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Tuesday, 3 June 2025

32 New VR Game Demos Coming to Steam Next Fest – See Them All Here

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Steam Next Fest is nearly upon us once again, giving PC VR players a chance to try out a rash of upcoming SteamVR titles for a limited time.

Valve has confirmed a mega list of games coming to this year’s Steam Next Fest, which includes free demos running from June 9th – 16th. That list will go public soon, which you can find here next week.

While Valve gave us a heads up, we’ve been warned the list may change all the way up until Next Fest’s kick off on June 9th.

For now though, we’ve rounded up 32 demos confirmed to arrive next week. While a majority of demos listed below are not live yet, you can follow the links below to bookmark, see the trailer, and learn more about each game.

Marksman VR

Developer: Crimson Gate

Description: Take on the role of an elite sniper in MARKSMAN VR, a thrilling VR shooter. Master stealth missions, race against time in intense battles, and test your precision with realistic aiming mechanics. Every shot matters in this immersive sniping experience.

Marksman VR on Steam

Elemental Towers

Developer: Varvision Games

Description: A dynamic adventure in a world of magic, blending puzzle elements with arcade. Rebuild magical towers while defending against dragons and mastering ancient elemental runes.

Elemental Towers on Steam

Ghost Town

Developer: Fireproof Games

Description: Ghost Town is a single player VR puzzle-adventure from the makers of The Room. London, 1983. Edith Penrose is a ghost hunter, busy exorcising her way through the city’s restless spirits. But after her brother goes missing Edith must draw upon her wits & supernatural talents to unravel the mystery.

Ghost Town on Steam

CoopScoop

Developer: Kylian Dekker

Description: CoopScoop is a fast-paced VR arcade game where you run a chicken farm during an outbreak! Wash dirty chickens, cure the sick, and quarantine the green ones. Keep your flock alive and happy for as long as possible, because that’s how we do it chicken-farmer-style!

CoopScoop on Steam

Of Lies and Rain

Developer: Castello Inc.

Description: Of Lies and Rain is a story-driven first person shooter built exclusively for VR. Set in a dark, sci-fi, post-apocalyptic world, at the edge of the real and digital realm. You’ll fight to reclaim your past and save humanity from the brink of extinction.

Of Lies and Rain on Steam

Retronika

Developer: 4Players-Studio

Description: Hop on your hoverbike and dive into Retronika, an immersive VR adventure! Fight challenging enemies, master 3D movement and shooting, and navigate vibrant cityscapes. Upgrade your bike, combine weapons, and tackle chaotic missions in this action-packed, story-driven single-player experience!

Retronika on Steam

LabyrAInth

Developer: Pietro Dondi, Giorgio Morico, Marta Silla, Giulio Posati, Diego Argiolas, Claudio Vona, Lorenzo Passaretti, Davide Molitierno, Matteo Petruzziello, Andrea Iskander, Reiner Romeo

Description: LABYRAINTH is a sci-fi fps game set in an alien world made of labyrinths. Avoid traps, shoot aliens, collect resources, upgrade weapons, activate powers, and most importantly escape the labyrinth, racing against time.

LABYRAINTH on Steam

Rager

Developer: Insane Prey

Description: Hand-picked by Meta for the Oculus Ignition Program, RAGER is the music-action brawler that throws you into epic battles where you fight like a superhero. Set in a dark, digital realm, where each world emerges from the void to test your skill and dissolves once the battle is won.

Rager on Steam

Wanderer: The Fragments of Fate

Developer: Mighty Eyes

Description: Step into the unknown and embark on an epic, time travel adventure, completely re-imagined. Introducing Wanderer: The Fragments of Fate, a remake of the critically acclaimed VR adventure game – Wanderer. There’s no telling where you’ll go and who you’ll become as you unravel the mysteries of time.

Wanderer: The Fragments of Fate on Steam

Bow Course

Developer: Korpi Games Oy

Description: Nock your arrow and challenge your friends in archery golf! Master realistic arrow physics and challenge your friends for a round in beautiful and challenging 9 target courses. Gain a competitive edge with skillful usage of different arrows, avoid obstacles and utilize shortcuts.

