GOLF+ showed off the dramatic improvement in user interface clarity achievable by using compositor layers.
Founder and CEO Ryan Engle said he finally got around to using the feature for the game's UI, describing the difference as "mind blowing." He claims it enables reading fonts "about half the size."
before & after compositor layers
Compositor layers let developers pass textures directly to the operating system instead of having them rendered as part of the scene by the game engine. This prevents it from being visually degraded by the lens distortion correction process and the rotational reprojection algorithm VR systems use to minimize perceived latency, sometimes called TimeWarp. The result is sharper, clearer text and other 2D surfaces.
Former Oculus CTO John Carmack frequently espoused the importance of rendering text via compositor layers, going as far as calling it “the biggest” tip for sharp text in VR. First shipped by Oculus, today Pico and HTC headsets also support the feature.
Meta Tech Lead Manager Neel Bedekar claims the GPU performance hit of compositor layers is around 2-3% and said it's "well-worth the cost".
Meta's 2D Panels demo app, available on App Lab
You can see the clarity difference compositor layers makes yourself right now in Meta's 2D Panels demo app on Quest App Lab.
Compositor layers will be used for the GOLF+ UI starting from its next update, which Engle expects to ship next Thursday.
Amid Evil VR version 1.1 is coming soon, and publisher New Blood Interactive confirmed Steam sales are significantly higher than Quest.
Released last month on PC VR and Quest 2, Amid Evil VR is a retro-style shooter from Indefatigable and Elijah Immersive, taking clear influence from classics like Doom and Quake. In an email to UploadVR, New Blood CEO Dave Oshry announced that version 1.1 is "coming soon" with "some fun new stuff." However, specific features within this update remain unconfirmed.
Oshry then told UploadVR that the Steam edition "sold 10x the Quest Store."
The stat goes against the common expectation that Quest versions will always outsell PC VR, thanks in part to Meta's reported hardware advantage with nearly 20 million Quest headsets sold. In 2019, Superhot VR's Quest port outsold the Rift version by 300% even without cross-buy support. Similar reports for Red Matter, Job Simulator, Space Pirate Trainer, SculptVR, Virtual Desktop and more later followed.
There's a chance that audience demand for a classics-inspired VR shooter was higher on PC VR. Plus, the Steam numbers were also likely helped by the 71% launch discount (now down to 50%) if you bought the Steam bundle with the flatscreen version, which naturally wasn't an option for those playing on Quest. Nonetheless, it's an impressive PC VR sales stat given the Quest platform's domination over the last few years.
Amid Evil VR is available now on Quest 2 and PC VR, with a PSVR 2 port in development. You can check out our full interview with Dave Oshry from last month.
A prominent display supply chain analyst revealed the supposed size, pixel density and brightness of the OLED microdisplays in Apple's upcoming AR/VR headset.
Most existing headset panels have an aspect ratio of 9:10. A 1.41" diagonal display with a pixel density of 4000 PPI and an aspect ratio of 9:10 would have a resolution of 4156×3740.
However, if the aspect ratio is square instead it would equate to almost exactly 4000×4000.
Regardless of the exact aspect ratio, it's fair to say that if Young's specs are accurate, Apple's headset will have a resolution describable as 4K per eye.
This isn't entirely unexpected though. As far back as 2021, TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed Apple's headset will use dual 4K micro OLED displays.
In January The Information reported the headset's lenses have a field of view of 120 degrees. Given the resolution, this would equate to an average angular resolution of roughly 33 pixels per degree (PPD).
Meta Quest Pro
Rumored Apple Reality Pro
Field of View
106°
120°
Lens Separation
Guided Manual
Automatic
Screen Type
QD-LCD w/ Mini-LED
Micro OLED
Pixels Per Eye
1800×1920
~4000×4000
Average Angular Resolution
<20
~33
Price
$1000
~$3000
For comparison, Quest Pro's average angular resolution is less than 20 PPD, and the generally accepted threshold for retinal resolution is 60 PPD. Note that peak angular resolution in the center of a lens will be higher than the average, dependent on the exact distortion profile of each lens.
Apple's headset, now many years in development, is expected to be finally revealed during the WWDC23 keynote on Monday, which UploadVR's Ian Hamilton is attending in person. For a summary of all the rumors we've heard so far, read our roundup here:
Resident Evil 4 VR and other titles see hefty discounts in a Quest Store sale this week, ahead of Meta's annual gaming showcase on June 1.
The sale starts now and will continue until 11:59pm PT on June 4. The biggest discount by far is Resident Evil 4, which is down 50% to just $19.99 from $39.99.
Alongside individual discounts, there are of course also packs offering discounts on multiple games bundled together. The 'Hero's Journey' bundle puts In Death: Unchained, Elven Assassin and Into the Radius together for a total of $51.99 (34% off), while the 'Fantasty Fights' pack bundles Gorn and Demo together for just $35.99 (39% off).
There's a few other bundles and game discounts to be had, along with a rotating daily deal as well – you can check out the full list of items on sale here.
The sale comes a few days ahead of the Meta Quest Gaming Showcase, which returns for the third year running on June 1st at 10am PT.
Bloomberg reportedly went hands-on with a prototype version of Quest 3 and provided new details on the mixed reality passthrough experience and more.
