interaction system. At the end of the day, it was making the weapons fun to use that drove every decision. “They’re toys. They’re interactive toys with buttons you can press and tricks you can figure out and upgrades that add more features and keep them feeling interesting throughout.”
What’s a good weapon without something interesting to shoot it at? Luckily, Vertigo 2 features an overwhelmingly large cast of varied alien enemies for you to deal with, each requiring different strategies or adaptation to new patterns. Zach and his friend Errol conceptualized a lot of these weird alien designs back in their high school days, some of which made it into Vertigo 2 (and some of which are still lying around unused, according to Zach).
However, Zach also invented new enemy designs as needed, usually to fill a specific role. He uses the macrophage enemies in one of the game’s later sections as an example. “I needed a kind of difficult mid-to-late game enemy, so I made this explosive-launching creature.” That then also led to the development of a new weapon. “I was like, ‘Oh shit, I've been planning to add a grenade launcher, but I don't know what to do with it. But I've just created this enemy that shoots grenades. Why don't I just have you pick up one of these guys and have it be like the hivehand and that'll be the grenade launcher?’”
When linear development ended last fall, Zach began five or so months of play testing and polish before release. “It was a very thorough beta testing process.” Zach took formal applications to find a sizeable chunk of beta testers who could help him polish and refine the experience. “We did live play tests where I would just sit there watching them playing through the whole game. I had most of those people run through the entire game and then I got a fresh batch of people closer to release so I could get fresh eyes on the entire game. So yeah, many hours of playtesting.”
After six years of development, Zach released Vertigo 2 to the public in March 2023. In an age where standalone VR headsets like Quest 2 and Pico 4 dominate the market, Vertigo 2 stands its ground as a PC VR-focused released. “I like PC VR more. I don’t want to be scaling back my vision for mobile VR, and that’s part of why I decided to keep it PC only.”
Zach also says he’s “not a staunch mobile VR hater,” but would like the headsets to have more processing power before he considers jumping on board. “And it would also be nice if Meta was not the biggest player,” he adds.
As to whether Meta attempted to get Vertigo 2 on its Quest platform, Zach says the company never asked directly but he “gently turned [Meta] down” when representatives reached out to gauge interest in a conversation. “I’m pretty commitment to not working with Meta.”
Zach has different feelings when it comes to working with Sony. He’s already “talked with Sony a little bit about getting a partnership going” and although there’s no concrete plans, Zach says it’s “definitely possible” that Vertigo 2 will release on PSVR 2 in the future. “I would love for that to happen.”
Zach also still isn’t done with the PC VR release of Vertigo 2 – he’s currently working on a level editor with Steam Workshop support, which he thinks will be done in the next month or two. Beyond that though, it’s hard for him to see what’s next. “I’ve had my eyes on getting Vertigo 2 done for so long… I’ve barely had time to think about [it].”
He's also uncertain which VR platform he would focus on next, especially when I ask about his thoughts of the wider viability of large-scale PC VR projects like Vertigo 2. “I don’t know. I don’t think I’d start a six-year project [on PC VR] right now, just based on where it’s at. Although of course, in six years, that’s a long time away. It could very well balloon again by then, there’s no way to know.”
In broad terms though, Zach says he’s going to get some rest, go on a bit of holiday and reassess after that. “I would love to stay in VR,” he posits. “And I would love to stay independent, although I’m not totally opposed to joining a small team and doing something, because I do feel like it would be nice to get something interesting done in less than six years.”
He flashes me a smile. “And you can do that with more than one person.”
Virtual Desktop has collaborated with Qualcomm to integrate the company’s Snapdragon Game Super Resolution, a software enhancement squarely targeted at increasing the wireless streaming quality and latency of PC visuals to Quest 2.
Virtual Desktop is a great tool not only because it provides Quest users wireless access to their computers, but because its developer, Guy Godin, is constantly adding in new features to tempt users away from using built-in solutions, i.e. Air Link.
That’s a tall order since Air Link is free and actually pretty great, letting Quest users connect to their VR-ready PCs to play games like Half-Life: Alyx, but Virtual Desktop goes a few steps further. With its PC native application developed for high quality wireless Quest streaming, you can do things like cycle through multiple physical monitors and even connect to up to four separate computers—a feature set you probably won’t see on the Air Link change log.
Now Godin has worked with Qualcomm to integrate the company’s Snapdragon Game Super Resolution for built-in upscaling, essentially creating higher resolution images from lower resolution inputs so it can be served up to Quest in higher fidelity. Check out the results below:
Because producing clearer visuals with fewer resources is the name of the game, Qualcomm says in a blog post that its techniques can also reduce wireless bandwidth, system pressure, memory, and provide power requirements.
Godin says in a Reddit post that the new upscaling works with “Potato, Low, Medium quality (up to 120fps) and High (up to 90fps), and it upscales to Ultra resolution under the hood. It can work with SSW enabled as well and doesn’t introduce any additional latency.”
You can get Virtual Desktop on Quest over at the Quest Store, priced at $20. It’s also available on Pico Neo 3 and Pico 4, which you can find in-headset over on the Pico Store.
Gamedust confirms Yupitergrad 2: The Lost Station arrives this May, releasing first on Pico headsets.
Note: This article was updated with a new headline and lede on April 27, reflecting the revised release window announcement. The original piece with minor adjustments, published February 17, continues below.
The studio first announced the sequel to its 2021 swinging platformer almost a year ago, confirming a release on Quest 2 and PC VR platforms. This week, Gamedust revealed that the sequel will actually release first on Pico Neo 3 Link and Pico 4. The Quest 2 release will follow and then other platforms, including PC VR and HTC Vive XR Elite, will arrive after that.
The update on release platforms also came alongside a new trailer, embedded above. Gamedust also provided UploadVR with some extra details on development progress, stating that the game is “near completion.” The team is “in the middle of upgrading the experience,” which includes “polishing a shooting system, adding more puzzles, more passages, improving the operation of the map, and adding a few surprises that we want to keep for those who will pick up the game after the release.”
We enjoyed the original Yupitergrad in our review on release, stating that the mechanics offered a “clean and thrilling sensation” but the course could “frustrate as much as they entertain” at times.
Watch out for more news on Yupitergrad 2: The Lost Station next month, as Gamedust confirms an exact release date "will be revealed soon."
PlayStation VR2 will soon reach local retailers, ending PlayStation Direct sales exclusivity on May 12.
Since launching in February, PSVR 2 was only available through PlayStation Direct, excluding countries where Sony's not yet opened Direct, but that looks set to change. Spotted across two UK retailers, GAME is offering pre-registration to confirm your interest, while ShopTo provides a more general page highlighting hardware specs and available games. It's not appearing with online US retailers yet, but that could soon change.
PlayStation VR2 will soon be in stock at local retailers, in addition to https://t.co/y9oEB5aBse. Check your local retailer for availability.
Making VR headsets more widely available is always welcome news. However, this could be a response to Direct exclusivity criticism, which some believe hampered sales when there was already speculation about PSVR 2's success. Last October, Bloomberg claimed Sony was producing 2 million units for launch before reporting in January that sales projections were cut, citing internal disappointment with pre-orders. Sony stated, “we have not cut PlayStation VR2 production numbers”.
Come mid-March, Sony's chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki offered a more positive outlook. Stating "we are very happy to launch VR2 on PS5,” he said there’s a “good chance” PSVR 2 can outsell the original PSVR headset, which reached 5 million units before Sony stopped reporting PSVR sales figures in 2019. Two weeks later, analyst firm IDC (International Data Corporation) then told Bloomberg that Sony “likely” sold around 270,000 PSVR 2 units, leading to contested suggestions that it's selling poorly.
Without direct sales figures, it's hard to objectively judge how well PSVR 2 is doing. Sony's hosting its latest earnings call for FY2022 tomorrow at 3am ET, so could learn more about its current status.
Propagation VR (2020), the VR survival horror game for PC VR headsets, is getting a sequel called Propagation: Paradise Hotel, and it’s coming next week.
Update (April 27th, 2023): WanadevStudio announced Propagation: Paradise Hotel is coming on May 4th to Quest 2 and SteamVR headsets. You can now wishlist it on the Quest Store and Steam.
In Propagation: Paradise Hotel you are a solo adventurer taking on the role of Emily Diaz, who must explore the Paradise Hotel’s dark surroundings to find her lost twin sister Ashley. Use items, weapons, and tools as you progress through the story, which is filled with savage creatures thanks to a strange illness.
Check out the final gameplay trailer below:
Original Article (December 3rd, 2021): During Upload VR’s showcase, developer WanadevStudio unveiled the upcoming sequel, which promises to be an “intense VR survival horror adventure with thrilling storytelling, in which you will explore dark environments, make terrifying encounters and get your adrenaline pumping.”
WanadevStudio says the sequel will be a single-player adventure taking place in the Propagation universe, which will serve up a story that focuses on exploration, stealth, and action. And plenty of zombies and mutants.
Propagation VR launched for free on Steam back in September 2020, garnering it an ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ user rating on the platform for its visceral zombie-shooting experience.
Wanadev estimates a late 2022 release on SteamVR headsets for Paradise Hotel (see update). The studio hasn’t mentioned whether the game is coming to other platforms besides SteamVR, however it has done so with its previous title Ragnarock(2021), a Viking-themed rhythm game launched for both SteamVR and Oculus Quest.
First unveiled at CES 2022 early last year, Canon has now taken its first step into consumer VR software with Kokomo, its fledgling social VR platform. Compared to more full-featured collaboration apps, Kokomo isn’t there yet, but it’s a start in a new direction for Canon, which up until now has been mostly focused on XR hardware aimed at enterprise.
