Meta’s ‘End of Summer’ sale is in full swing, offering 30 percent off tons of Quest apps and games.
From now until September 3rd, you can use the discount code SEP30 at checkout to get 30% off over 200 titles.
Meta has published a handy list of participating games, but we rounded up some top picks you might consider, with the discounted price in bold and regular price in parentheses:
If you didn’t see your wishlisted game on that list above, make sure to check out the full list, scroll to the bottom of the page and ‘Ctrl + F’ and insert what you’re looking to see if your can nab that 30 percent off—just insert the discount code SEP30 and you’re all set.
And if you’re looking to save even more (like 100 percent more), don’t forget to check out all of the best free games and apps on Quest too, many of which we would have gladly paid for.
Ramen VR, the studio behind Zenith: The Last City, announced last month it would cease development on the VR MMORPG, citing a struggle to retain players. Now the game has received its final content update along with a bittersweet farewell to new players: a lower price.
Update (August 29th, 2024): Ramen VR has pushed its final content drop to Zenith. Detailed in a blog post, the last content update Season 4: Golden Isles has been the result of player requests sourced from community members in the Zenith Discord and customer feedback portal Feedbear.
The last season brings a smattering of new content to the free-to-play section Infinite Realms, as well as bug fixes for the top issues across both Infinite Realms and Zenith: The Last City paid DLC. Some of this includes new layouts in Infinite Realms, and new cosmetics, return of original Fast Fly, and a doubling of the limit for daily raids in The Last City.
As a farewell, Zenith: The Last City paid DLC has now dropped from its regular price of $30 to $10, available across all major VR headsets.
“We’re grateful to all the Zenitheans who have been here since the beginning, as well as anyone who chooses to pick up the game in the future. Your passion is what brings Zenith to life, and we hope you continue to make new friends and cherished memories in Zenith for the foreseeable future,” the team says,
The game will also host “nostalgic community events” following the release of Season 4, which will take place September 6th-8th. The original article detailing the development shutdown follows below:
Original Article (July 15th, 2024): The studio announced the news in a video, linked below, which describes some of the reasons behind the decision:
“Zenith has struggled with retaining players since very early on. Even though we’ve had hundreds of thousands of players, the vast majority of them stopped playing Zenith after about a month,” the company says in an FAQ.
Initially the result of a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2019, the Steam Early Access title went on to secure $10 million Series A funding round, later landing a $35 million Series B in March 2022. Just two months before securing its Series B, the studio released Zenith on PSVR and Quest 2, putting it in the best possible position to capitalize on its ability to play cross-platform.
In early 2024, Ramen VR revealed Zenith was running at a loss on a month-to-month basis “for the better part of a year,” which prompted the studio to release Infinite Realms, a free-to-play model, in hopes of attracting paid users.
“Despite our best efforts over the 5.5 years of development (and well before Infinite Realms launched), we weren’t able to improve retaining players. Zenith started losing money and it isn’t feasible to continue running it at a loss,” the FAQ continues.
While the studio is shutting down development, it’s not killing off the game entirely. Shards for both its paid Zenith: The Last City game and free-to-play Zenith: Infinite Realms version will be running “for the foreseeable future,” Ramen VR says. “The community will be the first to know far in advance if that changes.”
The competitive landscape has undoubtedly changed with the entrance of Apple Vision Pro earlier this year, raising questions where Meta is headed next with its XR efforts. A recent report from The Information maintains the company is now considering a device resembling “a bulky pair of [mixed reality] glasses,” codenamed ‘Puffin’.
Citing two Meta employees, the report maintains the headset currently under consideration is a slim and light mixed reality device that would serve as an alternative to larger headsets, such as the current Quest line, which thus far has “limited consumer appeal,” The Information reports.
While still in early stages, Puffin could release as soon as 2027, the report maintains, noting that it won’t be an augmented reality headset, but rather use pancake lenses, which are used in conjunction with VR displays.
Notably, such form factor would suggest the inclusion of micro displays similar to those seen in Bigscreen Beyond, the slim PC VR headset from the studio behind Bigscreen Beta.
Image courtesy John Carmack
Seemingly taking a page out of Apple’s playbook with Vision Pro, it’s said the headset will also omit Touch controllers, as it would primarily rely on hand and eye-tracking for input.
Additionally, it’s reported Puffin would offload weight from the user’s head with the use of “External Processing Puck and Battery.”
This follows a report last year the rebuked rumors that Quest Pro 2, which would be positioned to compete with Vision Pro, wasn’t actually cancelled. At the time, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth said “don’t believe everything you read.”