The report comes from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who says he was able to test the "interface, video pass-through mode, software features and gaming capability" on a prototype Quest 3 headset, which is reportedly codenamed 'Eureka'. The headset is yet to be formally revealed by Meta, but has been referenced by executives and recently showed up on the Quest app store.
Gurman states that the headset felt "far lighter and thinner" than Quest 2, as expected given the leaked schematics and previous reports that described it as "two times thinner." The head strap also reportedly "seems a bit stronger" than Quest 2 and Gurman says the Quest 3 prototype he tried was grey in color, using "fabric on the sides" instead of the plastic.
He also reports that Quest 3 uses a new chipset, a second generation version of the Snapdragon XR2 used in almost all standalone headsets today. He noted the Quest 3's "speedier performance" over Quest 2, claiming that navigating the interface, launching apps and playing games "felt much improved." That corroborates the leaked roadmap from March, where Quest 3 was described as "at least twice as powerful".
Apparent schematics leaked to YouTuber SadleyItsBradley
Gurman's description of the Quest 3 prototype matches the apparent schematics, pictured above and below, that were leaked to YouTuber Brad Lynch in September
Gurman describes "three vertical pill-shaped sensor areas across the front," cameras low down on each side of the front of the headset, and a les spacing dial on the bottom for stepless IPD adjustment. This would mark an improvement over Quest 2, which requires you to remove the headset to make adjustments to IPD by directly pushing the lenses into just three preset spacings.
As the leaked schematics also suggested, Gurman reports that the left and right sensor pills each have a color camera for passthrough, while the middle pill has a depth sensor. Quest 2 has no color cameras, while Quest Pro only has one, which it uses to add color on top of a black and white view. Quest Pro was originally supposed to have a depth sensor but it was removed just months before release.
Quest 3's stereo color cameras and depth sensor bring significantly improved real-world passthrough and mixed reality, Gurman reports. He says that the "clarity and VR displays within the Quest 3 feel similar to those in the Quest 2" but that mixed reality passthrough sees "night-and-day improvement" over Quest 2.
He claims the prototype he tried "offered an almost lifelike rendering of the real world" and that he was even able to use his phone in passthrough mode while wearing the headset – almost impossible on Quest Pro.
Gurman also reports that the headset was able to automatically identify walls, "so, for example, you can play a game where you shoot objects off a wall or cover your environment in a digital skin." This would be a marked improvement over the mixed reality experience on Quest 2 and Quest Pro, which requires arduously manually marking out the walls in your play space.
Quest 2
Quest Pro
Quest 3
Chipset
XR2 Gen 1
XR2 Gen 1
XR2 Gen 2
Eye Tracking
❌
✅
❌
Color Cameras
0
1
2
Depth Sensor
❌
❌
✅
Room Setup
Manual
Manual
Automatic
The strangest revelation of Gurman's report is his description of the new controllers. He claims they lack tracking rings, like Touch Pro controllers, but also don't have cameras for self-tracking. That seems to suggest they're tracked in the same way hands are without controllers. Because of this, he claims the headset "may have a difficult time determining where [the controllers] are in space, which could hinder some games," but Meta is "looking to offset that with various other tracking improvements."
The report also corroborates that the headset doesn't include face or eye tracking capabilities, as indicated by the leaked schematics. Likewise, Gurman reports that the final price is still undecided but "may come in higher than the Quest 2's $400." This tracks with the leaked roadmap, which suggested a price that cost "a bit more" than Quest 2, and previous comments from from Mark Zuckerberg indicating it would be "in the price range of $300, $400, or $500," suggesting $500 as the likely entry price.
Comments from Meta executives point to Quest 3 launching later this year. Meta launched both Quest 2 and Quest Pro at Connect, its annual VR/AR conference, usually held in October. Quest 3 will most likely follow suit. Meta is also set to host its third annual Meta Quest Gaming Showcase this week.
With increased mixed reality and passthrough capabilities, Meta is positioning Quest 3 as a low-end competitor to Apple's unannounced VR/AR headset, which will reportedly be revealed at its WWDC 23 keynote on June 5.
Believed to be branded Apple Reality Pro, Apple's headset will reportedly land at around $3000, featuring a much higher resolution, a MacBook-tier chipset, a custom xrOS operating system and an even thinner and lighter design.
It lays the groundwork for a new era of competition in the virtual and augmented reality space between Meta and Apple, akin to the last decade of mobile competition between Apple's high-end iOS systems and other cheaper devices running Google's Android-based alternative.
With indications of a roughly $500 price point, Meta Quest 3 aims to offer similar capabilities to Apple's headset at a fraction of the price. Gurman speculates that Quest 3 may ultimately cost "a fifth as much" while being "more than a fifth as compelling."
In this week's episode of the Between Realities VR Podcast, Alex and Skeeva host Tribe Greywolf VR.
Tribe talks about his unique approach to streaming and content creation. Other topics include finding and sharing exploits in VR games, Augmented World Expo next week, and a debate about the use of 3rd party voice chat versus open mics with proximity chat in multiplayer VR titles.
Walkabout Mini Golf is moving to end Quest 1 support due to Meta platform changes, but a "frozen" build may keep it playable on Meta's older headset to some degree.
