The XR Week Peek (2026.10.19): Valve discontinues the Index and may be working on an OLED Frame… and more!

It hasn’t been a bad week for AR/VR in general, and in this roundup you’ll find something interesting to read about. But the online debate has been, as usual, mostly about AI. Especially because Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic, kept writing tweets about how he now loves AI and his devs should now focus on using it. Until the day most of them will be substituted by it, I guess…

Top news of the week

Valve discontinues the Valve Index and this worries the SteamVR community

For the surprise of no one, Valve has discontinued the Valve Index. It is a move we all expected: the device is now far behind the standard VR performances for 2026, and Valve has just announced its new flagship headset: the Steam Frame. To clear inventory in its warehouses, Valve is discounting The Valve Index, its controllers, and base station by 20%. So if you have an Index and you want to have some replacement parts, now it is time to buy them.
 
 As I’ve said, this was to be expected. But the PC VR community has not welcomed this news very well mostly because this is clearly the beginning of the end for the Lighthouse tracking, the amazing tracking solution that Valve launched together with the OG Vive. The hardcore PC VR gamers love Lighthouse-based tracking because it is the most accurate in town, and they are worried because Valve is not manufacturing any of its components anymore: base stations, controllers, etc… Various PC VR headsets like Bigscreen Beyond came out with just the headset because they assumed you already had the base stations and the controllers, but now that Valve is basically sunsetting its tracking technology, this is not necessarily true anymore.
 
 For now, there are still alternatives. Vive has officially declared it is still building its base stations. Pimax and Shiftall have their own SteamVR-tracked controllers. And SteamVR will keep supporting all of this, of course. But, with more and more companies going for camera-based tracking, the future is unclear. I’m pretty sure there are two alternatives for the future: one is that Lighthouse tracking will slowly fade away, and companies will all go for the more user-friendly camera-based tracking; the other is that Lighthouse tracking will become very niche, expensive, and targeted only at very premium VR users or enterprise settings (location-based VR included). But for sure, the end of life of the Index flags the end of the “average VR consumer” era for the lighthouse tracking.

More info (Valve Index new official page)
More info (Valve discontinues the Index — Road To VR)
More info (Valve discontinues the Index — Post on X)
More info (Lighthouse base stations will still be available — Post on X)
More info (HTC confirms it will still sell base stations — Bigscreen Blog)

Sponsors Area

This newsletter has also been possible thanks to our sponsors.

Groovy Labs

Groovy Labs is an open VR/MR rhythm playground with access to 100,000+ songs. Slice, strike, or punch your way through music and discover different ways to move with the beat.
 
 Built as an independent ecosystem, Groovy Labs is not tied to a single mechanic or platform. Customize your experience, explore new gameplay styles, and make every session your own. The project is shaped by experimentation, player feedback, and an active community. It is designed to keep evolving with new ideas, content, and ways to play.
 
 Available on Meta Quest, SteamVR/PCVR, PICO 4, HTC VIVE, and Samsung Galaxy XR. One rhythm ecosystem, built for freedom, creativity, and community.

Get it on the Quest Store!

Other relevant news

Valve updates the Frame, and may be working on an OLED version

Valve has made some important updates to the Steam Frame. First of all, the headset has been updated to SteamOS 0.4, which improves battery efficiency up to 12%. This is good news, considering that battery duration is one of the Achilles’ heels of the device. There have been other quality-of-life improvements like better color quality during streaming and some bug fixes.
 
 Valve has also released the CAD files for the headset, so that every company and enthusiast can work on accessories and mods for the Steam Frame. We all love the openness of Valve, and the release of these files is surely bringing new interesting accessories to the Frame ecosystem.
 
 But probably the most important piece of news related to the Steam Frame is that Valve may be working on a refreshed OLED version of the device codenamed “Plano”. According to some info found in some code released by Valve, the headset should feature 3,552 × 3,840 per-eye resolution and a refresh rate of up to 90Hz (120Hz in experimental mode). But most importantly, the displays should be OLED, guaranteeing the full blacks that the VR enthusiasts love so much. The device should have the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, though, so it couldn’t render at the full resolution of the displays. The idea is so to render at half the resolution and then upscale to the full resolution of the display. Thanks to a new technology called Foveated Scaling, the full upscale would only happen in the region the user is looking at, guaranteeing better performance for the device.
 