Bow Course on Steam

Boom Boom Hamster Doom

Developer: Holonautic

Description: Strategically maneuver your Combat Hamsters armed with an arsenal of powerful weapons across procedurally generated, fully destructible terrain. Dodge deadly mines, trigger explosive barrels to outsmart your foes, and fight to be the last Coham standing!

Boom Boom Hamster Doom on Steam

MUSE / ミューズ

Developer: Serious tone Club

Description: The story begins in a mysterious house. Strange items scattered about are key to uncovering the truth. You must ingest them and “vomit blood,” gaining powers at the cost of your health. But beware: the scent of your blood draws a lurking threat that ends the game if it catches you.

MUSE on Steam

Your World

Developer: LiteralNest

Description: Your World is a VR open-world survival game with building and crafting. Explore a stylized world, gather resources, and create your own unique world. Survive in the wilderness, manage resources, and expand your domain. Can you turn chaos into a thriving world?

Your World on Steam

Rhythmic

Image courtesy Polar Studios Robin Kammel

Developer: Polar Studios Robin Kammel

Description: RHYTHMIC combines the fast-paced VR rhythm-game genre with tactical tower defense. Collect magical particles in tune with epic music and skillfully unleash powerful spells upon invading enemies to defend the people whose only hope is your prowess!

RHYTHMIC on Steam

Frost Survival VR

Developer: Wenkly Studio Sp. z o.o.

Description: Sandbox Survival in VR. Face a frozen wilderness solo or in co-op – build a shelter, craft tools, hunt for food, and manage your resources to endure harsh conditions. Strategize your moves against unpredictable weather and lurking dangers. And remember to keep yourself safe and sane!

Frost Survival VR on Steam

Razgovor Online

Developer: Broken Light Games

Description: Razgovor Online is a Social MMORPG-Lite open world game, providing ways to explore, socialise, and grow, with Jobs, Mini-Games and player housing, or even taking long drives with your friends, the freedom is yours!

Razgovor Online on Steam

Ultima Chess VR

Developer: Svaiy Art Industries

Description: Ultima Chess VR – chess as you’ve never seen before! Battle on the chessboard in virtual reality, where every piece comes to life and engages in a fantasy duel!

Ultima Chess VR on Steam

Disc Dimension

Image courtesy Alchemist Brew Game Studios

Developer: Alchemist Brew Game Studios

Description: Step into the Disc Dimension, a VR disc golf arena for casual players and veterans alike. Throw aces from your chair, or train your true form with realistic throwing, physics, & stats. Tour through beautiful VR courses with mind-bending hazards, hidden secrets, and numerous unique discs to collect!

Disc Dimension on Steam

Anomaly Runner

Developer: Igor Maliukh

Description: Observe your surroundings closely in the Anomaly Research Center (ARC) to memorize important details. Detect unsettling anomalies to escape the hazardous areas. Uncover the dark secrets of the ARC organization in this innovative sci-fi horror walking simulator.

Anomaly Runner on Steam

Portal Foxes TD

Developer: World Fabric LLC

Description: Defend portals from hordes of slimes with elemental foxes in this tabletop VR game. Build mazes to thwart adaptive enemy pathing in three dimensions. Collect a variety of foxes and equipment over a 25 level story campaign.

Portal Foxed TD on Steam

Dagger Woods VR

Developer: Paracosm Studio

Description: Dagger Woods VR is based on the true story of the fires in Caledonia Mills, Nova Scotia, Canada. A psychological thriller full of mind games, mystery, and adventure. Step into the shoes of Maggie Carmichael to find the truth behind the darkness within the snow-covered woods.

Dagger Woods VR on Steam

DON’T MOVE

Developer: SPECTACULAR-OCULAR

Description: DON’T MOVE is an immersive VR game where your ability to HOLD YOUR NERVE and stay PERFECTLY STILL, no matter what comes at you – is the key to succeeding.Can you make it through the rigorous (and often ludicrous) testing schedule?