Detailing this decision on its website, the team states it devoted resources to keeping the original Quest version playable "for as long as we technically were allowed." However, the v51 update means "there's only so much we can do on our side before we're forced out."
Elaborating further, the team explained Quest 1 players can continue playing a "frozen build" of Walkabout Mini Golf, which won't receive new courses or further updates. Multiplayer support will continue, though the team can't promise for how long after July 2023.
After this sunset date, we cannot assure the functionality or availability of all features within the Quest 1 version. We are planning to keep multiplayer working on Quest 1 for as long as we can, but after November 2023 multiplayer functionality may be limited or non-functional due to versioning requirements for our multiplayer servers.
Mighty Coconut offers some suggestions for fans of the popular mini golf game, reaffirming that your progress should seamlessly transfer if you upgrade to a Quest 2 or Quest Pro headset. If you've got a gaming PC, the Quest 1 should still work to play the PC VR edition through a Link cable. Otherwise, Walkabout Mini Golf is also available on Pico, Viveport and PSVR 2.
Ghosts of Tabor celebrated a milestone achievement with developers saying they've reached 100k players across PC VR and Quest.
Available now in early access, Ghosts of Tabor is an extraction-based VR FPS survival game with PvP and PvE modes. Inspired by Escape from Tarkov and DayZ, you're tasked with scavenging for loot, finding food, gear and weapons, with crafting and more available across different scenarios. Despite limited visibility on Quest's App Lab, Ghosts of Tabor reached a milestone 100,000 players, and developer Combat Waffle Studios released a video thanking the community.
It's unclear how Combat Waffle Studios is assessing this figure, which could be tallied by individual accounts or unique sales. We've reached out to ask the developer directly and will update this article if we learn more. Even still, it's clear that Ghosts of Tabor is finding a significant audience. Steam lists a 'mostly positive' at over 2k user reviews, while the App Lab page lists 2.3k reviews.
Ghosts of Tabor is available now on Quest via App Lab and PC VR for $19.99. Combat Waffle states it will remain in Early Access "until all major features are implemented, including the ones the community thinks are crucial," while the official website confirms plans for PSVR 2 and Pico versions.
Hello Neighbor: Search and Rescue brings the flatscreen franchise into VR for the first time, offering some engaging and spooky stealth survival sequences marred by slightly sketchy performance on Quest.
Available now on Quest, PC VR and PSVR 2, this VR entry in the Hello Neighbor franchise comes from Steel Wool Studios, the studio behind the popular Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted VR release from a few years back. Given Help Wanted was a huge success on Quest, it would be understandable to have high expectations for Search and Rescue, which similarly marks a first foray into VR for another hugely popular horror franchise.
Luckily it's evident from the get go that a lot of care and passion has been poured into bringing Hello Neighbor to life in a new immersive format. While the overall release is not without problems, the world of Search and Rescue immediately pops to life with strong use of color and a well-defined cartoon art style that does a lot to establish the game's charm early on. Exploring the game's opening areas, I was struck by just how visually playful it felt – especially given the dreary, oppressively-dark aesthetics that normally dominate the survival stealth genre. The cute character design is cohesive with their expressive animations, which together convey the different personalities of the largely-mute cast quite well.
It's clear that despite the creepy subject matter, the studio wants you to still feel a sense of child-like glee as you play. It's a fantastic dichotomy that's conveyed effectively by the move into VR. Take the game's scale, for example, which sees you embody the shorter statures of a team of children that you'll dynamically switch between during gameplay. These children are very clearly smaller than the world around them, with the art and environmental design leaning in to emphasize that at every turn. Your small size is never more apparent than when you come face-to-face with the creepy Mr. Peterson, who towers over you in VR. Playing as a small child in an immersive medium makes running away from him all the more terrifying.
That said, it's also a bit jarring (and confronting) when Mr. Peterson catches up on you from behind and violently yanks your character's perspective around to face him, often with little notice. While other games, like Resident Evil Village, have got away with taking such aggressive control over the player's perspective, a few other disappointing elements make it feel less earned in Search and Rescue.
Interactions with objects feel finicky and sluggish, and overall performance was unreliable when playing on Quest. I experienced occasional framerate stutters, as well as many instances where I temporarily clipped through parts of the environment, reaching an unintended point-of-view. Both teleport and smooth locomotion movement is offered, but I found the former to be over-sensitive to aim and the latter would often get stuck on the environment or move unpredictably.
There was even one instance where I completely lost control of my character for at least 10 seconds, with my perspective proceeding to jerk around the environment and fly between positions several meters away from each other for seemingly no reason. The issues were never game-breaking, but tarnished an otherwise charming experience and made it feel less polished than you'd like. Likewise, while the game's visual art style is strong, it's marred by an abundance of jaggy edges on Quest, no matter where you look.
There were points where the game performed fairly smoothly, almost as expected, allowing more of the good stuff to shine through. Sneaking through the house and avoiding Mr Peterson is both thrilling and terrifying, working well with positional audio to help you identify where he is. Likewise, being able to dynamically switch between the game's cast of kids at any point – by picking up the walkie talkie on your hip – offers some interesting approaches to single player co-operative puzzles, each equipped with slightly different tools.