However, just a few days ago, a fresh report from The Information claimed the supposed Quest Pro 2 had indeed been cancelled by Meta, specified in the report as being codenamed ‘La Jolla’.
While we’re hoping to learn more about Puffin at Meta Connect in late September, it’s more likely the event will focus on revealing Quest 3S, which is rumored to be the company’s next affordable headset, ostensibly supplanting Quest 2.
NFL PRO ERA, the NFL football VR game series, is relaunching as a live service game later this year, giving previous owners of both NFL PRO ERA (2022) and NFL PRO ERA II (2023) the new version of the game.
Slated to release sometime this Fall, the new base game is set to include free play, full season mode, exhibition mode, updated rosters, and uniforms.
Players who owned previous versions get the new base game for free, developer StatusPro says in a Meta blog post, which will include the option to purchase the planned 2025 Edition Upgrade at a discounted price, which includes additional content.
The paid 2025 Edition is also tacking on some new abilities, like the ability to play on defense as a linebacker, taking the game beyond its previous quarterback-only gameplay, as well as online multiplayer.
Image courtesy StatusPro
The linebacker position will first be introduced in single player simulation mode at launch, however in an update later this year the game will include full head-to-head multiplayer, including defensive play.
According to Variety, additional content packs will be priced at $5, made available throughout the season.
NFL PRO ERA is also set to feature a new Social Sports Complex hub where players can interact and do challenges, not to mention “smarter” AI, the studio says.
Both the original 2022 version of NFL PRO ERA and the 2023 NFL PRO ERA II are available across Quest, SteamVR headsets, PSVR 2, and Pico headsets. The studio hasn’t confirmed whether the new 2025 edition is coming to all of those headsets this Fall, confirming only Quest support thus far.
The pivot to the live service model follows a recent investment led by Google Ventures earlier this year, which included $20 million in Series A funding which the company said would help them expand its growing catalog of sports-focused VR titles.
Quest has been an increasingly popular choice for Steam users since the release of the original in 2019, now accounting for over half of all connected VR headsets. Now Valve’s latest 2.8.3 SteamVR update includes a few new features that’s making Quest a better PC VR headset than ever.
Released in late 2023, Steam Link allows users to easily connect their Quest wirelessly to SteamVR to play PC VR or flatscreen PC games, essentially letting you bypass Meta’s own Air Link.
Now, the Steam Link for Meta Quest Beta update (2.0.11.1197) introduces a few new features for the Steam Link for Quest, allowing hand-tracking passthrough and some limited hand-tracking functionality too.
Granted, Valve says it’s not the “full hand-tracking” support you’d expect on native Quest applications, but it’s at least letting users experiment. The update allows users to create custom input bindings via its Binding UI in Controller Settings, so you can tool around making your own control scheme based on hand gestures.
Additionally, Steam Link 2D streaming has been re-enabled in the Steam Link app for Quest, which you can nab for free over on the Horizon Store. You’ll need to opt-in to the SteamVR Beta first to play PC VR games via Steam Link, but it’s a super simple process.
Don’t confuse the constant stream of useful updates to Steam Link as a favor to Meta though. While the cheap and plentiful Quest 2 now accounts for nearly 40% of VR headsets connected to Steam alone, no doubt keeping Quest users happy, Valve is rumored to be full steam ahead on releasing its own standalone headset, codenamed ‘Deckard’, which ought to benefit from all of the quality of life stuff we’re seeing come to Quest via Steam Link today.
Next year VR will get its first big Batman VR game, exclusively on Quest 3. We went hands-on with the game and found out what it’s like to be the brawler behind the mask.
The Arkham series is well known for its “freeflow combat,” where you’re able to freely attack in any direction at any time. You manage violence in these games like an orchestra conductor, where you’re always in control.
The first big hurdle for adapting Arkham into VR, as an exclusive for the Meta Quest 3, was how to handle freeflow combat. The developer Camouflaj’s answer was to turn the game into a boxing simulator.
I’m only about half kidding. When you enter combat in Arkham Shadow, you open by throwing a punch, which makes Batman lunge at your targeted opponent. From there, you can punish them with a flurry of lefts and rights.
If one of your opponent’s buddies goes for a sucker punch, you’re warned by a blue icon that shows up directly in your field of vision. When you swing your arm in the indicated direction, Batman instantly abandons his current target in favor of countering the incoming punch. You’re never off-guard and, just like the rest of the Arkham series, you’re always in control.
