I’m back in Italy after my very positive experience at CES! I still can’t believe that I’ve been to this huge event… I came back home that everything in my body was hurting, but I was happy nonetheless. It’s been great going there from all points of view: as a blogger, enthusiast, and entrepreneur… all sides of me are happy.
Of course, CES is going to be the main topic of this weekly roundup, but there have also been interesting news not coming directly from there. Let’s go discover them!
(PS Sorry for the delay in publishing this newsletter, but I had a lot of stuff to do when I came back from Las Vegas…)
Top news of the week
Many XR products were showcased at CES
CES is probably the biggest tech event of the year, and it was refreshing to see that there was a dedicated area for XR companies there. Also many XR people were attending the event. This shows that even if still niche, XR is still thriving. The biggest category of devices showcased were smartglasses, often connected with AI, like the Ray-Ban Meta that you see in the picture above, or the Halliday glasses that featured a very tiny display. Goertek, one of the main manufacturers of XR devices, proposed new reference designs for smart glasses and AR glasses, and this will make even more companies release products of this kind.
There has been no mindblowing piece of news in our field announced during CES. There have been anyway two huge companies, NVIDIA and Sony, that released XR-related announcements during their respective keynotes. NVIDIA announced its RTX 50 graphics cards, which are going to increase the performances of PCVR even more. The prices are more or less the same as the series 40, except for the 5090 which costs $2000. NVIDIA also announced that its cloud streaming service Geforce Now is coming to Quest, Pico, and Apple Vision Pro, so MR users will be able to play flatscreen games on a giant virtual screen in front of them.
Sony, instead, announced XYN, a new line of software and hardware XR products dedicated to creatives. The announcement has been pretty vague: Sony revealed a new headset based on the previous Sony enterprise headset (that by the way now costs more than $4000), but that no one could try it. The company also talked about using two sets of Mocopi for accurate body tracking and a new solution to scan objects and bring them to the digital world. However, it is not clear how these solutions are integrated coherently. Still, it is positive that Sony is committed to XR and digital worlds.
HDMI has announced a new 2.2 standard specification, with an impressive 96Gb/s bandwidth. I wonder if some headsets want to come back to use this port type because of this announcement.
I have written already a few posts where I described the devices I have been able to try at CES, like Shiftall MeganeX SuperLight 8K, Ray-Ban Meta, and Pimax Crystal Super (and I’m linking them here below, of course). My favorite one has been the Play For Dream headset, and a review about it is coming soon. I’ve not been the only one praising this device: also Amanda Watson said that it was her best in show (by the way, it was great for me to meet Amanda for the first time during this CES, she’s amazing). For the people who have not been able to attend the event, I’ve also recorded a video of the whole XR area and of course, I’m linking it below for you to enjoy.
It has not been an amazing CES for XR, but still, it was a good one.
More info (The price of Sony enterprise headset)
More info (Sony announces XYN)
More info (NVIDIA and AMD announce new graphics card)
More info (NVIDIA Geforce Now coming to XR headsets — Road To VR)
More info (NVIDIA Geforce Now coming to XR headsets — Upload VR)
More info (Play For Dream headset gets praised at CES)
More info (My hands-on Pimax Crystal Super)
More info (My hands-on Ray-Ban Meta and its AI)
More info (My hands-on Attention Labs and 2Pi Optics)
More info (My hands-on Shiftall Meganex Superlight 8K and FlipVR controllers)
More info (Shiftall announces expansion module for Quest Touch controllers)
More info (Halliday smartglasses)
More info (Goertek new reference designs for smartglasses)
More info (HDMI 2.2 announced)
More info (A full tour of the XR area at CES)
More info (Tyriel Wood and I commenting on the CES in XR)
Other relevant news
Meta Quest 3S has been the most-sold console on Amazon in 2024
A piece of news that sparked joy in me is that Meta Quest 3S has been the top-selling console on Amazon US in 2024. Notice that we are not talking just about the VR category, or just about a specific period of 2024: Quest 3S has been the most selling console of the whole year compared to all the other gaming consoles. It was even the third most-sold device of any kind in the whole Video Games category. It reached this status while being released only in October. This is impressive.
