The XR Week Peek (2024.08.20): The VR Games Showcase hosted many VR games news, Pico has launched Pico 4 Ultra in China, and more!
Happy birthday to my blog! This platform is now 8 years old and I’m so glad to have spent so many years talking about VR with you amazing community people! I want to thank everyone who sent me very nice greetings this week to congratulate me on this important milestone. You made my day!
And this week I had another nice thing happening: the amazing Don Hopper has hopped (pun intended) on the Oxymore world in VRChat that was made by my team and he talked about it on Upload VR. He said he loved the musical experience we built. Thanks, Don for having featured us on Upload… it’s always a great honor…
Top news of the week
The VR Games Showcase hosted some interesting game announcements
As expected, there were many interesting announcements about new and existing games at the VR Games Showcase, a new event that involved some of the biggest VR studios out there. The promise of having “AAA VR games” was not fulfilled, but we all knew it was just marketing language to attract people.
I will report here the announcements that, in my opinion, were the most important ones, and then I will leave you a link to all the announcements in the references below. Let’s start with my hand-picked best announcements:
- Action Hero is a new game by Fast Travel Games where you impersonate a hero in five “bombastic” action movies in which you have to do cool actions like punch dinosaurs in the face, battle ninjas with shotguns, and chase bad guys on a speeding train
- Silent North is a new survival shooter game by Combat Waffle and Beyond Frames Entertainment
- Vendetta Forever is one of the most intriguing games announced at the Showcase. It is a mix of Superhot and Pistol Whip: you shoot enemies in slow motion, and then you move in space by remote-grabbing the guns of the killed enemies and teleporting to their positions. The first impressions from Road To VR are pretty positive
- We have the first gameplay trailer of Hitman 3: Reloaded and it’s pretty nice
- GRIM is a survival multiplayer shooter that feels like Rust on Mars
- Flat2VR announced the first games it is going to port to VR. They are WRATH: Aeon of Ruin VR, Roboquest VR, Flatout VR, and Trombone Champ: Unflattened. They are nice games, but I have to honestly say that after all the buzz for the investment by a16z, I was expecting some bigger titles. Probably they want to play safe with some minor games before embarking on a big and complicated adventure (which makes sense)
- Skydance’s Behemoth, the upcoming VR fantasy action RPG, is coming on November, 14. This is one of the most awaited games of the year
- Escaping Wonderland is a game that expands upon 2020’s adventure Down the Rabbit Hole, following another protagonist in Wonderland before Alice’s fateful arrival. It is coming on September, 26th
- Band Space is an instrument-driven rhythm game from Smartmelon Games and uses VR motion controls to simulate four key instruments: drums, guitar, keyboard, and bass. You can play it solo or in multiplayer mode.
As you can see, many interesting games are coming. You can read more about this and all the other news following the links here below:
More info (All the news of the VR Games Showcase)
More info (Action Hero)
More info (Silent North — Road To VR)
More info (Silent North — Upload VR)
More info (Vendetta Forever — Announcement)
More info (Vendetta Forever — Hands-on)
More info (Hitman 3: Reloaded gameplay)
More info (Grim)
More info (Flat2VR games)
More info (Behemoth release date)
More info (Alien Rogue Incursion release date)
More info (Frenzies early access launch)
More info (Fracked is coming to Oculus Quest)
More info (Band Space)
More info (Arizona Sunshine is getting a remake)
More info (Mannequin full release date)
More info (Into The Radius is coming to PSVR 2)
More info (Escaping Wonderland)
Other relevant news
Pico launched Pico 4 Ultra in China
Pico has just launched Pico 4 Ultra, a refresh of the Pico 4 that adds to it very high-quality mixed reality.
The specifications of the device are the following:
- 2 * 2160 × 2160 Fast LCD Displays
- 90Hz Refresh rate
- 105° FOV
- 2 * RGB Passthrough cameras, for a total resolution of 32MP
- 1 Depth sensor
- 58–72mm IPD
- Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen2 chipset
- 12MB RAM
- 256GB Storage
- Wi-Fi 7 Connectivity
- USB-C Connectivity
- Bluetooth Connectivity
- 2 * Ringless controllers
- 580g Weight
The passthrough is full-color depth-distorted and has an 8MP resolution. The screens have the same physical resolution as in the Pico 4, but the render resolution is much higher, so the images appear more crisp. The headset can also record spatial videos (a la Vision Pro) and then edit them and share them on TikTok on the fly. There is also the possibility of mirroring the content of your phone or computer to the headset.