The Japanese optics and imaging giant announced that early access to its Kokomo social collaboration software for Quest 2 is now available in beta in the US and Canada.
If you didn’t hear about it at CES 2023 back in January where it had a pretty big outing, here’s how it works: you first use a mobile companion app to scan your face while making several expressions to generate a model of your head. Combined with the camera on your phone, you invite a friend to jump into Kokomo’s social VR environment where your avatar is essentially a mixed reality projection of you, replete with that face scan you did earlier to cover where the Quest 2 would normally obscure your eyes.
Realistically, the app still needs a lot of work. There are only a few virtual environments, which although plush, are simple backgrounds without much utility beyond looking nice. Moreover, the face scanning and projection on the mixed reality avatar feels a little too uncanny to give that face-to-face vibe the Japanese tech giant is going for right now. The fail state of Kokomo’s headset replacement is pretty funny too, as your mug can sometimes end up pasted awkwardly in mid-air.
Kokomo failing to position a face scan correctly | Image courtesy TechCrunch
Granted, it’s still in open beta, so we’re hoping to see some improvements in the near term before considering it over professional collaboration apps like Meta’s Horizon Workrooms, Spatial or Immersed.
And why Canon? The Japan-based company accounts for nearly half of all global camera sales, putting it in a good position to look for ways to integrate its high-quality optics in service of metaverse immersion. For now, it’s far from the most functional social collaboration tool we’ve seen, although the company’s commitment to sidestepping some of the inherent weirdness of avatars today (Zuckerberg has fake legs for you) by using what you already have in your pocket may show some real results with time.
Contrasted with something like Google’s Project Starline, which provides a stereo correct 3D chatting experience thanks to its host of sensors, light-field display, spatial audio, and computer vision—more akin to a telephone booth from the future—Canon’s Kokomo certainly takes accessibility to heart.
On the flipside, Canon has a number of XR devices which are largely focused on the Japanese enterprise market. Its most recent MREAL mixed reality headset is still very expensive—think 10s of thousands of dollars—making Kokomo the first step in an entirely new direction for the company.
We’ll be checking in on Kokomo as it progresses in the coming months. In the meantime, you can try it out for yourself by downloading the free app on Quest’s App Lab, and free companion app for either Android or iOS device.
ChatGPT isn’t perfect, but the popular AI chatbot’s access to large language models (LLM) means it can do a lot of things you might not expect, like give all of Tamriel’s NPC inhabitants the ability to hold natural conversations and answer questions about the iconic fantasy world. Uncanny, yes. But it’s a prescient look at how games might one day use AI to reach new heights in immersion.
YouTuber ‘Art from the Machine’ released a video showing off how they modded the much beloved VR version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
The mod, which isn’t available yet, ostensibly lets you hold conversations with NPCs via ChatGPT and xVASynth, an AI tool for generating voice acting lines using voices from video games.
Check out the results in the most recent update below:
The latest version of the project introduces Skyrim scripting for the first time, which the developer says allows for lip syncing of voices and NPC awareness of in-game events. While still a little rigid, it feels like a pretty big step towards climbing out of the uncanny valley.
Here’s how ‘Art from the Machine’ describes the project in a recent Reddit post showcasing their work:
A few weeks ago I posted a video demonstrating a Python script I am working on which lets you talk to NPCs in Skyrim via ChatGPT and xVASynth. Since then I have been working to integrate this Python script with Skyrim’s own modding tools and I have reached a few exciting milestones:
NPCs are now aware of their current location and time of day. This opens up lots of possibilities for ChatGPT to react to the game world dynamically instead of waiting to be given context by the player. As an example, I no longer have issues with shopkeepers trying to barter with me in the Bannered Mare after work hours. NPCs are also aware of the items picked up by the player during conversation. This means that if you loot a chest, harvest an animal pelt, or pick a flower, NPCs will be able to comment on these actions.
NPCs are now lip synced with xVASynth. This is obviously much more natural than the floaty proof-of-concept voices I had before. I have also made some quality of life improvements such as getting response times down to ~15 seconds and adding a spell to start conversations.
When everything is in place, it is an incredibly surreal experience to be able to sit down and talk to these characters in VR. Nothing takes me out of the experience more than hearing the same repeated voice lines, and with this no two responses are ever the same. There is still a lot of work to go, but even in its current state I couldn’t go back to playing without this.
You might notice the actual voice prompting the NPCs is also fairly robotic too, although ‘Art from the Machine’ says they’re using speech-to-text to talk to the ChatGPT 3.5-driven system. The voice heard in the video is generated from xVASynth, and then plugged in during video editing to replace what they call their “radio-unfriendly voice.”
And when can you download and play for yourself? Well, the developer says publishing their project is still a bit of a sticky issue.
“I haven’t really thought about how to publish this, so I think I’ll have to dig into other ChatGPT projects to see how others have tackled the API key issue. I am hoping that it’s possible to alternatively connect to a locally-run LLM model for anyone who isn’t keen on paying the API fees.”