Many statistics seem to point to the fact that the Quest 3S had a great holiday season. Apart from the Amazon top classification, last week I also reported about the Meta Horizon companion app for phones topping the Apple App Store. Besides that, analyzing the data about the achievements of the game, it is also possible to see that around Christmas, the number of people playing Batman Arkham Shadow doubled. Considering that every Quest 3S user gives at least one try to this amazing free game, this means that Quest 3S had a spike in sales during the Winter Holidays.
Since I don’t want to create false expectations, I don’t think that this data points to Virtual Reality having become mainstream over the holidays. But I think it shows that, like the past years, VR has made a step forward during the holidays because many headsets have been gifted. We have many new users, and this is surely good.
More info (Quest 3S is the most-selling console on Amazon US)
More info (Players of Batman doubled over the holidays)
More info (Statistics about the number of players of VR games over the holidays)
Meta discontinued the Quest Pro
Meta has officially discontinued the Quest Pro, its first prosumer headset. This means you can not buy a Quest Pro on the Meta website anymore: if you go to its store page, you find a statement that suggests you buy a Quest 3, instead. The Quest Pro’s controllers, the Touch Pro, are still available for purchase, though, because they can still be connected to the other Quest headsets.
I don’t think anyone is going to cry for this news. The Quest Pro has been rushed to the market because of the fear Zuck was having for the Vision Pro. The result was an overpriced half-baked headset, which was dead on arrival. It cost $1500 at launch, and the price was quickly slashed to $1000 because the sales were very disappointing. At a certain point, Meta even gifted a Quest Pro to all the participants of a Roblox event in the same way that every standard company gifts useless keyrings that cost less than 50 cents. Its fate was already decided long time ago.
There is one thing that I’m going to miss about the Quest Pro: it was the only headset by Meta with eye and face tracking and this could be useful for some research applications. In fact, I find it strangely timed that a couple of days after the discontinuation of the Quest Pro, we get the leak that the ASUS headset will have eye and face tracking. To me, it really looks like a controlled leak to show that the Horizon ecosystem will keep having those features…
More info (Meta Quest Pro discontinued — Road To VR)
More info (Meta Quest Pro discontinued — Upload VR)
News worth a mention
ASUS ROG VR headset to include face tracking
The popular leaker Luna has received a new leak about the upcoming ASUS ROG VR headset. The device is codenamed Tarius and will be one of the first third-party headsets running HorizonOS to be released. It is planned to include eye tracking and face tracking. As for the screens, they will be QD-LCD with local dimming or micro OLED.
This leak doesn’t say much, but the fact that we started having leaks is good news, it means that the projects of the 3rd party Horizon headsets are going forward.
Infinite Reality raises $3B
Infinite Reality, a company building an engine for creating immersive web content with WebXR support, announced it has raised an enormous $3 billion round to continue building the company’s vision for the next generation of the internet.
This news came as a surprise for the whole XR community: 3 billion is a huge amount of money, it’s half of what OpenAI raised a few months ago. But while OpenAI is the hottest startup of the moment, Infinite Reality still has to prove its worth on the market. Things become even more puzzling when you realize that the whole funding comes from only one private investor. So basically a random dude (probably from the Middle East), woke up and decided to give $3B to Infinite Realities.
This news made me realize I have the wrong friends. I have difficulties in making people offer me lunch, and there is someone out there handling $3B like nothing…
How to walk in VR while being supine
The What The F video of the week is a research project that makes you walk in VR while lying down in a supine position. You basically have to do a cycling movement with your feet while lying on the floor to walk forward. This is very intense on the abs and of course quite tiresome.
Watching this video I was like: BUT WHY?
DotLumen makes blind people walk again
Talking about walking, I’ve found very interesting the project by DotLumen, that has created a sort of headset for blind people. The headset scans the environment in front of the person and suggests which line to follow while walking to avoid obstacles. This can be a game changer for people with vision disabilities.