DON’T MOVE on Steam

Smasher

Image courtesy Pure Community, Bear Head Studio

Developer: Pure Community, Bear Head Studio

Description: An arcade VR action shooter set in a world of cyberpunk. Shoot hordes of enemies with a carousel of one-rounded guns. Cast spectacular spells. Fight badass bosses and be badass yourself. Even deflect rockets with trash can lids!

Smasher on Steam

CloserLook VR: Oldways

Developer: eMedia Interactive

Description: CloserLook VR: Oldways is a story-driven VR adventure set in modern-day West Africa. Trapped in a university building, explore secret locations, solve puzzles, and uncover a gripping narrative of exploitation, corruption, and betrayal.

CloserLook VR on Steam

Fistagon

Developer: Virtual Dawn

Description: FISTAGON, the fist-fighting sports extravaganza! Punch blocks, strategize combos, score big, and rise to the top of leaderboards with your favourite national FISTAGON athlete, or challenge friends and strangers to one vs one online match!

FISTAGON on Steam

Vitriol

Developer: Lee Wilson

Description: VITRIOL is a physics based VR movement shooter. In this demo you’ll play through the first 4 levels of the game gaining access to the first 2 weapons as well as the ‘Fissure’ Grenade and Grappling Hook. Burn and Fallow.

VITRIOL on Steam

Shroomer

Developer: Trisgram

Description: In this open-world relaxed VR fantasy, you are Shroomer, a mystical forager tasked with managing a secret enchanted forest. Gather rare fungi and vegetation, craft elixirs, build tools and complete tasks. Handle dangerous mushrooms with special approach or risk being claimed by the forest’s magic.

Shroomer on Steam

Haele 3D – Portrait Studio Pro

Developer: Ige Olwen

Description: HAELE 3D – Portrait Studio Pro is 3D facial anatomy drawing reference tool for beginner and advanced artists, with various characters, proportions, expressions lights and environments. It is an easy to use app to complement tutorials, for those who are learning how to draw faces and heads.

Haele 3D – Portrait Studio Pro on Steam

Virtual Skate

Developer: Flip Axis Studios

Description: Experience next level board control, skate with friends, and film insane tricks in the most immersive skateboarding game ever made.

Virtual Skate on Steam

Hoard Defender VR

Image courtesy Barnaby’s House of Wizardry

Developer: Barnaby’s House of Wizardry

Description: Hoard Defender VR is a casual arcade VR game about defeating enemies as they try to take your hoard! Buy upgrades and toss enemies to keep them from draining all your gold and stealing your most prized possessions, the dragon rubies you keep lying underneath your mound of gold.

Hoard Defender VR on Steam

MIRRORLIGHT

Developer: Fabian Ghenof

Description: MIRRORLIGHT is an indie VR puzzle game. Solve light-based challenges, overcome enemies, save creatures and make your way back home! Use mirrors, splitters, gemstones and other tools to guide the light and recover the lost fragments!

MIRRORLIGHT on Steam

Boxing Machine VR

Developer: Vnow Games

Description: Step into the gritty, gear driven world of Boxing Machine VR, an exclusive virtual reality experience set in a steampunk inspired gym brimming with robotic pugilists. Your mission? Crush every opponent in the ring and rise as the undisputed champion.

Boxing Machine VR on Steam

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Friday, 30 May 2025

Meta Reportedly Set to Expand Retail Locations as Smart Glasses Competition Heats Up

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Meta Lab (LA) Pop-up Store | Image courtesy Meta

Meta has been flirting with retail for years now, however a Business Insider report maintains the company is finally looking to expand its retail footprint beyond its first and only brick-and-mortar location.

Citing an internal communication, the report maintains Meta is looking to hire retail staff and roll out more physical stores, which are thought to go beyond the sort of pop-up locations the company experimented with late last year.

It’s said the plans could mirror Apple’s retail strategy, although the communication seen by Business Insider is “not broadly known internally yet,” suggesting it’s still early days.

While Meta’s latest pop-up in Los Angeles garnered a fair amount of press late last year, since 2016 the company has actually launched numerous pop-up stores in addition to partnering with retailers like Best Buy to offer demo spaces for its line of XR headsets.