It's a shame that there's no actual co-op multiplayer on offer, as being able to switch between the cast alongside another a friend could have been quite compelling in VR. Nonetheless, the approach here is different enough to other games in the genre that it feels fresh.
So far, we've only tried Search and Rescue on Quest, so there's a strong chance that the game looks and performs better on PSVR 2 and PC VR, where it's not limited by standalone hardware. If we get a chance to try the game out those platforms, we'll let you know what it's like.
Despite the above, it's clear that Steel Wool Studios have approached the challenge of bringing Hello Neighbor to VR with a lot of love and passion. While it might not be quite as polished as Help Wanted's release on Quest, it's hard to see that stopping Hello Neighbor fanatics from jumping in anyway. For them, getting chased by Mr. Peterson in full immersive VR might just be enough to justify the price of admission. For Quest players who are more pedantic with performance, maybe it's worth waiting to see if a patch improves the experience over time.
We've reached out to developer Steel Wool Studios and publish tinyBuild representatives to enquire about the performance issues and bugs we encountered with the Quest release. We'll provide an update if we receive a response or hear about any planned improvements.
Fast Travel Games and developer MobX released their latest VR co-op action title EVERSLAUGHT Invasion on Quest 2, bringing with it high-mobility melee action.
Update (May 26th, 2023): Developer MobX Games and publisher Fast Travel Games released EVERSLAUGHT Invasion on the Meta Quest Store, priced at $25.
The studios also released a new trailer showing off more of the game’s high-flying melee combat. The original article announcing EVERSLAUGHT Invasion follows below:
Original Article (August 24th, 2022): Set in the same universe as the PC VR action RPG EVERSLAUGHT (2021), developer MobX Games and publisher Fast Travel say the fast-paced VR first-person shooter is intended for two players, although it also supports single player in what the studios call “high-octane combat” thanks to the game’s focus on high-flying locomotion that will let you dash, jump off cliffs, or fly to an enemy with the help of a hookshot tool.
The Meta Quest 2 title puts you in the boots of a hero of the secretive Cleric order who must defeat the evil and ever-expanding faction of the Corrupted. The game includes three unique classes with their own tools and play styles: Warrior, Rogue or Vanguard. We’re hoping to learn more about each class as we get closer to the early 2023 launch window.
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Image courtesy MobX Games, Fast Travel Games
Image courtesy MobX Games, Fast Travel Games
Image courtesy MobX Games, Fast Travel Games
Like you’ll see in the game’s announcement trailer, EVERSLAUGHT Invasion puts heavy emphasis on frenetic action thanks to the game’s hookshot mechanic, which lets you traverse the map at high speeds or dispatch enemies with a single blow. You’ll also gather loot and unlock new skills and weapons through what the studio calls a “deep progression system.”
“We’ve used the original EVERSLAUGHT universe to create a brand new co-op action game filled with satisfying combat and great replayability,” said Gihad Chbib, Founder at MobX Games. “While we can’t reveal everything just yet, we’re confident that fans of the original and new players alike will be thrilled with this interpretation.”
Here’s how MobX Games describes it:
HIGH MOBILITY ACTION: Engage huge waves of monstrosities in high-octane combat by dashing, jumping off cliffs or grappling to an enemy with the hookshot.
ARMY OF TWO: Even the odds of survival by fighting back to back with a fellow hero in a crusade of frantic co-op action.
3 DISTINCT CLASSES: Pick between Warrior, Rogue and Vanguard, each with their own unique play styles and toolsets.
DEEP PROGRESSION SYSTEM: Gather loot and unlock new skills & weaponry, then spend time in the airship to upgrade your hero for the next mission.
Everslaught Invasion brings intense two-player co-op to Quest 2, but it's best experienced in shorter sessions. Read on for our full review:
Not many games effectively convey dread outside of horror but Everslaught Invasion manages this pretty well. Wooden spikes barricade these quiet streets with not a soul in sight. "The Corrupted approach," you’re warned, allowing for a brief preparation period. "Corrupted" is a fitting if unimaginative name for these grotesque foes and the game's story is mainly through entries in its codex. You play as a ‘Cleric of the Order’ in fighting them off. Taken altogether, the story is a pretty standard backdrop and it's the engaging gameplay that's the draw here.
Everslaught Invasion - The Facts
Platforms:Quest 2, Quest Pro (Review conducted across both). HTC Vive XR Elite and Pico versions planned Release Date: Out Now Developer: MobX Price: $24.99
You can visit an airship headquarters between missions and Everslaught Invasion lets you swap between three playable classes. The Warrior prioritizes melee damage and defense while Rogue sacrifices power for speed. Vanguard, meanwhile, falls somewhere in between. Select four weapons in the armory - you won’t find any within missions - and these range from common axes to fancy swords. Every option packs different stats for weight, armor damage, crit rates and more. Choose a map once ready and prepare to fight.
That’s important because carelessness leads to Clerics being cornered or encircled, though straightforward controls and hack-n-slash combat helps. Movement is stick-based smooth locomotion only with dashes and jumps using the right trigger. Weapons are grabbed with grip buttons and rotating your left wrist looses a hookshot from your gauntlet toward marked ledges and enemies upon pressing the trigger. Rotating your wrist the opposite direction arms your gun.