Serving up more natural NPC responses is also an area that needs to be addressed, the developer says.
No More Rainbows promises a VR mix between Super Meat Boy & Super Mario Bros, and it's arriving "soon" on Quest 2.
Developed by Squido, No More Rainbows is an adventure platformer where you play as The Beast, who finds their moody homeworld turned into a blissful paradise. Using arm-based locomotion to run, jump, climb and claw other creatures, this campaign takes place across four different worlds, split between 28 levels "filled with mini-games." A 3v3 multiplayer mode, online leaderboards for speedrunning and cosmetic customization for The Beast are also confirmed.
“We’ve always chatted about how cool it would be to have a game like Super Meat Boy meets Super Mario Bros in VR," says Éric Laurent, Marketing and Community Manager at Squido in a prepared statement. "We looked around and saw nobody was making that kind of game, so we decided to do it."
There's no confirmed release window, but No More Rainbows is "coming soon" to Meta Quest 2. A demo is currently available on App Lab, though this will be removed on May 2, 2023. Squido confirms anyone who plays the App Lab demo before the full release will receive an exclusive free cosmetic.
Squido Studio announced its first-person platformer No More Rainbows is coming to Quest 2 and SteamVR headsets soon, offering up a VR take on classic platforming action.
No More Rainbows has been available in open beta on Quest’s App Lab for a year now, and it’s almost time for it to graduate to the main Quest Store and Steam too. Exactly when, we don’t know, but Squido and its partner Robot Teddy say it’s coming “very soon.”
Here’s the studio’s description of the first-person VR platformer:
In No More Rainbows, you are The Beast, who must spring forth into a fantastical virtual reality world to reclaim your home from the beings of infinite happiness that have infested the Underworld! Bizou and their merry band of minions plan to take over your sanctuary of screams and turn it into a bountiful paradise where cries of pain and torment are replaced by kisses and rainbows… what a nightmare! Use arm-based locomotion mechanics to run, jump, claw, and climb using only your hands and arms to engage with tight platformer mechanics.
In the full release, the game is set to include four unique campaign worlds, environmental storytelling, multiplayer modes, beast personalization, leaderboards, and boss encounters. Squido says the full game has around five hours of gameplay.
The open beta on Quest will be removed from App Lab on May 2nd, which follows a Dev Day on May 1st where players can hang out with the game’s developers. In the meantime, you can also wishlist it on Steam here.
Though delayed from its commitment last year, Magic Leap today announced that ML2 now fully supports OpenXR. The timing might have something to do with Apple’s looming entrance into the XR space.
OpenXR is an open standard that aims to standardize the development of VR and AR applications, making hardware and software more interoperable. The standard has been in development since 2017 and is backed by virtually every major hardware, platform, and engine company in the XR industry.
“The adoption of OpenXR as a common AR ecosystem standard ensures the continual growth and maturation of AR,” Magic Leap said in its announcement. “Magic Leap will continue to advance this vision as Vice Chair of the OpenXR Working Group. In this role, Magic Leap provides technical expertise and collaborates with other members to address the needs of developers and end-users, the scope of the standard, and best practices for implementation.”
Its true that Magic Leap has been part of the OpenXR Working Group—a consortium responsible for developing the standard—for a long time, but we can’t help but feel like Apple’s heavily rumored entrance into the XR space lit a bit of a fire under the feet of the company to get the work across the finish line.
In doing so, Magic Leap has strengthened itself—and the existing XR industry—against what could be a standards upheaval by Apple.
Apple is well known for ignoring certain widely adopted computing standards and choosing to use their own proprietary technologies, in some cases causing a technical divide between platforms. You very well may have experienced this yourself, have you ever found yourself in a conversation about ‘blue bubbles and green bubbles’ when it comes to texting.
With an industry as young as XR—and with Apple being so secretive about its R&D in the space—there’s a good chance the company will have its own way of doing things, especially when it comes to how developers and their applications are allowed to interact with the headset.
If Apple doesn’t want to support OpenXR, this is likely the biggest risk for the industry; if developers have to change their development processes for Apple’s headset, that would create a divide between Apple and the rest of the industry, making applications less portable between platforms.
And while OpenXR-supporting incumbents have the upper hand for the time being (because they have all the existing XR developers and content on their side), one would be foolish to forget the army of experienced iOS developers that are used to doing things the ‘Apple way’. If those developers start their XR journey with Apple’s tools, it will be less likely that their applications will come to OpenXR headsets.
On the other hand, it’s possible that Apple will embrace OpenXR because it sees the value that has already come from years of ironing out the standard—and the content that already supports it. Apple could even be secretly part of the OpenXR Working Group, as companies aren’t forced to make their involvement known.
In the end it’s very likely that Apple will have its own way of doing things in XR, but whether that manifests more in the content running on the headset or down at the technical level, remains to be seen.
Steam Puzzle Fest is now live, discounting various PC VR games like Tetris Effect Connected until next week.
Focused specifically on puzzle games, Valve's latest sale naturally includes plenty of PC VR games. Featuring over 100 discounted SteamVR games, Steam Puzzle Fest mostly features older PC VR experiences, and the official trailer highlights The Room VR: A Dark Matter.
You can check out the full list through Steam directly, but here's some of our highlights:
Fast Travel Games announced its delayed Everslaught Invasion on Quest 2, pushing back this two-player co-op experience until next month.
Previously confirmed for an April 2023 release to UploadVR, Fast Travel Games revealed this delay through Twitter, citing "unforeseen challenges" as the cause.
"We've taken the tough decision to delay the release until May due to unforeseen challenges that require more time and resources to address," stated the Swedish publisher. "Our aim is to deliver the best fast-paced co-op action experience we possibly can." No specific release date beyond the May 2023 window was provided.
Developed by MobX Games, Everslaught Invasion tasks you with taking down hordes of Corrupted foes, gradually building up your class skills and weapons. Choosing one of three playable classes - Rogue, Warrior and Vanguard, we had positive impressions during our Everslaught Invasion preview at EGX London 2022, praising the "frantic yet comfortable" gameplay. During the Upload VR Winter Showcase 2022, MobX also unveiled the progression system.
Everslaught Invasion is currently scheduled to arrive on Meta Quest 2 during May 2023. A HTC Vive XR Elite is also planned, though the release window for this port remains unconfirmed.
Vertigo 2 is arguably one of the best games of 2023, but it’s only available on PC VR headsets. Developer Zach Tsiakalis-Brown said earlier this year that he thought a PSVR 2 port would definitely be a good possibility, and now that Half-Life-style sci-fi shooter is in the wild, PSVR 2 support is apparently still in the cards for the solo dev.
Reacting to Twitter user Timo Schmidt, Tsiakalis-Brown confirmed that PSVR 2 support is still on the horizon, as he recalls an earlier tweet from January saying he “would love to port to psvr in the future. It’s definitely a possibility!”
As many have noted in the recent past, PlayStation 5’s rendering ability is pretty much on par with a mid-range PC, which has allowed for a big bump in graphics over legacy hardware, such as PS4/PS4 Pro.
That bump lets developers create even more immersive and graphically intense games than we’ve ever seen on PS platform, like Horizon Call of the Mountain (2023),or the remastered version of Song in the Smoke, the latter of which rivals even the PC VR version of the game.
Still, developing for PSVR 2 isn’t so cut and dry. Outside of actually getting it to work on Sony’s latest VR headset, which is a much more precise target than creating a PC VR game in general, Tsiakalis-Brown admits he’s never gone through the certification process to publish a game on the PlayStation Store. Up until now, all of the developer’s games have been PC VR only.
Nathan Rowe, the solo dev behind VR art app SculptrVR (2016), had some sage advice to overcoming the process:
It is possible to do solo. It nearly killed me, though. My advice is to ask Sony for help early. File tickets! They get read and responded to!
And what good is Vertigo 2 without Vertigo Remastered (2020)? Tsiakalis-Brown says releasing both games for PSVR 2 would be a “great way to expose [the series to] a bigger audience!”
While the solo dev hasn’t published a post-launch release schedule, the order of operations is fairly clear. First the game’s upcoming sandbox DLC, which will allow users to create and share their own content based on Vertigo 2 assets and worlds, then … who knows!
Felix & Paul, the studio known for its pioneering work in creating cinematic immersive films, is set to release the first installment in a new VR trilogy shot from the International Space Station (ISS), which is slated to offer stunning views of Earth from low orbit.
Called Space Explorers – Blue Marble, the first in the series is set to launch on Earth Day, April 22nd. The trilogy will be available for free on Meta Quest and Quest 2 headsets.
The immersive film series aims to provide a deeper understanding of our planet’s place in the universe and the importance of protecting it for future generations.
The first episode offers up an unobstructed, 360-degree view, filmed at the nadir of the ISS, which points directly at the Earth below.
The studio’s goal is to offer the viewer a sort of virtual ‘Overview Effect’, or a phenomenon that occurs when astronauts view the Earth from space and experience a profound shift in their perspective and understanding of the planet.
Felix & Paul has won a host of awards over the years, including five Canadian Screen Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Daytime Emmy, along with numerous other awards and nominations.
You can catch Space Explorers – Blue Marble for free exclusively on Quest devices, with the first episode launching Saturday, April 22nd.
Red Matter 2, the sci-fi VR puzzle adventure for Quest 2 and PC VR, is bringing its best-in-class graphics and interactions to PSVR 2.
Vertical Robot says the sequel is slated to arrive on PSVR 2 “very soon,” noting in a tweet it will feature a smooth 120fps with no reprojection, foveated Rendering, 4K re-mastered textures, and enhanced lighting.
And while some may rightly bemoan it as another Quest 2 port, it’s really much more than that.
