Codemasters and EA revealed its next official video game of the Formula One World Championship, F1 24, which includes VR support when it launched on PC next month. Coming to consoles and PC on May 31st, F1 24 is set to launch with PC VR support, letting you race down digital versions of real-world F1 tracks. In comparison to previous F1 titles in the series, Codemasters says F1 24 includes “[a]ll-new suspension kinematics, an upgraded tyre model, advanced aerodynamic simulation, and new engine and car setup options enhance the driving experience.” “All driving aspects are im ..read more

SOUL COVENANT is an action RPG from the core members who brought you the SOUL SACRIFICE series. While the game does a few things to translate the franchises’s melee combat and giant monsters into a VR-native experience, adherence to the series’ repetitive wave-based missions and clunky narrative style takes it one step too many from feeling like a fresh and modern immersive experience. SOUL COVENANT Details: Available On: Quest 2/3/Pro, SteamVR, PSVR 2 Reviewed On: Quest 3, Quest 3 via Link Release Date: April 18th, 2024 Price: $40 on Quest, $50 on Steam/PSVR 2 ..read more

Meta today confirmed that the recent price drop of Quest 2 to $200 is now permanent, and official accessories are getting the same treatment. To be honest, when Meta dropped the price of Quest 2 down to the almost too-good-to-be-true price of $200 last month, we didn’t catch that the company also dropped the price on many official Quest 2 accessories. Well today the company confirmed that the discount on both Quest 2 and its accessories is permanent going forward. While Quest 2 (128GB) got a nice discount from $250 to $200, a handful of accessories got a massive 50% cut. Here’s th ..read more

OpenXR, the open standard that creates a standardized way for XR hardware and applications to interface, has seen its first major update. OpenXR 1.1 evolves the standard by incorporating new functionality that was important to the industry but previously not standardized. Facilitated by the standards body Khronos Group, OpenXR is a royalty-free standard that aims to standardize the development of VR and AR applications, making for a more interoperable ecosystem. The standard has been in development since April 2017 and over time has become supported by virtually every major hardware, platfo ..read more

Apple will soon allow users to upload their own spatial videos to Vision Pro demo units in hopes to really drive home the headset’s value proposition. When it comes to plonking down $3,500 for Vision Pro, seeing truly is believing, as anyone who wants to buy Apple’s first mixed reality headset can sign up for an in-store demo. That is, anyone in the US, as the company still hasn’t announced when it’s launching Vision Pro internationally. As reported by 9 to 5 Mac, it was discovered in the iOS 17.5 beta 2 software release that Apple will not only be serving up its regular slate of pre-l ..read more

Our series Inside XR Design highlights and unpacks examples of great XR design. Today we’re looking at Beat Saber (2019) and why its most essential design element can be used to make great VR games that have nothing to do with music or rhythm. You can find the complete video below, or continue reading for an adapted text version. More Than Music Welcome back to another episode of Inside XR Design. Now listen, I’m going to say something that doesn’t seem to make any sense at all. But by the end of this article, I guarantee you’ll understand exactly what I’m talking about. Beat Sab ..read more

Superhot VR hasn’t spawned nearly as many games as we thought it might, considering the ‘move to unfreeze time’ mechanic works so well in VR. Now, an upcoming game called COLD VR is looking to invert Superhot’s iconic gameplay and spin it for some fast-paced action. In Superhot you’re encouraged to stop and execute precise moves in order to unpause time, however Cold VR is the exact opposite: stay still and the game speeds up, meaning you’ll always need to be on the move to get past an army of blue (re: not red) crystalline enemies and their barrage of bullets. Effectively, taking a se ..read more

Pimax announced two new PC VR headsets today—both said to be launching this year—but it’s more than a year behind schedule on other products. “Pimax has never been short on ambition, but its execution hasn’t always kept up.” That’s a line from my article published on October 26th, 2021, in which Pimax announced three major products: The Pimax Reality “12K” headset with a monstrous resolution estimated at 18.6MP (5,760 x 3,240) per-eye and a massive 240° diagonal field-of-view A 60GHz wireless add-on for streaming PC VR A console-like ‘Pimax VR Station’ for streaming PC VR content to i ..read more

Despite its focus on casual content consumption, Netflix still hasn’t brought an app to Vision Pro. If you’re looking for a good replacement though, a new app called Supercut has you covered. A number of streaming giants opted-out of including any sort of app for Vision Pro including Netflix, YouTube, and Spotify, which was a puzzling move since their iOS apps would have been supported by default. It’s ostensibly a snub at Apple, although the lack of these popular apps has left room for independent developers to fill in the gaps, like the paid app Juno does for YouTube on Vis ..read more

Varjo announced it’s now supporting Quest 3 and Quest Pro for its cloud XR streaming platform ‘Reality Cloud’, which lets professionals stream and share immersive 3D content rendered on cloud-based GPUs. The Finland-based creator of high-end XR headsets is known for its pricey, but high-quality mixed reality headsets, which are primarily used in the enterprise space for designers and engineers, but also for things such as detailed simulation and training. You don’t need to plonk down the $3,990 for the company’s base model Varjo XR-4 headset though to use its subscription-based Varjo Realit ..read more