 Plano may be a device Valve is actively working on, or just an experiment. We don’t know if the company is actually planning to sell this device. But considering Valve Time and the difficulties that Valve is having with the logistics of its new hardware, I would say that even if it was coming, it wouldn’t be before the end of 2027 for sure. I still hope it is coming, because looking at the specifications, this device would be more similar to what the community was expecting the Steam Frame to be.

More info (Updates to Steam Frame)
More info (Valve releases the CAD files of Steam Frame)
More info (Git repo for the CAD files of Steam Frame)
More info (Valve is working on an OLED version of Frame — Steam Frame Hub)
More info (Valve is working on an OLED version of Frame — Road To VR)

PSVR 2 has been delisted from PlayStation Direct

A Redditor discovered that if you go to the PlayStation Direct page of PSVR 2 in the US, you get a 404 Error. The page doesn’t exist anymore, likely meaning that the device has been delisted. I tried to verify the claim, and I got the same error. The same doesn’t happen in Europe, though.
 
 It is not clear what it means. Some people speculate that it means that Sony Interactive Entertainment has stopped producing PSVR 2 and that stocks have already finished in the US. This may mean the beginning of the end of PSVR 2. This narrative would also fit well with the recent sales of XR patents from Sony to Meta (even if they were not directly from SIE). Other people think it is just a temporary issue. In my opinion, for sure it is not a good sign for the future of PSVR 2.

More info

Open headset Vector Gear is now on Kickstarter

Walker Dev Industries has finally launched the Kickstarter campaign for its open-source headsets and the related XRUIOS operating system.
 
 These are the specs for the high-end Vector Gear headsets:

• Displays: Dual 2160 × 2160 TFT LCD panels at 90 Hz.
• Optics: Dual combined Fresnel (“pseudo-pancake”) optics.
• IPD: Automatic adjustment.
• Main processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 with 8 GB RAM.
• Co-processor: Rockchip RK3588S with 8 GB RAM, specifically for SLAM, face tracking and developer modding
• Tracking: Inside-out SLAM for headset and controllers (Controllers use RK3576, more below)
• Cameras: Two monochrome SLAM cameras, two global shutter colour passthrough cameras, two internal eye tracking cameras and one internal mouth tracking camera.
• Face tracking: Full face tracking, including eye and mouth data.
• Battery: 85 Wh Amprius silicon cell power soruce
• Audio: Integrated audio system (Still choosing speaker) and dual microphone array
• Charging: USB C Power Delivery.
• Connectivity: Wireless PCVR streaming.
• Controllers: Inside out tracked controllers with an RK3576 processor in each controller.
• Operating system: YuukOS, an Arch-based XR distribution, with XRUIOS as its spatial computing layer (Works with Windows/Linux Steam, Monado driver WIP)
• Software compatibility: FEX x86 emulation and Proton compatibility layers, with console emulation under discussion

And these are the ones for Andromeda headsets:

• Display options:
  • LCD: 1600 × 1600 per eye.
  • Pancake OLED: 2560 × 2560 per eye (Although limits of 1920×1920 @ 90hz upscaled and 2560×2560 @ 75hz, we are looking for alternatives that are the same price but can do more, no promises)
• Optics: Pancake optics on the OLED configuration.
• IPD: Automatic adjustment.
• Tracking: Inside out headset and controller tracking using SLAM.
• Face tracking: Supported
• Compute: RK3588S based SLAM and wireless PCVR processing.
• Wireless PCVR: Designed around wireless streaming and foveated streaming
• Battery: 45 W class Amprius silicon cell battery; a 7+ hour runtime is a development target and remains in progress.
• Expansion: Shares the Vector Gear’s intended open and moddable hardware ecosystem.

The price to get the headsets is $1250 for Andromeda 2560×2560 and $980 for the Vector Gear 2160×2160. Shipping is expected in May 2027 (but usually there are always delays with Kickstarter campaigns).
 
 I’m personally very intrigued by this project. I like the idea of an open-source headset featuring eye tracking and an innovative operating system. The team working on it also seems very passionate and has the right skills to build it. My only fear is that I’ve seen many Kickstarter campaigns of interesting devices being ruined by endless delays. In any case, I suggest you check this campaign out, because these guys deserve your consideration!
 