So it is not only a hardware refresh, but also Pico OS has been updated. Also, the Pico Store is going to add new VR games like Five Night At Freddy’s and be compatible with the mixed reality modes of popular games like Puzzling Places or Demeo.
I’ve had a quick hands-on with the device and I loved the passthrough and the hand tracking. You can read more in the article linked below.
Together with the Pico 4 Ultra, the company announced the Pico 4 Ultra Enterprise, which is going to support enterprise-oriented features. And the Motion Tracker, a little puck that the user can put on the ankles to have full body tracking in applications like VRChat.
All these devices have only been launched in China. Preorders are already open today: the Pico 4 Ultra costs something like $600, a pair of Motion Trackers is circa $56 and the Pico 4 Ultra Enterprise is about $1050. Be careful that the mentioned prices are intended for the Chinese market. Price and availability in the West are probably going to be announced in a few weeks: the website already features all these devices in all languages, so I guess a launch is imminent.
I think this launch of a new Pico headset is a fantastic piece of news: it shows that Pico is still in the game, and it is still working both in the B2B and B2C markets. The more players we have the better, so I’m very happy about it.
Meta confirms GTA VR is on hold
After so many unconfirmed rumors, finally Meta admitted that the work on GTA San Andreas VR has been suspended. As reported by Upload VR, Meta stated: “GTA: San Andreas is on hold indefinitely while we both focus on other projects. We look forward to working with our friends at Rockstar in the future.”
“On hold indefinitely” is a nice PR statement to say that the project has been canceled. There’s some chance it may be rebooted in the future, but I wouldn’t hold my breath for that. We don’t know why the project has been stopped, but I would speculate that the reason is always the same: the gaming industry is in serious trouble now and Rockstar Game preferred to cut a game targeted at a niche like VR to focus on its most profitable projects. Probably also Meta had to close the project because of the cuts required by the “Year of Efficiency”.
It’s a big pity that GTA VR won’t happen anymore, I would have loved playing it.
(And by the way, my friend Nima was right when a few weeks ago he said the project had been closed… and many people didn’t believe him…)
Apple may be working on its smartglasses
Mark Gurman has published his usual leaks about Apple’s plan for the future. Talking about VR, he reiterated that Apple is working on a cheaper version of the Vision Pro (so a non-Pro Vision Pro), which could already be coming next year.
But the most important piece of news is that he said that Apple’s Vision group is still experimenting with Smart Glasses without displays, like Ray-Ban Meta. This is very interesting: Ray-Ban Meta proved that while AR glasses may become mainstream maybe in 10–15 years, smartglasses may already be interesting for the average consumer now. Meta showed that with the right design of the glasses, useful features, and a good UX, it is possible to make people interested in smartglasses. Apple is good at all of these features, so I personally think that it would be a great idea for it to launch its own smartglasses. Smartglasses are the most promising XR hardware at the moment, so it would make sense for Apple to jump on this train, also considering that people would love to wear the Apple Brand on their faces.
If it happens, it would be a new field in which Meta and Apple would be competing together. I’m going to grab some popcorn.
News worth a mention
A dirty workaround to access camera images on Quest has been found
The team at XR Workout has been able to find an ingenious workaround to be able to access the passthrough camera image frame from within an MR application running on Quest. The solution is incredibly dirty and convoluted and is not suitable for production applications (it requires the user to initiate a mirroring of the application), but still, it’s an incredible achievement. I hope this is another thing that will convince Meta to give us camera access.
Apple may be spending billions in AR R&D
Matthew Ball has written another one of his very interesting articles, this time to talk about the Apple Vision Pro. There is one part of the article that I found incredibly interesting and it is where he talks about the R&D expenses that Apple is doing on XR. In his opinion, looking at the data, we can extrapolate that Apple has spent up to now $25–30B in research on immersive realities! This amount is in line with what Meta itself is spending with its Reality Labs Division, but Apple is not getting the same level of criticism for its expenses because it is more secretive about its data. Sometimes being a black box helps…
Roto VR Explorer is a new chair for VR
Roto VR Explorer is a new VR chair for Quest. It lets the player sit down and play comfortably virtual reality games, and it rotates following the user’s head thanks to the “Look & Turn” technology. According to the company, this should reduce motion sickness, but I have some doubts about it. The chair is compatible with over 400 games. Pre-orders go live for the Roto VR Explorer at $799, and it’s set to ship this October.
Sol Reader glasses are now available
Sol Reader glasses, the e-reader glasses with screens based on electronic ink, are finally available. These glasses got some attention a few months ago when Bradley talked about them at CES. It’s good to see that the team managed to finalize the device, which weighs 104 grams and has 25 hours of battery life. Sol Reader is now available in four colors at a price of $399.
Two cool research projects
This week I came to see two very intriguing research projects that deserve a mention in this roundup:
- Using the Depth APIs of Quest, a team has been able to let physical objects interact with virtual elements in a mixed-reality application
- VR-GS empowers users to interactive manipulate 3D Gaussian kernels at a real-time rate with physically plausible responses and realistic illumination, even in Virtual Reality. What these big words mean is that you can deform an element in a 3D scan of an environment reconstructed via Gaussian Splatting and the element would deform in a way that makes physical sense.
More info (Depth API experiment)
More info (Gaussian Splats experiment)
Quest can now officially connect via HDMI
A few weeks ago I showed in this newsletter a method to connect your Quest to the HDMI port of your computer to use it as an alternative screen for your laptop. This week I got to know that Meta released a Meta Quest HDMI Link first-party app to make this process even smoother.
More info (Meta Quest HDMI Link app)
More info (How to connect Meta Quest to the HDMI port of your computer)
Gracia is now available on App Lab
Gracia, the application to show volumetric still captures, is now available through Meta App Lab. The App Lab release version comes with a 50% resolution boost compared to the earlier sideloadable version. I heard people being enthusiastic about Gracia, but I’ve not been able to try it yet.
Enjoy Meta August Sale
Meta has discounted more than 140 titles for its August Sale: some of the titles included in this promotion are Assassin’s Creed Nexus, Cubism, and Lego Brick Tales. If you want to buy some good VR games, enjoy this promotion! I’ve discovered on Reddit that some people can’t see these offers, though, so it seems it is not for everyone.
More info (August Sale)
More info (Some people can’t see the discounts)
Some news about content
- Metal: Hellsinger VR will launch on Quest 2, Quest Pro, and Quest 3 on September 26th, while the PSVR 2 and PC VR versions will launch on October 3rd
- FLY is a spiritual successor of Google Earth VR and lets you navigate inside the Google-Earth-reconstructed versions of the cities. It is available for $9.99 for Quest and Vision Pro
- Make It Stable lets you stack objects on top of each other until the tower you build falls down. The game is coming “soon”
- Last Stand is a new multi-location PvP shooter in mixed reality coming this winter to Quest
- By Grit Alone is an action horror VR game that aims to be Dead Space in VR
- Hunting VR takes you to the wilds to hunt with your loyal dog. It is available for $19.99 on the Meta Quest store
- Slender: The Arrival VR should have been released soon but has been delayed until next year
- Road To VR reported some minor XR news in its XR News Bits update
More info (Metal: Hellsinger VR)
More info (FLY)
More info (Make It Stable)
More info (Last Stand)
More info (By Grit Alone)
More info (Hunting VR)
More info (Slender: The Arrival VR)
More info (XR News Bits)
Some reviews about content
- Pixel Dungeon brings a new experience that combines Ancient Dungeon and Dungeons of Eternity to Quest in early access. In this Early Access version, it is still rough in some parts, though
- Exploding Kittens VR is a fresh porting of the popular card game, that will make excited the fans of the game.
More info (Pixel Dungeon)
More info (Exploding Kittens VR)
Other news
Archiact, the studio behind famous VR games like Journey to Foundation and Doom 3: VR Edition, is shutting down
Auganix detailed the various methods used in AEC XR applications to align the real and the virtual elements
Karl Guttag positively reviewed the optics of the Even Realities G1 smartglasses
News from partners (and friends)
Support Mermaids!