Inside Meta’s LA Pop-up Store | Image courtesy Meta

Beyond pop-ups, the company currently operates a single permanent Meta Store in Burlingame, California, which opened next to its Reality Labs campus in 2022. There, customers can demo Quest 3 and Quest 3S, as well as Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.

The biggest driver for the retail rollout is thought to be Ray-Ban Meta Glasses however, which are built in partnership with French-Italian eyewear conglomerate EssilorLuxottica.

In 2024 alone, Meta sold more than 1 million units of its Ray-Ban Meta Glasses, making it what CEO Mark Zuckerberg called at the time “a great start.”

Earlier this year, EssilorLuxottica CEO Francesco Milleri said the company had plans to ramp up production capacity to 10 million annual units by the end of 2026.

Ray-Ban Meta Glasses, which pack in cameras for photos and video, as well as onboard Meta AI assistant and off-ear speakers, are already available in a number of styles and lens configurations, although that’s likely set to change.

Ray-Ban Meta Glasses, Image courtesy Meta, EssilorLuxottica

Notably, a report from Bloomberg in April alleged the company is aiming to introduce a number of new smart glasses, including a pair with built-in display and a sportier pair from EssilorLuxottica sub-brand Oakley.

And the segment is heating up. Google showed off its own pair of smart glasses on stage at Google I/O earlier this month, announcing it’s partnering with eyewear companies Warby Parker and Gentle Monster to release multiple versions of its Android XR Glasses in the near future.

Meanwhile, a report from earlier this month alleged Apple is also getting into the smart glasses segment too, as the Cupertino tech giant is reportedly now producing a smart glasses chip based on the low-energy processors used in Apple Watches, which is optimized for power efficiency and the ability to control multiple cameras.

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Thursday, 29 May 2025

Meta Partner’s with Ousted Oculus Founder’s Company to Build “the world’s best AR and VR systems for the US military”

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In a twist that promises to make the inevitable Palmer Luckey documentary even more dramatic, Palmer Luckey’s military tech company Anduril has now officially partnered with Meta to build “the world’s best AR and VR systems for the US military.”

Luckey founded Oculus in 2012, the company whose Rift headset was the spark that rebooted the modern era of VR. As a rapidly growing startup, Oculus attracted the attention of Meta (at the time Facebook), which acquired the company in 2014 for more than $2 billion. Luckey continued in VR under Meta’s roof for several years but was eventually pushed out of the company due to backlash over his politics. After leaving Meta, Luckey went on to found Anduril, a tech-defense startup which itself went on to achieve a multi-billion valuation.

Unsurprisingly, given Luckey’s background, Anduril itself has been developing XR tech alongside more traditional military products like drones and sensors. In February, Anduril announced that it was taking over Microsoft’s beleaguered Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) program, which seeks to produce AR helmets for the United States Army.

An early version of the IVAS helmet | Image courtesy Microsoft

Now Anduril says it’s working in concert with Meta to build “the world’s best AR and VR systems for the US military.”

“Anduril and Meta are partnering to design, build, and field a range of integrated XR products that provide warfighters with enhanced perception and enable intuitive control of autonomous platforms on the battlefield,” the announcement reads. “The capabilities enabled by the partnership will draw on more than a decade of investment by both companies in advanced hardware, software, and artificial intelligence. The effort has been funded through private capital, without taxpayer support, and is designed to save the U.S. military billions of dollars by utilizing high-performance components and technology originally built for commercial use.”

“I am glad to be working with Meta once again.” says Luckey. “Of all the areas where dual-use technology can make a difference for America, this is the one I am most excited about. My mission has long been to turn warfighters into technomancers, and the products we are building with Meta do just that.”

Both Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and CTO Andrew “Boz” Bosworth—who were publicly at odds with Luckey following his prior ousting from Meta—both provided quotes as part of the announcement, further cementing a renewed relationship between Meta and Luckey.

Oculus & Anduril founder Palmer Luckey (left) and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg (right) pose for a new image demonstrating their renewed relationship | Image courtesy Palmer Luckey

Thus far it sounds like the work between the companies will largely be around the headset that’s being built for the IVAS project, a $20 billion program to build an AR helmet for ground soldiers. Initially headed by Microsoft, Anduril has purportedly taken a leading role over project, and has now tapped Meta to bring some of its technology to the battlefield.