However, you’re also always shadowboxing. And I felt the results in my back muscles for the rest of the week. I might grab a couple of light wrist weights before I pick up the full version, so I can pretend to be Batman and get a work out at the same time.
I played a short demo of Arkham Shadow at Meta’s offices in Bellevue, Washington, a week in advance of the game’s first gameplay reveal.
Arkham Shadow is a canon entry in the Arkham series timeline, set a few months after the events of 2013’s Arkham Origins. At this point in the series, Batman (Roger Craig Smith) is still relatively new to fighting crime, without the network of allies, equipment, and hidden lairs that he’ll eventually develop.
As the game opens, Batman’s only ally is his butler Alfred, who serves as his mission control for an investigation that’s taken Batman into Gotham’s sewer system. The Rat King has organized dozens of Gotham’s dispossessed citizens into an anarchist movement, which has recently kidnapped several policemen.
The demo I played is primarily about rescuing those policemen, then returning to the surface, in a short sequence that also serves as Arkham Shadow’s tutorial level.
Batman’s basic equipment in Arkham Shadow includes Batarangs, which you can retrieve by grabbing them off of your chest. These automatically return to Batman’s hand once thrown and are primarily used to target distant switches or destructible objects. If you toss one at an enemy, it’s good for a short stun, which can be useful in a pinch.
Batman is also equipped with his grapple gun so you can zip to distant ledges. And there’s the “detective vision” that’s built into his mask. This is activated in Arkham Shadow by bringing your right hand to your head and pushing the trigger button on the controller. In detective vision, interactive objects in your environment are highlighted, you can see opponents’ alarm levels and equipment, and you can track electronics by their power conduits.
The detective vision also lets you see hostile opponents through walls, which gives you a necessary edge. Batman’s armor can’t handle incoming gunfire, so you’re at a distinct disadvantage whenever street punks show up with rifles.
At this point, you’re advised to use stealth, confusion, and the environment to your advantage. Batman can travel unseen through vents, land stealthy silent takedowns if he gets the drop of an enemy, or leave opponents dangling from Gotham’s trademark Gothic statuary. If you’re caught off-guard, you can hit B to drop a smoke bomb from Batman’s left gauntlet, which obscures enemies’ vision and stuns them for long enough that you can retreat to the shadows.
As ArkhamShadow plays out, you’ll gradually accumulate more gadgets and tools. The demo ends before what the studio told me was the game’s first big plot twist. Shortly after that point, players are introduced to Arkham Shadow’s hub level.
From here, you’ll be able to take on the game’s antagonists in whatever order you prefer, and will unlock more of Batman’s arsenal along the way, such as a pistol that shoots the trademark Arkham explosive gel. That in turn lets you revisit old locations in search of more bonuses and collectibles, which are hidden throughout the environment. I was able to find a couple of rat statues and propaganda radios made by the Rat King’s followers, which I got to smash against the ground or wall for achievement progress.
The game’s developer, Camouflaj, deliberately dodged the issue of what other antagonists would appear in Arkham Shadow, and are focusing for now on Batman’s fight against the Rat King. The game will also feature appearances by Ratcatcher (Khary Payton), Commissioner James Gordon (Mark Ralston), Harvey Dent (Troy Baker), and Harleen Quinzel (Tara Strong), the latter two of whom have yet to become supervillains at this point in the Arkham timeline.
You’ll also receive backup in ArkhamShadow from a pre-Batgirl Barbara Gordon, who serves as computer support for Batman. Part of the game’s plot reportedly involves Batman having to keep secrets from both Barbara and her father, neither of whom want the other to know that they’re working with Batman.
That all matches with something that’s conveyed very well by the demo: in Arkham Shadow, Gotham is just on the edge. Everything in the city, and about Batman, is about plate-spinning. Everything could fall apart at any time.
That mirrors the combat system; it’s got a certain ragged desperation to it. In the later Arkham games, you’re able to play Batman as a sort of violent chessmaster, where you dance between opponents and beat up six baddies at once. In Arkham Shadow, however, you have to deliver each individual punch and takedown yourself. Not only does that encourage you to do whatever you can to stack the deck in your favor ahead of an open confrontation (like silent takedowns or opening with a Batarang) but it really sells the illusion that you’re in a back-alley fistfight. When I got tired halfway through an encounter, and realized there were still two guys left to fight, there was a distinct moment there that I remembered I wasn’t Batman.