Mermaids is a psychedelic horror short movie that is about sexual expression, desire, and feminine revolt. It is currently on Kickstarter, and its indie creators are close to its funding goal but not exactly there. One of the leaders of the project, Adriana Vecchioli, told me that VR had an integral part in its development because they are using VR to previsualize the VFX sequences. So while the movie is a 2D movie, it is “infused with immersive elements”, because the team behind it has “XR in its DNA”.
If you want to see the trailer and support this underground movie, click on the link below. I just warn you that some materials may have NSFW-ish vibes.
Watch the trailer and support the Kickstarter campaign
Tom Emrich is launching his first book!
Tom Emrich, the expert in the AR market we all love, is launching his first book, called “The Next Dimension”. According to him the book “is packed with actionable insights and examples illustrating how AR is changing the game in advertising, marketing, and sales”. I love Tom’s insights, they are always very down-to-earth and make me understand better what is happening in Augmented Reality, so I guess I will read this book.
Learn More about this book and preorder it
Watch my chat with Kadukowo
I’ve been a guest of the Kadukowo podcast and there I had a very pleasant chat with the host and with the other guest, Simplex, who is an XR expert and long-time reader of this blog! We talked together about the State of XR and I even said for the first time a couple of words in Polish, you can’t miss it!
Enjoy the podcast on Youtube
Enjoy the podcast on Spotify
Enjoy the podcast on X
Enjoy the podcast on Facebook
Fill out this survey about the Metaverse
A group of teachers from the University of Catania (Italy) is conducting a study about the people attending metaverse platforms (yes, I’ve said the M-word and not Spatial Computing) using a VR headset. They need many answers from the community to be able to have reliable results, so if you want to be so kind as to fill it out, please do it! It requires just 5 minutes of your time.
Complete the survey
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Some XR fun
These are the worst deals in the history of deals, maybe ever
Funny link / 1
Funny link / 2
This little Lego boi has a better headset than me
Funny link
We all know what headsets are for…
Funny link
Donate for good
Like last week, also this week in this final paragraph I won’t ask you to donate to my blog, but to the poor people who are facing the consequences of the war. Please donate to the Red Cross to handle the current humanitarian situation in Ukraine. I will leave you the link to do that below.
Let me take a moment before to thank anyway all my Patreon donors for the support they give to me:
- Alex Gonzalez VR
- DeoVR
- GenVR
- Eduardo Siman
- Jonn Fredericks
- Jean-Marc Duyckaerts
- Reynaldo T Zabala
- Richard Penny
- Terry xR. Schussler
- Ilias Kapouranis
- Paolo Leoncini
- Immersive.international
- Nikk Mitchell and the great FXG team
- Jake Rubin
- Alexis Huille
- Raghu Bathina
- Chris Koomen
- Cognitive3D
- Wisear (Yacine Achiakh)
- Masterpiece X
- Dimo Pepelyashev
- Jennifer Granger
- Jason Moore
- Steve Biggs
- Julio Cesar Bolivar
- Jan Schroeder
- Kai Curtis
- Francesco Strada
- Sikaar Keita
- Ramin Assadollahi
- Juan Sotelo
- Andrew Sheldon
- Chris Madsen
- Horacio Torrendell
- Andrew Deutsch
- Fabien Benetou
- Tatiana Kartashova
- Marco “BeyondTheCastle” Arena
- Eloi Gerard
- Adam Boyd
- Jeremy Dalton
- Joel Ward
- Alex P
- Lynn Eades
- Donald P
- Casie Lane
- Catherine Henry
- Qcreator
- Ristband (Anne McKinnon & Roman Rappak)
- Stephen Robnett
- KaihatsuJai
- Christopher Boyd
- Carol Dalrymple
- Sb
- Pieter Siekerman
- Enrico Poli
- Vooiage Technologies
- Caroline
- Liam James O’Malley
- Hillary Charnas
- Wil Stevens
- Francesco Salizzoni
- Alan Smithson
- Steve R
- Brentwahn
- Matt Cool
- Simplex
- Gregory F Gorsuch
- Paul Shay
- Matias Nassi
And now here you are the link to donate:
Support The Red Cross in Ukraine
(Header image by VR Games Showcase)
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