Meta has sold nearly 20 million Quest headsets, but the company continues to struggle with keeping customer using VR.
According to a report by The Verge, citing an internal Meta presentation held today, the company has sold nearly 20 million Quest headsets. This likely includes Quest 1, Quest 2, and Quest Pro, though by all accounts Quest 2 appears to be the vast majority. And while the figure wasn’t publicly announced, this would be the first official confirmation of Quest unit sales from the company.
This info was shared by Mark Rabkin, Meta’s VP of VR, during an internal presentation to “thousands” of employees, according to The Verge.
And while the 20 million unit Quest sales figure is impressive—and well beyond any other single VR headset maker—Rabkin went on to stress that the company has to do a better job at keeping customers using the headsets well after their purchase.
“We need to be better at growth and retention and resurrection,” he said. “We need to be better at social and actually make those things more reliable, more intuitive so people can count on it.”
Curiously, Meta’s latest wave of headset customers are less enthusiastic than those that bought in early.
“Right now, we’re on our third year of Quest 2,” Rabkin said, according to The Verge. “And sadly, the newer cohorts that are coming in—the people who bought it this last Christmas—they’re just not as into it [or engaged as] the ones who bought it early.”
The report from The Verge includes more info about the company’s XR roadmap, which you can read in full here.
Pimax, the China-based creator known for its wide field of view (FOV) VR headsets, announced it’s secured a $30 million series C1 financing round, something the company says will aid in the rollout of its new portfolio of VR devices.
The series C1 was led by Beijing-based investment firm Tuanmu Capital. This follows the company’s $20 million series B in 2020, bringing the company’s lifetime outside investment to over $69 million.
In a press statement, the company says the funds will be used to accelerate growth of its coming line of VR headsets, Pimax Crystal and Pimax Portal, enhance its position as both a consumer and enterprise-focused company, and increase investment in R&D.
Founded in 2015, Pimax is best known for its first Pimax “8K” headset Kickstarted in 2017, a consumer PC VR headset that included dual 4K panels providing an estimated 200-degree FOV, by far one of the largest in the industry at the time. Even today, many consumer headsets, such as Meta Quest 2 and HTC Vive XR Elite, feature FOVs around 110 degrees.
Pimax Crystal | Photo by Road to VR
The company has since gone on to offer multiple iterations of its wide FOV headset, but also is set to launch both its VR standalone Pimax Crystal and hybrid Portal device, the latter of which can convert between a Nintendo Switch-style gaming handheld and a VR headset.
Both Pimax Crystal and Pimax Portal are expected to release at some point in “early 2023”, with Crystal available for pre-order on the company’s website and Portal still in the fulfillment stage from its successful 2022 Kickstarter, which garnered just over $350,000 from backers.
“Of course, we’re delighted with this new round of funding, as it allows us to boost our production capacity to meet the rapidly growing demand for our new VR products, as well as to improve both our hardware and software further,” said Pimax Founder Robin Weng. “We’ve been innovating VR technology and we will keep on doing that in the future, always pushing the limits of what is possible through technology.”
The Shanghai-based company now boasts over 300 employees in offices spread across offices in San Jose, Stockholm, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Qingdao, and Chengdu.
With one out of eight people in the world living with a mental disorder, mental health has become a critical concern of global importance. However, many people are still not receiving the care they need and deserve. Fortunately, emerging technologies are becoming more affordable and accessible, offering new possibilities to transform mental health care. One such solution is mental health services in VR.
To explore the key role emerging technologies play in revolutionizing the field of mental health, we delve into the current challenges the industry faces and how new technologies can potentially address them. Terrance Williams, the founder of Meta Wellness, shares his insights on how digital and immersive technologies can augment the delivery of mental health care services.
Major Gaps in Mental Health Systems
Mental health systems worldwide are marked by significant gaps in information and research, governance, resources, and services. For instance, around half of the world’s population live in countries where the ratio of psychiatrists to people is 1 for every 200,000. In the United States alone, almost one out of four adults with mental illness reported that they were not able to receive the treatment they needed.
Virtual reality offers an accessible and affordable way to provide high-quality and timely mental health care.
The Role of VR in Mental Health Care
VR and similar technologies have the potential to provide more immersive and engaging interventions that can significantly enhance the quality and accessibility of mental health care. Terrance Williams believes that VR is the next stage toward the future of mental health. He explains that instead of telehealth services relying on zoom or a computer to host their sessions, they can now do their sessions in VR in the metaverse.