I’d go so far as to say that it’s a more interesting version of Batman to me than the older version from the later Arkham games on the timeline. Developer Camouflaj has taken advantage of Arkham Shadow’s status as an interquel to write Batman as experienced but still quite raw, in a city that barely makes any sense: the sewers are nicer than the city streets, the cops are more dangerous than the crooks, and the most moral person in Gotham is a 20-something vigilante.
I’m genuinely interested in seeing where the Batman superfans at Camouflaj plan to go with this. The overall atmosphere feels very different than the high-concept dystopia of, say, Arkham City. ArkhamShadow is about rolling around in the dirt.
Beyond that, Camouflaj kept much of Batman: Arkham Shadow under wraps. Most of the team was dying to talk more about it as its 75-person team has been living and breathing Batman for the last four years. If there was one impression I had as I walked away from the demo, besides the feeling in my back muscles, it was that Arkham Shadow was a labor of love.
Batman: Arkham Shadow is scheduled for release this October as an exclusive for Quest 3.
There’s no shortage of speculation when it comes to all things Valve. Tyler McVicker, YouTuber and one of the leading voices dedicated to deciphering Valve’s various internal developments, however now reports that not only is the company’s long-awaited standalone VR headset still coming, but it may arrive alongside its own Half-Life game.
Valve’s much hyped standalone, known only as ‘Deckard’, is “still very much in production,” McVicker maintains, saying that according to his sources that Valve “still intend[s] on shipping this piece of hardware.”
Check out his latest latest video, linked below:
While rumors swirl around the next Half-Life game, which may not be a VR-supported title (aka ‘HLX’), McVicker speculates a Half-Life game built specifically to showcase Deckard is likely in the cards, much like how Half-Life: Alyx (2020) showed off the capabilities of Valve Index.
Echoing a previous rumor first reported in 2020, McVicker renews speculation that two Half-Life games could be in development, making for what could be an asymmetric co-op game across PC and Deckard.
The result would be “an asymmetric multiplayer game taking place in the Half-Life universe,” McVicker says, “where one player is in VR and the other on a computer. The computer player would always be Gordon Freeman, while the VR player would be Alyx Vance. The idea was that these two characters would interact, with the VR player experiencing Alyx’s story and the PC player experiencing Gordon’s story, both having cooperative elements between them.”
While that specific claim is still very much a rumor, McVicker does a lot of sleuthing when it comes to code published by Valve across its various first-party titles and services, which can hold some clues as to what’s coming down the pipeline. He admits he’s “nowhere near done” sifting through all code published by Valve in 2024 however, so we may learn more at some point later this year.
The Unity Cube is an objectively terrible game that was built to test the limits of what Quest content Meta would allow into its uncurated App Lab program. The experiment continues to prove its worth; now that Meta has dissolved App Lab, The Unity Cube has moved to the main Quest store and shown that Meta is truly hands-off when it comes to the scope or quality of what can get listed in its VR game store.
For a long time the only official way to distribute an app on Quest was to submit it to Meta for manual review. But Meta would only accept applications which met opaque quality criteria, like how much content the app offered and whether it was appropriately polished. This made it difficult for developers to get smaller or experimental apps in front of the Quest audience, leading to significant developer outcry for a more open process.
That prompted the creation of ‘App Lab’, an alternative distribution approach for Quest which allowed developers to submit applications for distribution without any judgement on quality or scope. But it came with the caveat that App Lab apps wouldn’t be shown in the main Quest store, leaving it up to developers to point their audience to the app’s page.
Behold, The Unity Cube! | Image courtesy Tony Vitillo
As the name implies, the app is simply a blank Unity environment with a grey cube—that you can’t even interact with. Even at the great price of free, this app would have never stood a chance of making it onto the main Quest store. But could it make it onto App Lab?
Indeed, Meta allowed The Unity Cube into App Lab, proving it would let just about anything into the program, as long as technical requirements were met and content guidelines were respected (ie: no adult or illegal content).
It was good news that developers could submit any app to App Lab for distribution on Quest without worrying that Meta would block an app on the grounds that it wasn’t complete or polished enough. But sentiment remained that having this ‘unlisted’ Quest store made it unnecessarily difficult for developers to find customers.
After several years of App Lab, developer pressure finally pushed Meta to dissolve the program, ultimately merging the App Lab store with the main Quest store. This meant anyone could submit an app of any quality to the main Quest store where it would be visible to customers through browsing and searching.
And though it’s still possible for developers to mark their Quest apps as “Early Access”—to tell customers to expect something experimental or incomplete—The Unity Cube’s creator joked that “it’s not even in Early Access because it is perfect as it is!”
The developer of Gorilla Tag, one of VR’s most popular and commercially successful games, has revealed the first clear look at its next game. Previously codenamed ‘Project AR’, the title has been officially dubbed Orion Drift, and aims to take Gorilla Tag’s social structure to the next level.
Another Axion is the indie studio behind Gorilla Tag, the viral VR game that’s taken on a life of its own and earned more than $100 million in revenue—making it one of VR’s most successful titles.
And while most studios would be reluctant to disrupt such a massive success with their own new title, that looks like exactly what Another Axiom is up to with Orion Drift. A newly released teaser shows how it will work.
Orion Drift is built atop Gorilla Tag’s signature arm-based locomotion system, but players will inhabit robot bodies rather than gorillas. But that simple change of avatar is far from the disruptive part. The game is taking Gorilla Tag’s seamless social lobby navigation and ‘playground’ gameplay and turning it up to 11.
Orion Drift is promised to feature space stations upon which up to 200 players can roam simultaneously. The space stations consist of multiple large arena spaces where players can play a wide variety of different games, from something that looks not far from ‘Gorilla Tag’ itself to ‘Tackleball’, which looks a lot like soccer or Rocket Race, but of course using your hands for movement and controlling the ball.
We also get a glimpse of another part of the station which includes something that looks like a golf course and pickleball courts. And still another area hosting an event called ‘Scrap Run’ which looks like an obstacle race.
Although this would already be plenty of space for activities, the cylindrical space station has at least seven additional huge modules that are shown as being ‘under construction’—the implication is that these will all fill out to support more unique activities and game modes.
And it might even be players that build out the rest of the station. Another Axiom previously said about the game that “[…] players can run their own servers, control their own stations, host their own rule sets, moderate and customize the look and feel of activities, posters, game modes and more,” and also mentioned plans for a level editor which would allow players to build their own maps and activities.
And if that wasn’t enough, at the end of the trailer the camera pulls way back and reveals not just the one floating station, but nearly 20 floating through space together.
It’s an ambitious concept that’s clearly inspired by the seamless social structure of Gorilla Tag, where game lobbies are ‘places’ and changing game modes is as natural as walking between rooms.
In Orion Drift, however, the idea isn’t just to wander down the hall into a new room, but traverse a whole space station full of people—and maybe even jump from station to station to find new game modes and people.
For now Another Axiom is calling this first look a “development snapshot” comprised of “early gameplay footage.” There aren’t yet hard plans for a release, but the studio is taking sign-ups for a closed early access period on its official Discord.
Behemoth from Skydance and Alien: Rogue Incursion from Survios are two of the most anticipated VR games coming in 2024, and both are headed for release on Quest, PSVR 2, and PC VR. And now we know when we’ll first be able to get our hands on them.
Behemoth Release Date on Quest
Starting off with Behemoth, the highly anticipated VR title from Skydance Interactive is set to debut on November 14, 2024, on Quest. Although the game is also planned for release on PSVR 2 and PC VR, release dates for those platforms have not yet been confirmed and may come at a later date.
Skydance, the studio behind the critically acclaimed The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, has shown Behemoth to have a dark fantasy setting with intense combat mechanics.
Alien: Rogue Incursion Release Date
Next up is Alien: Rogue Incursion, which is now set to launch on December 19, 2024, simultaneously on PSVR 2, PC VR, and, among Quest headsets, exclusively on Quest 3.
The game is being developed by Survios, a longtime VR studio known for their work on Creed: Rise to Glory and The Walking Dead Onslaught, and a range of other early VR titles.
Alien: Rogue Incursion promises to immerse players in the terrifying world of the Alien franchise, and the recent pre-order and release date trailer shows us a clear look at the game’s shooting gameplay and Xenomorph enemies.
Bonus – Batman: Arkham Shadows Release Window
One more game on our list of the most anticipated VR games of 2024, Batman: Arkham Shadow, doesn’t have an exact release date yet. But this week we got a pretty specific release window: October 2024.
Batman: Arkham Shadow is a Quest 3 headset and platform exclusive, meaning it will only run on Quest 3 or later, and isn’t planned for release on other VR platforms.
First released eight years ago, SUPERHOT VR is not just a notable VR classic—it’s still a great game. Although it never got a sequel, it left enough of a mark for not just one but severalspiritualsuccessors. The upcoming Quest game Action Hero from Fast Travel Games revisits SUPERHOT’s innovative mechanic with a smart premise. But to meet or surpass its predecessor, Action Hero will need to take it to the next level.