Launched in mid-2022 on Quest 2 and PC VR, Red Matter 2 features some of the most impressive graphics and immersive gameplay to date—of any VR platform—easily drawing comparisons to some of VR’s most visually intense games, such as Lone Echo and Half-Life: Alyx. It’s really that good.
Here’s the setup: in Red Matter 2, you take on the role of Sasha, an agent awakened in a lunar base by an undercover operative and tasked with uncovering the secrets of ‘Red Matter’, a mysterious substance introduced in Red Matter (2018).
The sequel introduces combat for the first time, which although not a high point, definitely makes for an interesting break from the game’s wide variety of puzzles. Enough said. Check out our spoiler-free review to find out why we gave it [8/10].
There’s no word on when we can expect the original Red Matter on PSVR 2. We’ll also be keeping our eyes peeled for a more precise launch date for the sequel, so check back soon.
Apple appears to be getting ready to unveil its first mixed reality headset at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. Now a report from Bloomberg maintains the Cupertino tech giant is also prepping a dizzying number of first-party apps, including gaming, fitness, video and collaboration tools.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is a lightning rod for all things Apple, and in his new info dump it appears we now have a pretty sizable list of first-party content coming to the still very much under-wraps mixed reality headset.
Here’s all of the major apps and features mentioned in the report:
iPad apps adapted for mixed reality: Calendars, Contacts, Files, Home control, Mail, Maps, Messaging, Notes, Photos, Reminders, Music, News, Stocks, and Weather apps.
FaceTime: conferencing service will generate 3D versions of users in virtual meeting rooms.
Freeform collaboration app: will let users work on virtual whiteboards together while in mixed reality.
Work apps: Pages word processing, Numbers spreadsheet and Keynote slide deck apps, as well as iMovie and GarageBand for video and music production.
Apple TV: both immersive sports content and traditional video content – the latter presented in virtual environments, such as a desert or the sky.
Apple Books: will allow users to read in virtual reality.
Fitness+: will let users exercise while watching an instructor in VR.
Multitasking & Siri: will be able to run multiple apps at the same time, floating within the mixed reality space. Siri voice control is also present.
Camera app: can take pictures from the headset.
Provided all of the above is accurate, Apple may be releasing the industry’s most feature-rich headset out of the gate, as it appears to be hauling in a ton of its mature and battle-tested ecosystem of apps.
It’s also said that gaming will be a major focus—a reversal from previous reports. This could mean we’ll see a wider push for Apple to court third-party developers soon after release, which is said to release a few months after is June unveiling, priced at somewhere around $3,000.
As for hardware, as many suggested in the past, Gurman reconfirms the existence of a dial crown similar to the one seen on Apple Watch, which will let the wearer seamlessly switch between virtual and augmented reality views.
Here’s a compilation list of alleged Apple MR headset features scavenged from previous reports—all of which you should take with a heaping handful of salt. We’ve broken them down into specs and design rumors:
Rumored Apple MR Specs
Resolution: Dual Micro OLED displays at 4K resolution (per eye)
FOV: 120-degrees, similar to Valve Index
Chipset: Two 5nm chips. Includes a main SoC (CPU, GPU, and memory) and a dedicated image signal processor (ISP). Chips communicate via a custom streaming codec to combat latency.
Battery: Waist-mounted battery, connected via MagSafe-like power cable to the headset’s headband. Two-hour max battery life, although hotswappable for longer sessions.
Passthrough: ISP chip contains custom high-bandwidth memory made by SK Hynix, providing low latency color passthrough
Audio: H2 chip, providing ultra-low latency connection with the second-generation AirPods Pro and future AirPods models. No 3.5mm and possible no support for non-AirPod BT headphones.
Controller: Apple is said to favor hand-tracking and voice recognition to control the headset, but it has tested a “wand” and a “finger thimble” as alternative control input methods.
Prescription Lenses: Magnetically attachable custom prescription lenses for glasses-wearers.
IPD Adjustment: Automatic, motorized adjustment to match the wearer’s interpupillary distance.
Eye Tracking: At least one camera per-eye for things like avatar presence and foveated rendering
Face & Body Tracking: More than a dozen cameras and sensors capture both facial expressions and body movements, including the user’s legs.
Room Tracking: Both short- and long-range LiDAR scanners to map surfaces and distances in three dimensions.
App Compatibility: Said to have the ability to run existing iOS apps in 2D.
Price: $3,000 – $4,000
Design Rumors
Outer Shell: Aluminum, glass, and carbon fiber to reduce its size and weight. Cameras are largely concealed for aesthetic reasons.
Presence Displays: Outward-facing display can show user’s facial expressions and also presumably eye movements. Said to be an always-on display similar in latency and power draw of Apple Watch or iPhone 14 Pro.
Dedicated Passthrough Switch: Digital Crown-like dial on its right side to switch between VR and AR.
Headstrap: Various available, including consumer-focused headstrap similar in material to Apple Watch sport bands with built-in speakers. Unspecified, but different headstrap targeted at developers.
– – — – –
As you’d imagine, Apple has confirmed absolutely nothing, so we’ll be tuning in for the June 5th keynote to see whether we’ll finally get a big “one more thing” moment we’ve been waiting for.
Horizon Worlds, Meta’s social VR platform for Quest, is only open to 18+ users for now, however the company says it’s expanding to include teens aged 13 to 17 in the US and Canada.
Meta says the new policy will go into effect in “the coming weeks,” effectively opening the company’s first-party social platform to its entire user base in those countries; Meta only allows users 13+ to actually use Quest devices.
To prepare for the wave of younger users, the company is also releasing some age-appropriate protections and safety defaults.
Safety features will include the ability for teens to control who they follow and who can follow them back. Profiles are also set to private by default, which obscures active status and location. Worlds and events will have content ratings, so younger teens can’t get in.
A new voice mode feature is also rolling out to everyone, which garbles voices of both unknown people and teen’s voices by default. Raising your hand to your ear temporarily lets you hear other users when voice mode is switched on, Meta says.
“We’re rolling out to teens slowly, so that we can carefully examine usage and are taking a phased approach before expanding more broadly,” the company says in a blogpost. “We can’t wait to see everything these new members of the community bring to Worlds.”
Parents and guardians can use the parental supervision tools to manage their teen’s experience and “support healthy conversations about safety in VR,” Meta says. To learn more, check out the new Family Center.
The company also released a safety tutorial to see the new features in action:
While Meta only just released official word of those changes to Horizon Worlds, the news was actually first reported by The Wall Street Journalin February, which was based on an internal memo that alleged the social VR platform was under performing and needed to increase user retention to keep up with the competition. According to the memo seen by WSJ,Horizon Worlds’ weekly retention rate was 11% in January 2023, which the company aimed to increase to 20%.
A goal outlined in the memo maintained Worlds needed to reach 500,000 monthly active users (MAU) in the first half of 2023, ultimately reaching the one million mark by year’s end. At the time, it was reported the platform was hovering around 200,000 MAUs, or just below the December peak.
There’s no telling when the flatscreen version of Horizon Worlds is due to arrive, however Meta maintained it would be opening the Quest-only social platform to Web and mobile devices “soon.”
If you’ve been plugged into the Valve leak-o-verse, you’ve probably come across the name ‘Deckard’, the supposed code name of a standalone headset allegedly under development by the one and only. While Valve isn’t confirming anything about the storied standalone, the company went on record late last year to say they are still have faith in VR, and are critically still working on VR headsets.
Valve product designer Greg Coomer spoke to Korean gaming publication This is Game (Korean) in December, saying that VR is very much still in the works. The interview wasn’t widely shared in the English-speaking side of the Internet until it landed on Reddit, Google-translated to English.
Here’s Coomer’s response to a question about what he can reveal in regard to VR, translated from Korean to English:
There isn’t much (laughter). Nevertheless, I can definitely say that we are continuing to develop VR headsets recently. Valve has a lot of expertise in VR devices and has faith in the medium and VR games.
We hope to remain open on PC platforms rather than having VR games exclusively on a certain platform. While adhering to this belief, we are continuing development.
However, we cannot confirm the existence of specific products or disclose the release date of the results. The same applies to game projects being developed internally. There are certainly many projects underway, but we cannot announce anything today.
As you might gather, Valve doesn’t openly speak about its in-development projects. Hearing that VR is still on the table from Coomer directly though, who has been with Valve since the release of Half-Life (1998), and worked on major games all the way up to Half-Life: Alyx (2020), is just about as good as you can get.
That’s especially so since the last time Valve released any VR hardware was its enthusiast-grade PC VR headset Valve Index in 2019. A year later, the studio launched its only full-length VR game to date, Half-Life: Alyx.
Still, it hasn’t been entirely all quiet on the Valve VR front. In March 2022, Valve chief Gabe Newell called its handheld gaming PC platform Steam Deck “a steppingstone” to standalone VR hardware.
“One of the things [Steam Deck] represents is battery-capable, high-performance horsepower that eventually you could use in VR applications as well. You can take the PC and build something that is much more transportable. We’re not really there yet, but this is a stepping stone.”
At the time, Coomer also noted Steam Deck’s hardware “would run well in that [standalone VR] environment, with the TDP necessary… it’s very relevant to us and our future plans.”
Meanwhile, tech analyst and YouTuber Brad Lynch has been probably the most vocal proponent of all things Steam standalone, having followed the Deckard beat since data miners first found a string in a January 2021 Steam update that mentioned the alleged VR standalone.
Over the following years, Lynch has uncovered mounting evidence in subsequent releases of SteamVR, including his most recent supposition that Deckard may include PC VR wireless streaming capabilities, eye-tracking, and passthrough AR features.
As you’d imagine, there have been no public confirmations from Valve, so we’ll just have to wait and see.