For defensive play shields can be activated by holding the palm of your hand toward your headset to parry incoming attacks. Self-healing is also an option by moving your left fist to your right wrist and hitting the trigger. That is, assuming you’ve got enough charges, as indicated by the gauntlet’s red vials.
Clearing waves offers a brief reprieve and every map houses multiple upgrade stations, offering ammo refills, weapon buffs and temporary skills in exchange for skill points or coins, both earned by defeating foes and stopping curses. This may seem basic, but combined with different weapons and classes, combat holds significant versatility that’s boosted by varied level design.
Whether you prefer keeping distance or dismembering Corrupted up close, Everslaught Invasion supports various play styles. Co-op play adds further strategy with teammate communication allowing you to warn each other of blind spots, for example. Revivals are also possible if an ally gets knocked down, something that's absent in solo play.
If you died in disgrace or valiantly fought off Corrupted until the last wave, every mission ends by awarding experience that earns new weapons upon leveling up. XP is also applied separately to your class, earning blood vials to level up permanent skills instead. For example, Rogue can decrease the hookshot’s cooldown by 30% or increase the chance of landing critical damage, while Warrior can increase damage resistance or let orbs instantly restore his health.
Everslaught Invasion - Comfort
For such a fast-paced action game there's very few comfort settings in Everslaught Invasion. Movement is stick-based smooth locomotion with snap turning and adjustable speeds and angles. Seated play isn’t officially supported and there are no vignettes and no teleportation, so the intense movement might cause discomfort, though I personally didn’t experience issues while playing.
The progression system aptly rewards those willing to put the time in, but it took me a while to feel invested. Before this review, I played Everslaught Invasion on two occasions and both times were short demos which I enjoyed considerably. Unfortunately, even with the satisfyingly combat and co-op, I found grating repetition set in during longer play throughs. This feeling wasn’t helped by enemy patterns, so I’d advise playing in shorter stints.
Everslaught Invasion Review - Final Verdict
Everslaught Invasion is an entertaining hack-n-slash from MobX, building upon the original game well with enjoyable co-op, good level design and versatile combat. Repetitive elements mean it's better suited to short sessions because there’s only so much the progression system can do to mitigate this. The lack of comfort options given the intense motion feels like a significant oversight. Solo players might be better off elsewhere, though if you’re itching for a new multiplayer action game, I recommend giving this a look.
UploadVR focuses on a label system for reviews, rather than a numeric score. Our reviews fall into one of four categories: Essential, Recommended, Avoid and reviews that we leave unlabeled. You can read more about ourreview guidelines here.
PlayStation announced an official pair of wireless Bluetooth earbuds, promising lossless audio and low latency on PS5 and PC.
"I'm also pleased to reveal our first-ever PlayStation earbuds, which will bring next-generation audio immersion to PS5 and PC," stated PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan during PlayStation Showcase. "They simultaneously connect to smartphones via Bluetooth. New wireless technology will deliver lossless audio with low latency." Pricing details remain unconfirmed but more details are promised “in the months ahead.” You can watch the reveal below, timestamped at 57:34:
An official name wasn't revealed but the PlayStation earbuds could offer a potential audio fix for Sony's latest VR headset. Our PSVR 2 review called audio our "biggest disappointment" with no in-built option, relying on detachable 3.5mm in-ear headphones that come in the box or your TV. Earbuds may present a more elegant solution than the over-the-ear Pulse 3D headset, which fits around PSVR 2 but involves wearing two headsets simultaneously.
Yupitergrad 2: The Lost Station brings an action-adventure to VR today, arriving on Pico headsets as a timed exclusive.
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. Now, Yupitergrad 2: The Lost Station is available first on Pico Neo 3 Link and Pico 4. The Quest 2 release will follow "later this year" before reaching other platforms, including PC VR and HTC Vive XR Elite.
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.
At its heart, Yupitergrad’s brand of VR vaulting offers a clean and thrilling sensation, but its obstacle courses can frustrate as much as they do entertain. It’s not a game to master so much as it is to survive as you subject yourself to the mercy of its gauntlet and the finicky arsenal that helps you navigate it. Take it short strides, keep your patience and there’s fun to be had with Yupitergrad.
Yupitergrad 2: The Lost Station is available now on Pico Neo 3 Link and Pico 4.
Note: This article was updated with a new headline and lede on April 27 and May 25, reflecting the revised release window announcement and subsequent release.
Meta conducted its third wave of major layoffs today.
Reportedly, around 5000 staff are affected in this round. Two policy managers from the Reality Labs AR/VR division confirmed on LinkedIn that they were let go today, as did many more employees from other parts of the company. Unlike the previous two waves, however, we haven't yet seen any reports of AR/VR layoffs from technical roles.
The first round of major layoffs took place back in November, cutting 11,000 employees - 13 percent of its workforce at the time - including some Reality Labs engineers and designers.
In April, the second wave occurred as as part of the "year of efficiency" Mark Zuckerberg had declared to investors in February, cutting another 4000 or so roles. It included developers from two of Meta's acquired VR game studios, Ready at Dawn and Downpour Interactive.
That brings the total number laid off from Meta since November to around 20,000.
Zuckerberg described 2022 as a “humbling wake-up call” for Meta, citing declining macroeconomic conditions reducing overall advertising spend and the increased competition from TikTok. "I think we should prepare ourselves for the possibility that this new economic reality will continue for many years", he told staff.
Meta is far from the only big tech company conducting layoffs at this scale. Google parent Alphabet laid off 12,000 in January, Microsoft has laid off 10,000 so far this year, and Amazon has laid off 27,000.
Only Apple so far seems unaffected, reportedly laying off only a tiny number of corporate retail staff. “I view that as a last resort and, so, mass layoffs is not something that we’re talking about at this moment” Tim Cook told CNBC earlier this month.
Zuckerberg on the other hand has been pitching Meta's layoffs as a positive opportunity for a "flattening" of the corporate hierarchy, claiming that this flatter structure with a higher ratio of engineers and fewer managers will allow Meta to execute faster, take more risks, and focus more on its strengths. Whether that's just PR spin or will actually pan out will be seen in coming years as Meta starts facing direct competition from Apple in the AR/VR space.
PlayStation Showcase broadcasts later today with a focus on PS5 and PSVR 2 games, but what announcements can we expect? Here are our predictions.
Last week, Sony confirmed its latest PlayStation Showcase would air on May 24 at 1pm PT / 9pm BST. Stating the presentation will run for "a bit over an hour," it promises to show games in development "from top studios" globally between first-party teams and third-party publishers. Given the high-profile nature of PlayStation Showcase compared to February's State of Play presentation, which mostly offered indie reveals for PSVR 2, big names seem likely.
It's left many speculating about what we'll see and while we don't know what deals Sony might've made with developers for games that might be a couple years out, here are five PSVR 2 predictions for the PlayStation Showcase:
Firewall Ultra
First Contact Entertainment's upcoming sequel to Firewall Zero Hour remains the only publicly confirmed Sony published PSVR 2 game in development. A 4v4 tactical shooter, Firewall Ultra is scheduled to launch later this year, so a new trailer and/or release date confirmation seems like a safe bet for PlayStation Showcase.
Resident Evil 4 Remake VR Mode
Following a successful PSVR 2 port for Resident Evil Village, Capcom previously announced "supported content" is coming for Resident Evil 4 Remake. Before the flatscreen version's launch last March, Capcom reaffirmed that a VR Mode is in development and it's unclear what this PSVR 2 content will look like. PlayStation Showcase feels like as good a place as any to reveal more.
Beat Saber
It's been a while since we've heard anything about Beat Saber on PSVR 2. Jim Ryan revealed the news during CES 2023 and practically nothing else, saying they’ll have “more information to share in the near future.” Even now, Beat Saber tops the PlayStation Store charts for the original PSVR, so we're hopeful to learn something more today.
Half-Life: Alyx
We've all been waiting for this one and, ultimately, we have no idea whether this is actually going to happen. Still, there's no better way to persuade those on the fence about getting PSVR 2 than a port of Valve’s stunning return to its flagship franchise. Released in 2020, Half-Life Alyx remains one of VR's greatest games and in 2019, Greg Coomer told Push Square, “We believe Sony’s VR platform has been a huge success for the medium, and we assume that lots of Sony customers would love to experience this new chapter of Half-Life.” Now that PSVR 2's here, it could finally be time.
New Astro Bot
Sony hasn't announced any upcoming first-party PSVR 2 games yet, but Astro Bot could fit the bill perfectly. Astro Bot Rescue Mission on PSVR remains one of the best PSVR games, followed up with the flatscreen Astro's Playroom as a pack-in PS5 launch game. Two and a half years later, we haven't heard what Team Asobi plans next, so we're hopeful Astro's next adventure takes him back to VR.
Next month's Future Games Show includes a VR spotlight segment, promising new trailers for PSVR 2 and Quest 2 games.
Airing on June 10 at 10am PT, the Future Games Show Summer Showcase mainly prioritizes flatscreen gaming and the next presentation promises "over 40 new trailers." For the Summer Showcase, that includes a 'VR Spotlight' (separate to VR Game Spotlight) with "world premieres and new videos" for upcoming PSVR 2 and Meta Quest 2 games, seemingly including C-Smash VRS, as hinted at in the tweet below.
The FGS Summer Showcase will feature our second VR spotlight of 2023 - a mix of world premieres and new videos for PS VR2, Meta Quest 2 and more
Here's an interesting use of VR from @Csmashvrs, as pro tennis players take physical skills into the pulsing, musical, virtual arena https://t.co/SbE2dMYFOb
UploadVR will attend the Apple WWDC23 keynote, where an Apple AR/VR headset will reportedly be unveiled.
Rumored to have been in development for many years, numerous reports suggest the VR and AR capable Apple headset, believed to be branded Apple Reality Pro, will be publicly announced during WWDC23. Running for five days, Apple's annual conference starts with a keynote address on June 5 at 10am PT.
UploadVR's Ian Hamilton has been invited to attend the keynote in person. Draw from that what conclusions you may.
A drawing by The Information of a 2021 prototype of Apple's headset
When Apple announced its latest annual conference back in March, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple planned to unveil the headset at WWDC23, and his recent reporting sticks by these claims. This was further reinforced by supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who stated last week it's "highly likely" the headset will be revealed at WWDC23.
There's been increasing talk about what Apple's headset can offer too, and last weekend's Bloomberg report from Gurman discussed the execs behind the software, hardware, content and marketing. The report claims Apple executive Phil Schiller pushed for Apple's headset to have a "strong gaming component," which alleged that gaming wasn't a focus until recently.
Building on these expectations is Oculus founder Palmer Luckey, who recently claimed that he's seen an early version of the Apple headset. "I have not seen the final headset, but I have seen an earlier version of the headset and it is excellent. It is gonna be a huge deal," he claimed in a recent Twitter Spaces interview, speaking with Peter Diamandis, Executive Chairman of non-profit organization XPRIZE.
Bigscreen Beyond can now be preordered via financing instead of the outright $1000 payment.
The financing is provided by Affirm, with 6 month, 18 month, or 36 month periods available. Bigscreen says rates between 0% and 35% APR are available, depending on your credit score, and a downpayment "may be required". At a typical 10% APR that comes to $32.23/month for three years.
Preorders have also been expanded to more European countries: Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Poland, Czechia, and Romania. Availability in South Korea is planned later this year.
Beyond was announced in February. It's an ultra-compact ultra-light SteamVR headset designed to enable truly comfortable long duration PC-based VR sessions. The key drivers of its tiny size and light weight are the use of OLED microdisplays and the fact that each unit is custom-fitted for the buyer's eyes, based on an iPhone face scan they provide upon ordering.
Beyond is priced at $1000 but doesn't come with positional tracking or controllers out of the box. It uses the SteamVR tracking system, so you'll need at least one base station - ideally two - alongside your own input devices such as Valve Index controllers.
UploadVR's Ian Hamilton tried out a Beyond prototype in April, writing that it was "such a striking difference to feel so little weight on your face while still feeling entirely transported to a virtual environment".
Bigscreen says it has now shipped out over 100 pre-production units to testers, with 70% of them using Beyond for more than 2 hours per day.
The company is implementing feedback from testers into the final product, including changes to the optics to achieve a wider field of view and the inclusion of an "optional" top strap to improve comfort.
Bigscreen claims it's still on track to start shipping Beyond in Q3 this year in the US, and Q4 worldwide. We plan to review the finished product when it's available to give you our thoughts & analysis.
Four years ago this week, Oculus Quest started shipping and changed VR forever.
Before Quest, the only way to get a consumer VR setup with positional tracking and tracked controllers was through a gaming PC or PlayStation 4. And unless you strapped a $300 wireless adapter to the crown of your head after mounting its transmitter and two base stations on your wall - your connection to that PC or PS4 was a thick & heavy tether.
For the majority of people, who owned neither a gaming PC nor a PS4 and simply didn't want one, the only real option for VR was the Oculus Go, which lacked positional tracking. If you actually moved your head positionally, the entire virtual world appeared to move with your head, rather than your head moving through it. And its basic laser pointer remote only let you select menu items, not directly interact with virtual objects. These limitations meant Oculus Go received almost none of the VR content people actually wanted, like Beat Saber. For almost everyone, good VR was simply out of reach.
It's easy to forget just how negative the sentiment toward Quest was from much of the VR industry from the moment it was announced. Many saw it as nothing more than a "souped-up Oculus Go". Most thought it might support simple games like Job Simulator and Superhot, while very few expected it would one day get full-fledged titles like The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, Onward, and Zenith: The Last City.
But the necessary magic of VR was never in the graphical fidelity anyways. No one starts to play Beat Saber and complains it doesn't look like Cyberpunk 2077, or that Superhot VR doesn't look like Mirror's Edge. High fidelity VR has a place in the market, and can certainly be breathtaking, but it isn't what makes VR unique and interesting to most people. That crown goes to the new level of interactivity provided by being able to directly use your hands, and the novel gameplay these interactions open up.
Quest was the perfect device for this, bridging the room-scale tracking and tracked controllers of PC VR with the standalone wireless nature of Oculus Go. What it really offered was PC VR on a diet, not just Go on steroids.
Mark Zuckerberg announces Oculus Quest, September 2018
The market response to Oculus Quest was instantly clear. For much of 2019 and 2020 Oculus Quest regularly sold out, with Facebook claiming it was "selling them as fast as we can make them".
Quest was a flawed device though of course. It launched with a two year old chipset, the reason it's now already being deprecated. And its fabric wrapping, intricate lens separation mechanism, and OLED panels made it much more difficult to manufacture than Go. Within 18 months Facebook replaced it with the cheaper and much faster Quest 2, which became arguably the first mainstream VR headset. But the original Quest set the stage for this to happen.
And in another way, Quest also set the stage for the next era of headsets just starting to arrive today - somewhat accidentally.
Like its successor, the original Quest uses cameras on the front to track its position in your play space and the infrared LEDs on the controllers. These cameras were not designed to actually be viewed though. At launch you could only see through them to set up your Guardian boundary, because the scale and depth of the image didn't match reality.
Less than 6 months later however, the headset received an update that did indeed reconstruct a depth-correct real world view at correct scale, with Facebook citing “advancements in high-performance image processing and 3D computation” to explain how it became possible. Soon after, you could even use this instead of a fully virtual environment.