According to Williams, the effectiveness of VR has been seen in a number of ways including the treatment of acrophobia, panic disorders, schizophrenia, agoraphobia, social phobia, claustrophobia, and eating disorders.
VR simulations have also shown great promise as an effective element in therapy sessions for PTSD as they allow a person to face their trauma in a relaxed and controlled setting. Indeed, the possibilities are endless. Even in the realm of rehabilitation, VR has been seen as useful in cognitive rehabilitation in adults and children with autism spectrum disorder.
Challenges in VR Mental Health
The development and use of VR in mental health care must be carefully monitored and regulated to ensure that it benefits patients and does not create new risks or challenges. Asked about the challenges that mental health professionals face when incorporating VR into their practices, Williams says that one of the biggest things he often gets asked about is HIPAA compliance. Although he explains that this does not pose a threat as long as certain measures are in place and certain steps are taken to maintain compliance.
Another issue often raised when it comes to mental health in VR is the accessibility of equipment. Headset devices are needed to conduct sessions in VR. Since the technology is still fairly new, VR headsets are not as common as phones, tablets, or laptops. While they can now be easily bought at electronic stores, they are not yet standard items in the common household. This limits access to mental health VR services, especially in low-income families.
Incorporating VR Into Mental Health Care
For mental health professionals looking to incorporate VR into their practices, it is important to start with learning the basics of virtual reality technology and how it can be used for mental health purposes. Collaborating with companies that specialize in building VR platforms for mental health professionals, like Meta Wellness, can also help navigate the technology.
Through Meta Wellness, Williams has been helping mental health professionals, therapists, life coaches, nonprofits, and many others in the virtual reality space. The company specializes in building VR platforms for mental health professionals for telehealth purposes. Clients anywhere in the world can buy or rent virtual reality spaces to host telehealth or private group sessions. As one of the pioneers in the space, they are committed to educating, growing, and exploring the possibilities of what virtual reality can bring.
Stronger Mental Health Care With Mental Health VR
Williams believes that in the future, 90% of all mental health telehealth sessions will eventually take place in the metaverse through virtual reality. He believes that mental health VR is the next phase in this sector. As the technology grows, so will the capabilities and accessibility.
Indeed, virtual reality and other immersive technologies can play a key role in addressing the indisputable and urgent need for wide-ranging transformation toward mental health for all. They can bridge the vast gap and reduce inequities in mental health systems.
POPULATION: ONE, the hit battle royale shooter from BigBox VR, is going free-to-play next month on the Quest platform.
Initially released in late 2020, Population: One has essentially become VR’s de facto battle royale, bringing large-scale cross-platform battles to Quest and SteamVR headsets.
Now Meta-owned studio BigBox VR says it’s going free-to-play on Quest 2 and Quest Pro starting on March 9th, which will also include a host of new goodies to previous owners of the game, coming in addition to an update which will include new content.
Notably, it’s not going free-to-play on PC VR platforms; both the Oculus Rift and Steam version of the game will be priced at $20 starting March 9th, which is a $10 discount from the original price.
Those PC versions will include 1,200 ($20) worth of the in-game currency Bureau Gold (BG), something the studio says is being done to prevent potential cheaters from easily making a new account on Steam/Rift platforms.
All owners of the game before the March 9th at 10AM PT free-to-play update will get a bundle, called the ‘Original Banana Bundle Rewards’, which the studio estimates at an $80 value. This includes:
Legendary “PJ Potassium” Character Skin
Legendary “Prestige” Character Skins (4)
Rare “Prestige” Full Gun Set (14)
Exclusive Title: “Original Banana”
Exclusive Calling Card: “Celebration”
Exclusive Spray: “I Was Here”
1,000 Bureau Gold
Full Access to the Level Progression Track
Image courtesy BigBox VR
There’s also a host of new content coming to the game to kick off the free-to-play update on March 9th, including a new single player mode with dynamic bots and in-game rewards, new player lobbies, a larger sandbox limit of 12 and 24 players, and an all-new shop featuring over 100 new character and weapon skin. You can check out the full changelog in the Meta blogpost.
As for the upcoming roadmap, BigBox VR says both a Sandbox Battle Royale Mode and Sandbox Battle Royale Playlist are slated to arrive on March 30th. The studio says we should also expect new weapons, updates on the Evolving Map, Sandbox features & modes, and matchmaking improvements in the near future.
Divine Duel is an upcoming free-to-play fighting game that pits you against celestial foes in 1v1 combat, and it’s coming first to Quest next month.
In Divine Duel you choose from four Celestials, each of which has their own unique powers. The studio says initially there will be over 40 weapons, spells, and creatures to summon—which yes, also includes dragons.
From the looks of it, players select a loadout of spells and weapons before each match, and select them in a sort of tactical turn-based combat during the fight, not unlike the now free-to-play dueling game Blaston.
The full-bodied, room-scale fighting game is similarly a real-time affair, so you’ll need to physically dodge and attack. Developer Immersion Games says it’s offering up multiple game modes at launch too, including classical duels and what the studio calls “card-games-inspired” battle.
Here’s a quick rundown of each Celestial and their two specials:
Arvald, the Solid: Frozen Comet, Frost Wyrm
Vaya, the Bioalchemist: Biostasis, Forest Spirits
Necra, the Underqueen: Ethernal Guardians, Ushabti
Ishi, The War Forger: Megaballista, Telekinesis
The team hasn’t revealed what extras it will be offering in order to monetize the game, although if it’s like any of the leading free-to-play dueling game, Blaston, we’re hoping to see a cosmetics-only approach.
The free-to-play game is set to launch on Quest and Quest 2 via App Lab on March 1st, and PC VR headsets via Steam in the coming weeks, developer Immersion Games revealed.
When we first caught glimpse of HUMANITY, it was clear it was going to be a unique experience, although the crowd simulation puzzler was long delayed past the original 2020 launch window. Now Tokyo-based design studio Tha LTD announced HUMANITY is officially coming in May.
It was pretty vague what the hell HUMANITY was all about when it was first announced in 2019, however now the studio reveals its upcoming game is a “unique blend of puzzle-solving and action-platforming,” giving you control over an ethereal Shiba Inu dog who commands a massive crowd.
Like Lemmings, you control the crowd as they jump, turn, push, float, shoot, and climb their way to the end goal. Move past obstacles, enemies, puzzles, and gain unlockable skills in the main game, and upload and try out user-built levels with the in-game Stage Creator.
Image courtesy Tha LTD, Enhance
To create its stark and unique environments, developer Tha LTD is working with creative studio Enhance—founded by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, known as the mind behind Rez and Tetris Effect: Connected—and director and visual designer Yugo Nakamura.
Tha game is considered a VR-optional experience, offering up a fairly straightforward implementation that lets you turn the game’s puzzle-filled levels around and control your Shiba Inu buddy and direct the human horde. While nothing ground-breaking, it’s nice to see VR support from the get-go.
The game is slated to release on PSVR, PSVR 2, and SteamVR headsets sometime in May. What’s more, you can now play a free demo on those platforms from now until March 6th. The demo contains 10 levels, while the full game has “90 plus”, the studio says.
In the meantime, check out the demo gameplay video overview below to learn more:
nDreams, the studio behind Fracked (2021) and Phantom: Covert Ops (2020), announced Synapse, an upcoming action shooter exclusive to PSVR 2 that looks to evolve Fracked’s run-and-cover gameplay whilst making good use of the headset’s eye-tracking capabilities.
There’s still a lot to learn about Synapse, although nDreams says in its PS blogpost announcement that Fracked made a “perfect foundation to build upon with Synapse,” as the upcoming shooter looks to evolves the former’s core gameplay.
As a PSVR 2 exclusive, Synapse however is also slated to use Sense controllers in concert with the headset’s eye-tracking capabilities, something the studio head James Shepard says provides “enhanced aiming which equips players with pinpoint precision when targeting their telekinesis and combines with motion controls to make wielding telekinetic powers a full-body experience.”
In the teaser trailer we get a good look at a few mechanics too; you’ll be able to launch, levitate, and smash enemies through destructible environments.
The fast-paced run and gun style gameplay along with telekinetically moveable cover also shows just how related nDream’s upcoming shooter is to Fracked.
There’s no launch date yet, however nDreams says it’s coming exclusively to PSVR 2 later this year. In the meantime, you can wishlist the game here.
Chinese tech giant Xiaomi today showed off a prototype AR headset at Mobile World Congress (MWC) that wirelessly connects to the user’s smartphone, making for what the company calls its “first wireless AR glasses to utilize distributed computing.”
Called Xiaomi Wireless AR Glass Discovery Edition, the device is built upon the same Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 1 chipset as Meta’s recently released Quest Pro VR standalone.
While specs are still thin on the ground, the company did offer some info on headline features. For now, Xiaomi is couching it as a “concept technology achievement,” so it may be a while until we see a full spec sheet.
Packing two microOLED displays, the company is boasting “retina-level” resolution, saying its AR glasses pack in 58 pixels per degree (PPD). For reference, Meta Quest Pro has a PPD of 22, while enterprise headset Varjo XR-3 cites a PPD of 70.
The company hasn’t announced the headset’s field of view (FOV), however it says its free-form light-guiding prisms “minimizes light loss and produces clear and bright images with a to-eye brightness of up to 1200nit.”
Electrochromic lenses are also said to adapt the final image to different lighting conditions, even including a full ‘blackout mode’ that ostensibly allows it to work as a VR headset as well.
Image courtesy Xiaomi
As for input, Xiaomi Wireless AR Glass includes onboard hand-tracking in addition to smartphone-based touch controls. Xiaomi says its optical hand-tracking is designed to let users to do things like select and open apps, swipe through pages, and exit apps.
As a prototype, there’s no pricing or availability on the table, however Xiaomi says the lightweight glasses (at 126g) will be available in a titanium-colored design with support for three sizes of nosepieces. An attachable glasses clip will also be available for near-sighted users.
In an exclusive hands-on, XDA Developers surmised it felt near production-ready, however one of the issues noted during a seemingly bump-free demo was battery life; the headset had to be charged in the middle of the 30-minute demo. Xiaomi apparently is incorporating a self-developed silicon-oxygen anode battery that is supposedly smaller than a typical lithium-ion battery. While there’s an onboard Snapdragon XR 2 Gen 1 chipset, XDA Developers also notes it doesn’t offer any storage, making a compatible smartphone requisite to playing AR content.
This isn’t the company’s first stab at XR tech; last summer Xiaomi showed off a pair of consumer smartglasses, called Mijia Glasses Camera, that featured a single heads-up display. Xiaomi’s Wireless AR Glass is however much closer in function to the concept it teased in late 2021, albeit with chunkier free-form light-guiding prisms than the more advanced-looking waveguides teased two years ago.
Xiaomi is actively working closely with chipmaker Qualcomm to ensure compatibility with Snapdragon Spaces-ready smartphones, which include Xiaomi 13 and OnePlus 11 5G. Possible other future contributions from Lenovo and Motorola, which have also announced their intentions to support Snapdragon Spaces.
Qualcomm announced Snapdragon Spaces in late 2021, a software tool kit which focuses on performance and low power devices which allows developers to create head-worn AR experiences from the ground-up, or add head-worn AR to existing smartphone apps.
In the fiercely contested smartphone market, photography can be a key battleground. Alongside the insatiable desires for better batteries, durability, storage, and processing, camera quality consistentlyranks as a key factor when choosing a phone.
At CES 2023, Spectricity, a startup based in Belgium, unveiled a new entrant to the competition: the S1 chip.
Spectricity claims the S1 is the first truly miniaturised and mass-manufacturable spectral image sensor for mobile devices — and the company is targetting sector dominance. Within two years, Spectricity boldly predicts the sensor will be inside every smartphone.
The bullishness derives from a singular focus: measuring “true colour” in smartphones. According to Spectricty, this is something that even the best smartphones still can’t do.
The problem stems from shortcomings in their white balance software, which is used to remove unrealistic colour tones. Our natural vision system does this remarkably well. When we see a white wall under sunlight or a fluorescent lamp, our brain adjusts the colour temperatures to make both scenes appear white. Smartphones attempt to do the same thing, but the results are often disappointing.
“None of these cameras can recognise true colour.
Limited by the three RGB colour channels of red, green, and blue, their auto-white balancing algorithms struggle to correct unnatural colour temperatures. As a result, photos taken under incandescent bulbs can appear more orange than under sunlight, while shady areas can look bluer.
“Even though there’s a lot of processing power behind these cameras, none can recognise true colour,” Spectricity CEO Vincent Mouret tells TNW.
To resolve this issue, the S1 sensor uses additional filters to analyse the spectral signature of an object. After sensing the light source in an image, the system corrects the colours accordingly.
Mouret (left) was CEO of several semiconductor startups before joining Spectricity founder Jonathan Borremans’ (right) team.
Spectricity showed TNW the effects in a live demo. Under different lighting conditions, the pictures produced by the S1 were compared to photos taken by high-end smartphone cameras.
Although the results of demos aren’t always replicated in reality, the colours rendered by the S1 appeared far more consistent under diverse illuminations.
“With our solution, you can have the same colours whatever the lighting condition,” says Spectricity application engineer Michael Jacobs.
Spectricity expects the first smartphones with the S1 to be released in 2024.
The ambitions for the sensor extend beyond better photos. As the S1 can capture the full visible and near-infrared range at video rates, the imager could enhance numerous mobile applications. Spectricity envisions using the sensor for remote cosmetics, e-commerce, ID verification, skin-health analysis, and even smart gardening.
A key component of these plans is the S1’s improved rendering of skin tones. Smartphone cameras are notoriously bad at capturing darker skin, which limits the inclusivity of photos. It also inhibits any apps that use skin analysis, from melanoma detection to virtual makeup.
The S1’s recognition of darker skin could broaden access to the benefits.
Biomarker analysis can be incorporated in personalised skin care.
Smartphone giants are also ploughing fortunes into colour fidelity, but Specriticity says they still can’t compete with the S1 sensor. This confidence emanates from a long and narrow scientific focus.
Spectricity began life as a spin-out of the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC), a research lab for nanoelectronics and digital technologies. This connection has helped the startup amass 19 granted patents and 66 active applications, as well as 13 PhDs in their team.
To commercialise the innovations, Spectricity has set up a high-volume manufacturing line at the X-FAB foundry — which is now ready for mass production.
The S1 is currently under evaluation by major smartphone makers. Amid a global decline in mobile sales, Spectricity is betting that the sensor offers them an irresistible edge.
Adapting to technological advances is a defining part of 21st-century life. But it’s not unique to us: it’s been part of the human story since our earliest written records – even featuring in the plotlines of ancient myths and legends.
While ChatGPT threatens to change writing (and writing-related work) as we know it, the Mesopotamians, who lived 4,000 years ago (in a geographical area centred in modern-day Iraq), went through this kind of seismic change before us. Their civilisation is credited with the invention of writing.
The Mesopotamians are credited with the invention of writing. The city of Babylon, whose ruins are pictured here, was a centre of Mesopotamian culture. Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY
Living in changing times
Just two months after launching in November 2022, OpenAI’s ChatGPT has already reached an audience of over 100 million people.
Responses to ChatGPT and its competitors have vacillated between recognising the potential risks of the chatbot and extolling its possible benefits. We’re flooded with theories on how new advances in AI may change how we work, study and live.
Ancient Mesopotamia was home to many of civilisation’s early developments. Its people were world leaders in adapting to technological and cultural change.
Mesopotamians invented the wheel and agriculture, and pioneered advances in mathematics, urbanisation and transportation. These breakthroughs are reflected in cuneiform literature, one of the oldest known forms of writing.
The history of cuneiform writing is complex, but it seems to have initially developed to record economic data, such as debts that were owed. Over time, however, the Mesopotamians widened their use of signs inscribed into clay tablets to record a variety of information, in numerous languages. New uses covered everything from diplomatic correspondences to omen texts, to some of the world’s oldest literary masterpieces.
Tech-assisted heroes
In the world’s earliest known written epic, Gilgamesh, the eponymous hero is shown inventing and using technologies, such as diving weights and a sail, to further his journey to the edges of the world – and beyond.
Mesopotamian epics feature numerous battles, some using technology such as advanced weaponry. Wikimedia Commons
As noted by Assyriologist Andrew George, the young hero develops new technologies to help his quest for fame and immortality. These advances allow him to engage in previously unknown activities, such as sailing and deep-sea diving.
Another royal hero from Mesopotamia, Lugalbanda (sometimes known for his super speed) is also credited with technological advancement. Lugalbanda improves the technique of fire-starting by using flint to spark embers and bake bread. The heroes’ use of new tools emphasises their exceptionalism.
Inventions and ambiguity
Mesopotamian epics don’t present cultural and technological advances as unambiguously and uniformly beneficial. In Gilgamesh, the benefits of civilisation and urbanisation, such as advances in wall-building technology, are juxtaposed with their costs – such as environmental destruction and alienation from the wild.
Indeed, the epics often represent new technologies being harnessed in the service of human conflict – and disproportionately serving the interests of those with high social status. In the Sumerian epic Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta, the heroic king defeats his enemy by inventing and using superior technology: the ability to write on clay tablets.
This invention is also thought to be referenced in the Epic of Sargon, where Sargon appears to dodge a murder attempt through his epic reading skills. The text notes that while writing on tablets had been developed at that stage, the use of envelopes to hide their contents had not (perhaps luckily for Sargon).
In some ways, the representation of new technologies in cuneiform literature echoes contemporary concerns about AI: fears of increasing social inequalities and its potential use in cyberwarfare.