 (Thanks Rob Cole for the link)

More info (Vector Gear and Andromeda specs)
More info (Kickstarter campaign)

News worth a mention

XREAL announces 1 Pro+ glasses

XREAL has announced its new flagship AR glasses: XREAL 1 Pro+. This is just a refresh of the previous XREAL 1 Pro, which upgrades the brightness from 700 to 1200 nits, adds AI-driven HDR to make images more vivid, and features a more ergonomic nosepad. The automatic 2D to 3D conversion can also go up to 60fps.
 
 You can find Xreal 1 Pro+ available for purchase at XREAL.com, priced at $599, with global retail stores to be added later.

More info (XREAL 1 Pro Plus — Road To VR)
More info (XREAL 1 Pro Plus — X Post)

SanDisk announces SD Card for Meta VR Glasses

The new Meta VR Glasses feature an SD Card slot so that you can expand their 128GB storage. SanDisk has just partnered with Meta to offer some SD cards that have the “Made for Meta” seal of approval, so that they are guaranteed to work optimally with Meta’s new headset. Details on this accessory are very thin, and we have no idea about its price or storage size.

More info (SanDisk cards for Meta VR Glasses — Road To VR)
More info (SanDisk cards for Meta VR Glasses — Upload VR)

Alibaba announces N series glasses

Alibaba has just announced in China a new generation of AI glasses: the N1 and N1 Pro. These are glasses without a display, so they kinda resemble Ray-Ban Meta. But they have a peculiarity: they feature eye tracking, and according to my friends at VR AR World, it works fairly well. Eye tracking can be used both for iris identification when you have to make a payment, but also to understand what you are looking at for AI to give you more accurate information. The launch price is 2218 yuan (circa $332).

More info

Microsoft discontinues Immersive Events in Teams

Immersive Events in Microsoft Teams was the only thing that remained of the big efforts that Microsoft made to create Microsoft Mesh, which was a full framework to help companies create metaverse experiences. I said “was” because it has just been discontinued by the company. That’s a pity; Microsoft was so much ahead of the times in many things concerning mixed reality, and it has thrashed them all.

More info

Unity announces Unity Spark

Unity just announced Unity Spark, which is an online web-based game engine completely made to vibecode games. You prompt the games and the engine makes them for you. After that, you can easily share your game online. Probably they should have called it Unity Slop instead of Unity Spark, but that’s a topic for another day. More info

Two upcoming launches for you!

• Somnium Space is teasing important announcements for Somnium Connect, to be held in Prague on 28 November 2026
• Raven Prism is officially launching its privacy-oriented smartglasses at a dedicated event in San Francisco on October 28

It seems these tech companies really like the number 28…

More info (Somnium Connect)
More info (Raven Prism)

Two hackatons for you!

• Meta has finally opened the doors for its online hackathon about AI agents whose prize pool is $1M
• Snap is hosting a hackathon on SPECS glasses for December in Brussels, just the days after United XR Europe. Prize pool is $100K

More info (Meta’s AI hackathon)
More info (Snap’s AR hackathon)

Some news about content

• You Are Here: At the Magic Castle with Siegfried Tieber lets you enter a very exclusive location like The Magic Castle and enjoy some magic tricks on your Apple Vision Pro
• Co-operative story-driven VR puzzle game Daumier: Lila & Ghost is out now on Quest for €14, and a free copy is gifted for every purchase
• Free-to-play co-op JRPG Knights of Fiona drops Version 1.1 on October 20 with a story-concluding Chapter 6
• Cooperative wave shooter Stuffed: Two Foot Hero confirms a November 3 release date on Quest and PC VR. A PC VR demo will be available during Steam Next Fest
• Beat Saber announces new Shock Drop with the famous theme song of Ghostbusters
• Supernatural announced it will soon be launching with new features in Early Access on the Quest Store. They expect “thousands of workouts to be ready from day one”
• The third Steam Next Fest of 2026 kicks off today, October 19! A lot of free VR demos are available, and Upload made a list of them for us
• Remnants is a haunted experience beyond your control in Apple Immersive. It has been released just in time for Halloween
• Fabula Rasa, a game which involves convincing medieval characters embodied by LLMs to help you, comes on Quest on November 12
• Sci-fi cooperative extraction shooter Drifters: Blackout Crew has dropped its PC VR demo in anticipation of next week’s Steam Next Fest
• WatchBlocks: Craft & Build is like a mini Minecraft which works on ALL Apple Devices, including smartwatches and Apple Vision Pro!

More info (You Are Here: At the Magic Castle with Siegfried Tieber)
More info (Daumier: Lila & Ghost)
More info (Knights Of Fiona)
More info (Stuffed: Two Foot Hero)
More info (Beat Saber)
More info (Supernatural)
More info (Steam Next Fest)
More info (Remnants)
More info (Fabula Rasa)
More info (Drifters: Blackout Crew)
More info (WatchBlocks: Craft & Build)

Some reviews about content

• The Magician VR: The Cursed Wand is a magic shooter VR game that can make you feel like Harry Potter, but you’ll need a lot of practice to play it well
• BattleGroup VR 2 builds well on the foundations of the first episode: it still delivers well in letting you organize the tactics for your ships and then also fight in first person
• Convrgence actually is a roguelike shooter that just got out of Early Access, but probably it should have stayed longer because it still needs polish

More info (The Magician VR: The Cursed Wand)
More info (BattleGroup VR 2)
More info (Convrgence)

Other news

Quake 3 Arena running on a fragment shader in VRChat. Wow.

Learn more

Ray-Ban Meta Audio got a positive review by Engadget

Learn more

SideQuest now allows to sideload games without developer mode

Learn more

If you are in the Netherlands, you should consider joining XR Creators Connect NL Day 2026

Learn more

Gracia AI just released its World reconstruction model for Physical AI

Learn more

News from partners (and friends)

Get Aquarium Adventures

Aquarium Adventures turns your room into a mixed-reality aquarium on Meta Quest 3/3S. The latest Quest version (1.0.3) brings over 40 species of fish and marine mammals, from sharks and sea otters to whales, sea turtles and stingrays, with natural hand-tracking interaction. You can feed them and watch them respond, open spatial 3D photo galleries with facts on each species, and place shipwrecks, coral and treasure chests around your room across several underwater habitats.
 It plays with hand tracking or controllers, seated, standing or room-scale, and works offline. It’s family-friendly and built for all ages, rated Everyone on the Meta store. It’s $4.99, and there’s an Apple Vision Pro version at the same price.
 Readers of this blog can use code AQUAPRESS-258750 for 50% off on Meta Quest
Get it on Meta Quest
Get it on Apple Vision Pro

Discover iStock VR gun stocks

I’m Harrison, the founder of iStock. I got into VR shooters on the Quest and kept hitting the same wall. Magnetic gun stocks. Every reload meant fighting the magnets to detach the controller, then fighting them again to reattach. It killed the immersion and slowed me down.
 So I designed the iStock around a non-magnetic quick-detach mount. The controller can pop on and off freely, reloads are instant, and your aim gets steadier because the stock gives you a real shoulder point.
 Quest players picked them up first, then VR arcades started asking about bulk orders because beginners have a much easier time with shooters when they’re holding something solid.
 You can see them using the link below.
Get them on iStock VR

Some XR fun

Thanks to AI, Blender is now opensource!
Funny link

A thank you and an invite

I want to thank all my donors on Patreon for making this newsletter possible. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to afford to keep my website up and you wouldn’t be reading this roundup! So, a big thank you to:

• DeoVR
• GenVR
• Paolo Leoncini
• Nikk Mitchell and the great FXG team
• Chris Koomen
• Cognitive3D
• Carol Dalrymple
• Keith Bradner
• Fabrizio Carimati
• Field Of Vision
• Jason Moore & The MetaMovie Project
• Steve Biggs
• Kai Curtis
• Francesco Strada
• Sikaar Keita
• Ramin Assadollahi
• Chris Madsen
• Horacio Torrendell
• Andrew Deutsch
• Jeremy Dalton
• Joel Ward — Downward Spiral
• Kaihatsu Jai
• Giuseppe Pippi
• Mark Frederiksen
• Ken Lin
• Sebastien Poivre
• Peter Winston
• TykeAI
• Ready Player One
• Enrico Poli
• Pieter Siekerman
• Boule Petanque
• Terry xR. Schussler
• Steve Rittgers
• Brentwahn
• Michael Gaebler
• Tiago Silva
• Mark Giordano
• Simplex
• Paul Hadley
• Matias Nassi

You are very welcome to support me on Patreon, too. And if you want to make even better use of your money, you can consider donating to the Red Cross to support the humanitarian situation in Ukraine caused by the current conflict. Click the button below and donate your money for a good cause!

Support The Red Cross in Ukraine