The post Meta Partner’s with Ousted Oculus Founder’s Company to Build “the world’s best AR and VR systems for the US military” appeared first on Road to VR.

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‘World War Z VR’ Brings the Series’ Massive Zombie Hordes to Quest & PC VR in August

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Saber Interactive, the studio behind PC and console shooter World War Z (2019), revealed the franchise is getting its first VR game, bringing the iconic swarm of zombies to Quest and SteamVR headsets on August 12th.

World War Z VR is set to be an entirely new entry in the series built from the ground-up for VR, something the studio says “faithfully reimagines the intense action of the original World War Z game.”

Unlike the PC and console game though, which featured a third-person view and had a number of multiplayer modes, the VR release is said to offer up a first-person, single-player campaign set across New York, Tokyo and Marseille.

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World War Z VR promises to let you take on “over 200 zombies” at a time, with every gameplay mechanic of the original World War Z fully reimagined for VR, the studio says, which is set to feature seven playable characters in addition to its host of weapons, perks and three difficulty settings.

And like the in the World War Z (2013) film and 2006 Max Brooks novel, zombies are far from brainless walkers; the studio says zombies “will adapt to their surroundings and your playstyle to hunt you down, while special infected enemies raise the stakes even higher.”

Launching August 12th, World War Z VR is now available for pre-order on the Horizon Store for Quest 2 and above and on Steam for PC VR headsets, priced at $20. Although there’s no pre-order discount to speak of, pre-order customers will get an exclusive ‘Golden Skin Pack’ weapon bonus.

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Wednesday, 28 May 2025

Pimax Apologizes After Secret Social Media Incentive Program Sparks Astroturfing Concerns

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Brand ambassador and referral programs are everywhere, aiming to drive engagement and sales through influencers and loyal fans alike. But last week, Pimax crossed a line, the company publicly admitted. It was discovered the PC VR headset company was secretly aiming to launch a program that offered rewards for verifiably positive forum posts—an ostensible attempt at astroturfing that quickly unraveled.

It all started with Reddit user ‘Mavgaming1’ last week, who leaked a private conversation initiated by Pimax through its official Discord. The proposition was clear: Pimax was looking for users willing to take part in a new Community Engagement Program, which would allow them to collect points to unlock tiered rewards by posting about the company on social media.

The program, which Pimax confirmed with Road to VR to indeed be genuine before being discontinued following the leak, featured everything from $5 Steam gift cards to hundreds of dollars in discounts off future purchases of Pimax hardware. The top reward tier even offered a $1,000 subsidized trip to the company’s Shanghai headquarters.

The only thing selected participants needed to do was type up a verifiably positive post for Reddit “or any other forums you visit,” submit it to Pimax for approval, post it online, and rack up the points. Below is an excerpt from the posting guidelines given to Mavgaming1 via Discord.

Suggested topics included “Your First VR Experience with Pimax”, “Tips for Getting the Best Experience with Pimax” or anything else relevant to bringing a positive light to the company’s XR headsets.

The company was also prepared to give out redeemable points for making positive comments on Pimax-sanctioned social media posts. In effect, it resembled a coordinated astroturfing effort—an attempt to simulate grassroots support for the company’s PC VR headsets, including its upcoming modular flagship Crystal Super, and new slim and light entrants Dream Air and Dream Air SE.

Pimax’s response in a nutshell: The company claims it wasn’t an officially sanctioned program, but rather one regrettably devised by employees acting independently. The company quickly moved to shut it down. Additionally, Pimax says it has never paid for positive coverage in the past.

In all, the company admits to contacting nine Discord users about the program, three of which received the full pitch of content guidelines and reward structure.

Pimax’s Head of Communications Jaap Grolleman, who has largely become the face of the company over the last three years, tell Road to VR those messages “didn’t go through our internal application process for any external communication, but was sent privately over Discord messages by colleagues.”