If you’ve never played Superhot, it’s built around a core mechanic where time only moves forward when you are physically moving. So if you stay completely still, the game more-or-less freezes. That means if there’s a bullet heading for your face and you freeze in place, the bullet freezes too. That gives you time to observe the situation and make a calculated decision about what to do next. It’s basically ‘bullet time’ from The Matrix, but you’re in control of it.
Action Hero isn’t exactly trying to hide its inspiration… in fact I’d say the unique ‘time moves when you move’ mechanic from Superhot is the really the heart of the game and the main reason to play it. After playing Action Hero for myself I can confirm that dodging a bullet as it wizzes inches from your face—while its path through time is directly related to your movements—is still an incredibly unique and engaging VR experience.
But where SUPERHOT had an intentionally low-poly look and consisted of a setting that was little more than a vague backdrop for the game to exist, Action Hero is built around the idea that you’re an action movie stunt person doing all these crazy moves because you’re being filmed for a movie.
It’s a clever idea. Levels are packaged as ‘movies’ which consist of a series of scenes strung together under one umbrella. For instance, there’s a level that’s roughly in the vain of Indiana Jones, where you’re in an ancient temple-like environment shooting baddies. Each ‘scene’ within the ‘movie’ is a moment of gameplay where you’re tasked with dodging, shooting, etc.
When you complete a scene, you move forward to the next one, and so on, with a logical progression that follows a basic movie narrative (ie: hero enters temple, kills goons, stops bad guys from stealing the important thing, then escapes).
This structure not only increases the cohesion of the scenes, but also allows for a bunch of different settings, enemies, weapons, etc., by letting players jump from one ‘movie’ to another.
The basic ‘time moves when you move’ mechanic is executed well, and generally feels as awesome as it does in Superhot.
But to really deliver something that feels like a next-gen version of Superhot, Action Hero needs to seriously bump up the variety and polish—otherwise, why not just play Superhot instead?
The whole premise of Action Hero is that you’re a stunt person acting out spectacular action scenes in movies. But spectacle is lacking. The game doesn’t feel particularly polished visually or audibly.
Of course this is an unfinished build of the game and hopefully more polish comes later. But if the marketing tells us this game is supposed to be a “blockbuster VR FPS with explosive set pieces and cinematic design,” then those elements should really be in place before showing off the game. With Action Hero planned for launch by the end of this year… there’s only four months, at most, for that to fall into place.
It’s not just visual and audio polish either. SUPERHOT succeeded not just because it had a really cool fundamental mechanic, but also because the level design—the specific scenarios the player has to conquer—were very well crafted. They were challenging and varied throughout.
Action Hero has proven that it can nail the fundamental mechanic, but it’s going to need to tighten up its level design and bring more variety—in weapons, enemies, and scenarios—into the mix if it wants to have a genuine value proposition when put next to Superhot itself.
I, for one, would love to see Fast Travel Games pull this off. Conceptually, Action Hero is genius. It revives a truly unique mechanic and builds it atop a framework that allows for unlimited creativity in what kinds of scenarios the player could be put in—be that contemporary action, horror, sci-fi, western, and a million other possibilities. But when it comes right down to it, quantity isn’t quality. The studio needs to nail the depth of gameplay before it’s worth leveraging the breadth of gameplay.
According to a report by The Verge, both Snapchat and Meta will each reveal new AR glasses for the first time next month. Both companies have been working on such projects for years.
According to The Verge’s Alex Heath, Snapchat parent company Snap Inc. will reveal its fifth generation of ‘Spectacles’ AR glasses on September 17th at the company’s annual Partner Summit conference in Los Angeles. Just a week later, Meta will debut its own pair of AR glasses (codenamed Orion, according to Heath) during its annual Connect conference on September 25th.
Snap’s fourth-generation Spectacles, the first with AR | Image courtesy Snap
Similarly, Meta has been building and improving upon its Ray-Ban Meta smartglasses since the first generation in 2021. A second generation of the device launched late last year, but the company has yet to add a display or sensors for any kind of AR capabilities.
While both companies are racing toward a future where they believe AR glasses will be mainstream, the devices to be shown off next month aren’t yet ready to be productized, Heath writes. At best they’ll be released to developers for experimentation before some future version of the products reach consumers.
According to Heath, Snap’s latest pair of AR glasses will be pretty similar to the previous generation, but with an improved field-of-view and battery life. That would surely be welcome considering the first pair had a mere 26.3° diagonal field-of-view (not even half of what you’d find on a modern MR headset) and a 30 minute battery life (also not half of what you’d find on a modern MR headset!).
As for Meta’s first true AR glasses, we’ve heard the company tease that “nothing prepares you for the high field-of-view immersion,” but it’s still unclear if the field-of-view will be large in comparison to other AR glasses, or actually approach the current bar set by VR headsets. It’s also unclear if Meta’s AR glasses will be presented as another partnership with Ray-Ban, or if it the device will use Meta-owned branding, similar to Quest.
While both companies ultimately aim to create AR headsets that match the incredibly immersive capabilities we see in MR devices like Vision Pro and Quest 3, fitting those capabilities into something that’s even close to a pair of glasses remains a huge challenge.
Magic Leap 2 | Image courtesy Magic Leap
Best-in-class devices like Magic Leap 2 are still more like bulky goggles than glasses, and that’s even with much of the compute and battery being offloaded into a ‘puck’ that goes into the pocket.
Check out Alex Heath’s report for more background and insight on Snap and Meta’s plans to reveal new AR glasses next month.
Now Byte Dance’s XR subsidiary Pico Interactive has finally announced Pico Ultra 4, the promised ‘next-gen’ platform refresh of its Pico 4 headset, replete with color passthrough cameras and depth sensors for mixed and virtual reality, and a second gen version of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2 chip—notably the same chipset used in Meta Quest 3.
Battery: 5,700 mAh rated capacity, 5774 mAh typical capacity
Charging: supports QC 4.0 / PD 3.0, 45W fast charger
Pico 4 Ultra is now available for pre-order in China, priced at 4,300 RMB (~$600 USD), with shipping slated to begin September 2nd.
It’s uncertain whether Pico will bring Ultra 4 to additional countries, however it has been certified in South Korea, UploadVR notes. Pico currently sells its original 2022-era Pico 4 in many countries in East Asia as well as Europe, however not in the United States.
We’ll be keeping an eye on Pico’s global site in the coming days for greater indication of launch regions.
In development by Meta first-party studio Camouflaj, Batman: Arkham Shadow is one of the most highly anticipated VR games of 2024, and one the first title from the company to be Quest 3 exclusive. A new trailer for the game gives us quite a bit: the first look at real gameplay, what we can expect from Quest 3 graphics, and a Fall release window.
Batman fans with a Quest 3 will be happy to see a newly revealed “October 2024” release date for Arkham Shadow, which means we’ll be able to play the game in less than two and a half months.
The trailer also gives us a first look at real gameplay, which certainly looks on-brand both mechanically and thematically compared to the other Batman Arkham games.
We can see Batman’s grappling launcher cleverly used as a vehicle for both distant interactions with enemies (pulling them closer for a smackdown) and locomotion. We also see lots of classic Arkham gameplay tropes like gliding, stealth, combat dodging, and ‘detective vision’.
Image courtesy Camouflaj
The trailer’s fine print specifies “Captured in-engine. Actual gameplay may vary.” This likely means the footage was actually captured from a PC development build. However, given that we know this game is exclusive to Quest 3 and is very unlikely to launch on PC, it’s fair to assume the trailer represents the graphical bar the studio is aiming for when running on Quest 3.
Image courtesy Camouflaj
Assuming that’s the case, the game is visually looking very impressive compared to the average Quest title, and will hopefully be a great showcase of what Quest 3 is capable of when pushed to its limits.
If you’re looking for some fun on Quest this Summer, there’s a lot happening. In this roundup we’ve got a look at new Quest game launches, upcoming titles, and big updates.
XR News Bits
An incredible amount of exciting XR news comes our way every day. Very often we see news come across our desk that’s worth highlighting, but we don’t always have the bandwidth for a full article on every one of them. XR News Bits is our occasional roundup of stories we think are worth a shout-out, even if we can’t take you in-depth.
Launch: Gravity League – A Sparc-inspired 1v1 VR Sport
Originally released in 2017, Sparc was a VR cult classic, but unfortunately didn’t live long enough to make it to the Quest era where it would have shone.
Luckily Gravity League is here with similarly inspired gameplay that plays like a cross between 3D Pong and some futuristic sport.
In a world where gravity is no longer a limitation, the Gravity League has become the ultimate test of skill and endurance for athletes from all corners of the galaxy.