“Monster Hunter Now is a new and unprecedented Monster Hunter game that entices players to go out with their Palico and encounter incredible monsters in the real world,” claims series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto. Speaking in a GamesIndustry.biz interview, Tsujimoto revealed development began in March 2019, stating: "I can still remember when Niantic told me about this project, I immediately said 'Let's do it' without giving it a second thought."
Monster Hunter Now arrives in September 2023 for Android and iOS devices, available through the App Store and Google Play. While there's no guarantee you will receive access, registration for the closed beta test is now open on the official website, which begins on April 25.
Last month we got an eyeful of Cyan’s upcoming VR puzzle adventure Firmament in an extended preview trailer that showed off some of the game’s impressively looming set pieces. Now, prepping for the game’s May 18th release on PC VR, the studio released its first look at some of the game’s puzzle mechanics.
There are a few new things shown in the video that we haven’t seen before, notably what appears to be the final version of the most important tool to your puzzle-adventuring.
Called an ‘Adjunct’, the tool lets you interface with the various devices strewn about the Realm of Firmament, which Cyan says will help you on your quest to unlocking the secrets this place holds.
Image captured via video courtesy Cyan
We previously saw the Adjunct very briefly in Firmament’s initial Kickstarter video, although it wasn’t clear at the time what it was, or whether or not it would be a one-off object. Whatever the case, it’s clear now that the adjunct is a mainstay that ostensibly works like and extension of the player’s arm.
Also, it appears the ability to shoot the bit from the holder has let Cyan develop a wider range of far-flung puzzles, as you can manipulate locks and various receptacles you wouldn’t be able to physically reach otherwise.
Firmament is launching for PC VR headsets and traditional monitors via Steam on May 18th. In the new Steam page, the studio reveals a few more tidbits of info about the narrative and structure of the game:
You are not entirely alone in Firmament. In addition to The Adjunct, you are joined by a mysterious apparition, who has a story of her own to share with you. As you explore you will be introduced to 3 Realms – each with secrets and mysteries to reveal. What purpose do the Realms serve? Can the spirit who accompanies you be trusted?
Are the realms of Firmament abandoned? What are these giant, mysterious machines scattered throughout the world? What is their purpose? What part do you play in this grand mystery? Explore, Discover, Solve, and Reveal the mystery for yourself by playing Firmament!
In the game’s Kickstarter November update, Cyan said Firmament is also set to come to PSVR 2, PS4 and PS5 at some point “down the line.” There’s no word on whether Quest 2 will ever get a native version of the game, i.e. one that can be played without a PC and Link or Air Link.
Five years after its original announcement, Myst developers Cyan Worlds announced that Firmament will reach PC VR on May 18.
Revealed back in 2018 with a Kickstarter campaign arriving soon after, Firmament is the latest adventure game from Cyan, whose previous efforts include 2020's Myst VR remake and Obduction. Set in an abandoned steampunk world, Firmament is a new puzzle adventure that sees you exploring three realms, joined by a clockwork companion and mysterious apparition. Originally targeting a July 2020 release, Cyan eventually delayed this VR-compatible adventure to expand its scope. You can watch the new announcement trailer below:
Releasing for both flatscreen PC and PC VR, Cyan confirms the VR experience includes "Free Roam and Teleport modes." Additional comfort options like smooth or snap turning are also promised, alongside quick travel up stairs & ladders. You can read the story description below:
"You wake in a glacial cavern crowded with metal pipes and adorned with curious clockwork gears. In the middle of a dark chamber you discover is an ancient table – a tea cup on one end and a frozen body slumped over the other. The corpse’s hands hold an exquisite clockwork device, held out like an offering. You reach for it and it comes to life; it hovers above you, watching, before a mysterious apparition appears with a message. You find yourself with an immense and unexpected adventure lying ahead..."
Firmament releases on May 18, 2023 for PC VR, with a PSVR 2 version following at an unknown date. While a PSVR port was canceled last year, flatscreen versions remain planned for PS4 and PS5.
Quest reportedly recorded 6.37 million active monthly users around last October, according a report from The Wall Street Journal.
The new WSJ report cites internal documents from Meta dated around October 2022, confirming that Beat Saber generated $255 million in lifetime sales by October 2022. In that same month, The Wall Street Journal also reports Meta Quest platform saw 6.37 million active monthly users.
Last month, The Verge’s Alex Heath detailed Meta’s internal roadmap presentation from Meta’s VP of VR, Mark Rabkin. That confirmed the company sold nearly 20 million Quest headsets, almost matching Xbox Series X|S sales estimates from December 2022. If both reports are accurate, we could be starting to get a picture of just how many Quest headsets end up in disuse.
The VR market will be quite different by the end of 2023. PSVR 2 is progressing past its soft launch and indications suggest Apple could be preparing to announce a headset after so many years of rumors. With changes in store, it will be worth keeping these figures in mind as buyers adopt a new generation of VR hardware.
Tony Mowbray