“We have never demanded any journalist, developer or user to use any other voice but their own to describe our products, and never demanded a review or comment to be positive. That is in all 10 years of Pimax,” Grolleman tells Road to VR. “That is, with the exception of three messages being sent out around the 22nd of May.”

Grolleman characterizes the program as “a big judgment error in several areas from some individuals, who did nonetheless represent Pimax.” What’s more, he affirms “no reviews were published under this program.”

It’s more than just a marketing misstep though. While only three users received the pitch before the program was shut down, the initiative potentially could have violated marketing laws in multiple countries.

According to Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. § 45), “unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce are hereby declared unlawful.”

This language underpins the FTC’s endorsement guidelines, which dictates that companies must not solicit or compensate for positive reviews without clear, conspicuous disclosure of that material relationship. In other words, paying users for good coverage—especially when disclosure is omitted or downplayed—isn’t just unethical, it’s potentially a violation of federal law.

Similar standards are enforced across the globe, including by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the European Union’s Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, both of which prohibit misleading or covert marketing tactics designed to simulate organic consumer opinion—aka astroturfing.

Continue on Page 2: Paying For Positive Coverage Went “too far,” Pimax Says »

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‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Co-op VR Game Coming to Quest & PC VR in 2026

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Cortopia Studios, the team behind GORN 2 (2025), announced it’s working on a ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ game which is slated to land on Quest and SteamVR headsets sometime next year.

We haven’t seen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City in action yet, as Cortopia Studios and publisher Beyond Frames Entertainment only released a quick trailer announcing the titular ‘heroes in a half-shell’.

The studio did release a few screenshots though, showing off a few distinctly New York environments in addition to Master Splinter himself—all of it rendered in a comic book-style cel shading.

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In addition to playing solo, the studio confirmed it’s launching with four-player co-op, which sounds pretty radical—letting you play as Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo. The studio says you’ll also get a chance to master each Turtle’s signature weapon with precision strikes and blocks in this first-person action adventure.

In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City, there will also be some ninja-style parkour on offer too, as users can “scale urban landscapes” while on their way to confront “fan-favorite villains,” the studio says.

While you won’t be able to battle everyone’s favorite baddie himself—the game is set following the Shredder’s demise—we can probably expect a fair share of Foot Clan members and other recognizable villains too.

Additionally, IGN reveals we should also expect pals like April O’Neil and Master Splinter to pop up, as well as a fully explorable Turtles’ lair.

There’s no launch date yet beyond the 2026 release window. In the meantime, you can wishlist the game on the Horizon Store for Quest, and on Steam for PC VR headsets.

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Tuesday, 27 May 2025

[Industry Direct] V-Nova Invites PC VR Users to Experience Next-gen VR Movie Format

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Industry Direct by V-Nova

Industry Direct is our program for sponsors who want to speak directly to the Road to VR newsletter audience. Industry Direct posts are written by sponsors with no involvement from the Road to VR editorial team and do not appear in our front-page editorial feed. Industry Direct sponsors help make Road to VR possible.

Anyone with a PC VR headset is invited to experience V-nova PresenZ, our next-gen VR movie format, by downloading the free ImmersiX app on Steam. See for yourself the power of high-quality CGI converted for true six degrees-of-freedom (6DoF) viewing in VR.

Read on to learn more about how it works.

For nearly a century, filmmakers have dreamed of letting audiences step inside movies, from early 3D experiments to today’s 360° VR. Yet these efforts fell short: traditional VR videos let you look around but not move freely, often causing discomfort and motion sickness. Real-time 3D graphics, meanwhile, can’t match the stunning quality of Hollywood cinematic productions like Mufasa: The Lion King (2024).

Today, the dream of truly immersing viewers in a cinematic story finally comes true. With the launch of the ImmersiX app on Steam and the breakthrough V-Nova PresenZ volumetric movie format, viewers can literally walk inside cinematic worlds, exploring them naturally with six degrees of freedom (6DoF).