In Gilgamesh, the benefits of civilisation and urbanisation are juxtaposed with their costs, like environmental destruction. This clay tablet is inscribed with part of the epic of Gilgamesh. Zunkir/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY
The future of history
Studying the past can deepen our understanding of how humans have adapted to modern technology over thousands of years. Conversely, modern technology continues to broaden our understanding of history.
In recent years, AI – the newest form of writing – has been used to decipher the oldest: cuneiform literature. The Fragmentarium project, for example, uses sophisticated algorithms to determine which fragments of shattered cuneiform texts belong together; these algorithms predict the text that once filled the missing sections.
AI will likely continue to alter the way historians analyse the past. This will require new considerations around familiar issues – such as how to represent the past accurately in light of possibly biased evidence, and the need to critically evaluate sources of information.
In the broader field of academia, the boundaries of how AI may be used have not yet been clearly explained. In January, for example, a top international AI conference banned the use of AI tools for writing scientific papers – though its use in editing papers was accepted.
Considering the limits of technology
Even those early tech adapters, the Mesopotamians, ran into problems the technology of the day could not address.
Climate change is thought to have resulted in the downfall of the Akkadian Empire, sometimes called the world’s first multi-national political entity. And even the crafty Gilgamesh couldn’t escape his own mortality.
Humans have been grappling with how to invent, use and adapt to technology since our earliest civilisations. In Mesopotamian epic literature, new technology helps heroic individuals travel beyond accepted limitations and develop new skills. But the technology and resulting knowledge are not always evenly distributed.
Knowing how we adapted to changing technology in the past helps us more fully understand the human condition – and may even help us prepare for the future.
Qualcomm announced at Mobile World Congress (MWC) today it’s partnering with seven global telecommunication companies in preparation for the next generation of AR glasses which are set to work directly with the user’s smartphone.
Partners include CMCC, Deutsche Telekom, KDDI Corporation, NTT QONOQ, T-Mobile, Telefonica, and Vodafone, which are said to currently be working with Qualcomm on new XR devices, experiences, and developer initiatives, including Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Spaces XR developer platform.
Qualcomm announced Snapdragon Spaces in late 2021, a software tool kit which focuses on performance and low power devices which allows developers to create head-worn AR experiences from the ground-up or by adding head-worn AR to existing smartphone apps.
Qualcomm and Japan’s KDDI Corporation also announced a multi-year collaboration which it says will focus on the expansion of XR use cases and creation of a developer program in Japan.
Meanwhile, Qualcomm says OEMs are designing “a new wave of devices for operators and beyond” such as the newly unveiled Xiaomi Wireless AR Glass Discovery Edition, OPPO’s new Mixed Reality device and OnePlus 11 5G smartphone.
At least in Xiaomi’s case, its Wireless AR Glass headset streams data from compatible smartphones. Effectively offloading computation to the smartphone, the company’s 126g headset boasts a wireless latency of as low as 3ms between the smartphone device to the glasses, and a wireless connection with full link latency as low as 50ms which is comparable to wired solution.
Another Axiom, the indie studio behind wildly successful VR game Gorilla Tag, hinted that it’s now pursuing a project inspired by Echo VR.
Kerestell ‘LemmingVR’ Smith, the lead creator of Gorilla Tag, originally started working on the game thanks to his love of Echo VR, the zero-g sports game created by the Meta-owned studio Ready at Dawn.
Late last month though, Meta announced it will be shutting down Echo VR this summer as the team pursues other projects. As you’d imagine, this didn’t sit right with the small but dedicated playerbase, Smith included.
And Smith isn’t just any fan; he’s competed in and won several Echo VR competitions with his team ‘ec.lip.se’, making the loss of the game decidedly more personal.
In a recent tweet, Smith hinted that a new project is on the horizon which will be a zero-g sports game of sorts—undoubtedly a response to Meta pulling the plug on Echo VR.
Another Axion hasn’t tipped their hats beyond Smith’s tweet, so we’ll just have to wait and see what’s in store from the creator of Quest’s most-rated game, which has surpassed even the Meta-owned rhythm game Beat Saber in the number of user reviews it’s garnered.
In fact, the game has been so successful it generated $26 million in revenue from in-app purchases. The gorilla-themed game of tag has also reported a staggering (for VR) peak monthly active user count of 2.3 million in December 2022, further stating that over 760,000 users played on Christmas Day.
Thanks to Sven Viking for pointing us to the news.