The rules are simple: 2 players, 1 ball, zero gravity – the first player to 11 goals wins.
Compete online with opponents from across the galaxy
Play with your friends and compete in custom private matches
Explore all our wacky party modes
Make your way to the top in the epic Solo Campaign mode
Customize your gear with gloves in all shapes and sizes
Mix and match gloves to find the best playstyle for you
Unlock unique new athletes, balls, gloves, and stadiums
Team up with your friends for a 2v2 action
So strap on your Gravity Gloves and get ready to take on the competition!
Launch: Zero Caliber 2 – Campaign Shooter Action with 4-player Co-op and 10-player Multiplayer
Looking to sink your teeth into a new VR shooter? Zero Caliber 2 is the next big shooter from XREAL Games. We love to see that its purported eight hours worth of campaign can be played with up to four players total in co-op. A perfect way to ‘git gud’ with your squad before diving into competitive multiplayer.
Zero Caliber 2 is THE ultimate VR shooter package:
8+ hoursingle player campaignfully playable inCo-op(up to 4 players)
Classic multiplayer game modes with up to 10 players
Native mod support with modding tools – visit our Discord for more info (discord.gg/xrealgames)
More than 60 unlockable weapons, skins, and attachments
Gripping story full of cinematic action = immersion you haven’t experienced in a VR shooter yet!
The Story
In a world where water is scarce, a ruthless dictator, Barak, and his fanatic followers threaten the fragile peace of the OSA. Their brutal invasion aims to control the vital WELL water supplies, putting millions at risk.
As askilled operative, your task is to navigate a war-torn landscape and undertake high-stakes missions to reclaim the stolen WELL supplies.Fightthrough cities and remote villages, face ruthless enemies, and uncover a web of betrayal and chaos.The fate of the OSA is in your hands– fight to end Barak’s reign of terror and secure humanity’s future!
News: Township Tale Developer Shares Updates on New Game, ‘Project 2’
We first reported on the unnamed ‘Project 2’, the next title from Alta Studio, back in April. Alta Studio is the developer of Township Tale, a very unique social VR game that’s available on Quest and PC VR.
The studio has been sharing occasional developer updates showing a transparent look at the creation of ‘Project 2’, a multiplayer dungeon crawler extraction game.
The latest updates, #11 and #12, show progress on enemy behaviors, sounds, and visuals. They also look at the current gameplay loop which involves players finding markers on the map which steadily point them toward a boss. Once the boss is slain it will drop a key which players can take to a certain location to open a portal and extract with their loot.
The updates also show the game will feature a branching skill tree which allows players to specialize into different classes with different skills. All players start as a ‘recruit’ but will become more diverse over time as they choose a direction in the skill tree.
Discount: Dungeons of Eternity is 50% Off on Quest
While we’re on the topic of dungeon crawlers, co-op dungeon crawler Dungeons of Eternity is celebrating the approach of its one-year release anniversary with a massive 50% discount on Quest until August 25th.
Dungeons of Eternity launched last October and has had a great reception from users, holding down a 4.7 out of 5 score across 3,100 reviews—making it one of Quest’s best-rated games. The game has seen several updates since launch, adding new weapons, environments, and more. It supports co-op play for up to three players.
Upcoming Update: Underdogs ‘Sandboxxer’ Update
VR mech brawler Underdogs is getting a big update on August 29th. The ‘Sandboxxer’ update will add sandbox tools so players can set up their own challenging battles. There will also be leaderboards to fight over, challenges to conquer, and a practice gym to experiment and train.
Underdogs launched in early 2024 and employs a unique locomotion and combat system that puts players in direct control of a mech with fun smash-and-crash gameplay. The game is exceptionally well rated by players on both available platforms, Quest and Steam.
IO Interactive and UK-based studio XR Games announced back in June that a new version of stealth-action game Hitman 3 was coming to Meta Quest 3. Now the studios have shown off a deeper look at gameplay.
Revealed during the VR Games Showcase today, Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded promises to be “[r]ebuilt from the ground up for VR,” coming exclusively to Quest 3 this summer.
Previously, Hitman 3 launched with VR support on the original PSVR in 2021, and later came to PC VR headsets with the Windows release a few months later—making Hitman 3 available on the Quest platform for the first time.
Notably, the Quest 3 version is said to include a completely overhauled user interface and “enhanced movement mechanics” beyond PSVR and PC VR versions.
While we’re still waiting on a definite release date beyond its summer 2024 launch window, you can wishlist the game on the Horizon Store for Quest 3 here.