Cracking the Code of Cinematic 6DoF

V-Nova PresenZ (pronounced “presence”, a nod to the 1999 film eXistenZ) is a hybrid-rendering volumetric technology. It transforms pre-rendered CGI into a smooth, point-cloud format for comfortable, nausea-free VR exploration. Unlike real-time game graphics, V-Nova PresenZ leverages Hollywood-quality pre-rendered visuals (think Pixar, WETA, or DreamWorks), enabling cinematic lighting, reflections, and animation previously impossible in VR without massive computing power. The difference between hours of rendering per frame versus the milliseconds available to game engines can be strikingly clear.

The result is a genuine virtual-camera experience: viewers can lean, peek, and move naturally around objects. Crucially, since the visuals are volumetric rather than flat video, close-up interactions don’t induce nausea. V-Nova PresenZ finally delivers true presence (that feeling of being there) without traditional VR trade-offs.

How is This Possible?

V-Nova PresenZ slots seamlessly into existing CGI pipelines. Studios continue using standard tools (Maya, Arnold, etc.), simply adding V-Nova’s plugins.

“What sets V-Nova PresenZ apart isn’t just technical innovation, but effortless integration with existing production workflows,” notes Jose Antunes of ProVideoCoalition.

Creating V-Nova PresenZ experiences from completed CGI scenes, including beloved films, is as straightforward as adapting films for IMAX 3D or ScreenX. Existing favorite content can be affordably re-released in immersive VR, unlocking unmatched audience experiences.

Historically, data size has been the primary challenge. Early versions of the format produced massive files impossible to distribute. V-Nova, leaders in advanced compression formats (MPEG-5 LCEVC, SMPTE VC-6), acquired the company that developed PresenZ, and empowered the team with its compression IP. After extensive development with Hollywood studios, V-Nova PresenZ is now a mature solution that efficiently streams at manageable data sizes. In the process, the format earned three prestigious Lumiere Awards from Hollywood’s Advanced Imaging Society.

ImmersiX: You Don’t Want To Miss This (Now on Steam)

Today, viewers can experience V-Nova PresenZ through the ImmersiX app, free on Steam for PC VR headsets. A streaming version for standalone devices (Apple Vision Pro, Meta Quest) arrives this summer, powered by NVIDIA’s GDN streaming infrastructure.

ImmersiX currently features three standout experiences:

Weightless (free): the world’s first 6DoF music show by Grammy-winning songwriter Diane Warren and pop artist Arilena Ara, immerses you in a cosmic performance, with incredible music.
Sharkarma: Guardian of the Oceans ($3.99): an interactive underwater thriller directed by veteran animator Cinzia Angelini, places you inside a visually spectacular oceanic survival adventure featuring a massive shark. Sharkarma entertains while informing audiences about the problem of shark finning. Early buyers of Part 1 will receive the full short movie free upon its completion later this year.
Construct (free): a robot-fight short and Lumiere Award winner, originally created as traditional 2D animation, now remastered into immersive volumetric format.

Major Hollywood studios, equipped with extensive CG libraries, are already actively evaluating the format. DreamWorks Animation recently showcased V-Nova PresenZ excerpts of beloved titles like How to Train Your Dragon (2010) and Abominable (2019), generating industry excitement for the potential of porting Tier 1 content IP to cinematic 6DoF. Leading Hollywood VFX house Luma Pictures is prominently certified as a V-Nova PresenZ partner.

Audience feedback to ImmersiX is essential. Showing viewer interest will directly inform major studios decisions to bring groundbreaking immersive titles to life. Your feedback can thus influence the future of this new medium.

A Glimpse at the Future

ImmersiX’s launch signals cinematic 6DoF’s arrival as a genuine entertainment medium.

“We’re entering a new era where audiences don’t just watch, they step inside movies and shows,” says Guido Meardi, CEO of V-Nova.

Imagine watching your favorite blockbuster movies from within or joining your favorite artists in surreal VFX shows.

Download ImmersiX today on Steam to get a first glimpse of this future. Explore ‘Weightless’ and ‘Construct’ at no cost, and secure early-access pricing for ‘Sharkarma’ (including a free upgrade to the full short upon release). Your support and feedback now will directly shape the future of cinematic VR storytelling. Step inside the story, and help define the next generation of immersive entertainment.

For more information, visit V-nova.

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