This technique underlies all opaque mixed reality headsets, multiple of which are expected to launch in the coming months. And while Quest was not the first headset to achieve this, it was the first to actually ship it in a standalone mass produced consumer device.
Applying computer vision techniques to those cameras also enabled controller-free hand tracking to arrive in a software update, the input modality most people will probably use to interact with VR in the long run. While again Quest wasn't the first VR device to have this technology, it was, again, the first to actually ship it in a mass produced device.
Oculus Quest redefined what VR could be, opened it up to more people than ever before, and even proved out the technique underlying mixed reality.
No one knows what the VR and AR market will look like four years from now. But I strongly suspect Oculus Quest will be seen as the starting point, with everything before seen as simply a prelude to the main event.
Two years after appearing on PC VR, Divergent Realities confirms Cards & Tankards arrives on Quest later this week.
Arriving on May 25, Cards & Tankards is a free-to-play social collectible card game set in a fantasy tavern. Offering over 160 cards between 4 "mechanically unique factions," placing cards on the tavern table turns them into mini-figures as you battle other people or AI opponents. Featuring customizable decks, progression rewards and avatar outfits, crossplay between Quest and PC VR is also supported.
Here's the official description, courtesy of Divergent Realities:
With Cards & Tankards, you can experience a whole new level of social gaming in the world of strategy and adventure. Customize your character, build your deck, and enjoy endless hours of fun with your friends. Cards & Tankards is a game designed to unite people, whether for a friendly competition or just hanging out with friends.
Squido Studio announced its first-person platformer No More Rainbows is coming to Quest 2 and PC VR headsets next month, offering up a VR take on classic platforming action.
Update (May 22nd, 2023): Squido announced that No More Rainbows is heading to Meta Quest 2 and SteamVR headsets on June 1st. The original article follows below:
Original Article (April 26th, 2023): 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.
Atari announced a June 15 release date for Pixel Ripped 1978, developed by Brazilian studio ARVORE.
This entry follows in the footsteps of the series' previous entries, 1989, 1995 and the On The Road spin-off, but is the first to feature a partnership with Atari. This will push the setting deeper into nostalgia-laden gameplay, featuring gameplay inspired by some classic Atari titles such as Yars' Revenge and Crystal Castles shown in a whole new light.
Pixel Ripped 1978 will also feature an "authentic recreation of the fabled Sunnyvale Atari studio" with "dozens of multi-layered Atari easter eggs."
Here's ARVORE and Atari's summary of what to expect from the game when it arrives this summer:
Developed by award-winning VR studio ARVORE, Pixel Ripped 1978 is set in an alternate universe 1970s where the video game revolution was about to erupt, and Atari was front and center! The game’s protagonist, Bug, is an early Atari game designer and programmer who has a unique ability to travel into the games she’s making to work out bugs and glitches from the inside. A cool job at Atari quickly goes haywire when the game she’s working on, Pixel Ripped, gets hacked, turning classic Atari characters into ghastly foes. Bug joins forces with her own superhero creation, Dot, to fight evil from the inside and finally launch the game!
Last week, a developer video from ARVORE gave us a recap of the studio's journey with Pixel Ripped so far, starting from lone developer Ana Ribeiro as the effort grew to 20 people working on the title as part of the studio's multi-game production schedule.
Pixel Ripped 1978 launches June 15 for Quest 2, PSVR 2 and SteamVR for PC. Be sure to tune in to UploadVR's Showcase on June 14 as ARVORE is planning to reveal a video for its latest release!
A report from the Financial Times maintains Meta is currently in talks with AR headset creator Magic Leap to strike a multiyear deal, which could include intellectual property licensing and contract manufacturing of AR headsets in North America.
The AR unicorn is said to possess valuable IP regarding custom components, including its optics, waveguides, and software.
It’s said a potential deal may also allow Meta to lessen its reliance on China for component manufacturing. In 2019, Magic Leap partnered with manufacturing solutions company Jabil to create a Guadalajara, Mexico plant which the report maintains can assemble headsets in “the tens of thousands a year.”
Magic Leap 2 | Photo by Road to VR
Citing people with knowledge of the talks, the report maintains however a specific joint Meta-Magic Leap headset isn’t expected.
While both companies didn’t comment on a potential partnership, Magic Leap said this to the Financial Times:
“Given the complexities of developing true augmented reality technologies and the intricacies involved with manufacturing these optics, as well as the issues many companies experience with overseas supply chain dependencies, we have entered into several non-exclusive IP licensing and manufacturing partnerships with companies looking to enter the AR market or expand their current position.”
Since it exited stealth in 2014, Magic Leap has released two AR headsets, Magic Leap 1 and Magic Leap 2, which have been compared in functionality to Microsoft’s HoloLens AR headsets.
The company has raised over $4 billion, with minority investors including Google, Alibaba, Qualcomm, AT&T, and Axel Springer. Its majority stakeholder is Saudi Arabia’s state-owned sovereign wealth fund.
In addition to Quest Pro mixed reality headset, Meta has confirmed it’s currently working on its next iteration of Quest, likely Quest 3, as well as its own AR glasses. Meta started real-world testing of Project Aria in 2020, a platform for training its AR perception systems and asses public perception of the technology.