Meta discounts Quest 3S by $50
Meta is running a very special promotion that discounts the Quest 3S 256GB by $50, while still including Batman Arkham Shadow in bundle. The discount should be available only on the Meta website, but actually, many resellers are applying a similar promotion. Probably the unit with bigger storage sold less well than its cheaper sibling during the Holidays and Meta is trying to help it sell better with this discount.
Sanzaru is working on its next big game
Sanzaru Games, the studio behind the Asgard’s Wrath franchise, has released the final content update to the massive game Asgard’s Wrath 2. Now the studio says it’s dedicating less attention to this flagship title to move on to the “next big thing”, which according to the company should include “some AWESOME stuff”. I really can’t wait to see what they are cooking… maybe something in mixed reality to praise the mother company Meta?
Some news about content
- Stress Level Zero is bringing Boneworks to Quest 3. The studio is also working on its “next game” (we are all intrigued by this, of course)
- Synth Riders adds ’80s Mixtape Side B pack, which also rickrolls all its users
- Human Within, a storytelling game focused on how AI and similar technology influence humanity, has been released on Quest for €18
- The fitness game Shardfall: FitQuest VR is now available on Quest
- Detective VR, a mixed reality narrative investigation game (developed, among the others, by the legendary ValemVR), is going to launch on February 27 for Quest 3 and 3S
- Chrono Weaver sees you work with yourself in a new VR time-travel puzzle adventure, and it recently launched on Quest and Steam for €23
- After its recent update, I Am Security is now a top-selling app on Quest. It is following the footsteps of another game from the same indie studio: I Am Cat
- Dawn of Jets, a VR aerial combat game with a fully interactive cockpit, recently entered early access on Quest
- Virtual Hunter, an open-world PC VR hunting game, enters full release on January 15.
More info (Boneworks)
More info (Synth Riders)
More info (Human Within)
More info (Shardfall: FitQuest VR)
More info (Detective VR)
More info (Chrono Weaver)
More info (I Am Security)
More info (Dawn Of Jets)
More info (Virtual Hunter)
Some reviews about content
- Epyka is a very good puzzle-adventure game (a bit a la Myst), with great graphics and audio. It is a bit too short in duration, though
- Pirates VR: Jolly Roger delivers a colorful VR adventure with great visuals, but it also has design issues and shallow combat
- Shardfall: FitQuest VR is an enjoyable fitness game that reminds of Ring Fit Adventure
- Gears & Goo is a tower defense game that delivers hours of entertainment on Apple Vision Pro with easy-to-use controls that have been carefully thought about hand and eye tracking
More info (Epyka)
More info (Pirates VR: Jolly Roger)
More info (Shardfall: FitQuest VR)
More info (Gears & Goo)
Other news
A Redditor invented a pretty cool addon for Oculus Touch controllers so that to perform better in VR combat games
A movie inspired by the game Exit 8 is in production. I wonder how they are going to make it interesting
Road To VR published a first impressions article on the Surreal Touch controllers
Minecraft with 100 mods is very cool to be played in VR (there is even full body tracking!)
Learn more (Minecraft VR with full body tracking)
Learn more (Minecraft VR with more than 100 mods)
A great introduction to Lens Studio dedicated to Unity developers
News from partners (and friends)
Check out Ty’s channel
I’ve written it everywhere: Tyriel Wood has been my bro at CES 2025 and so until next week I’m going to promote him as hell. He makes awesome videos about XR technology, he’s going to publish interesting stuff about what we tried together at CES, so follow him on YouTube! You won’t regret it.
Go To Ty’s Channel
Some XR fun
This is insane! Someone drove a truck in mixed reality!
Funny link
Gemini getting a bit too much paranoid
Funny link
This is the best VR a kid of his age can have, not gonna lie
Funny link
Happens every time during the special moment of the Steam Sales
Funny link
This AI is so realistic
Funny link
Neo, please, stahp!
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:
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And now here you are the link to donate: