quest 3 – Page 4

‘INVERSE’ is a 4v1 Survival Horror for Quest, Free Early Access Now Live

dead by daylight, inverse, inverse vr, massvr, News, Quest 2, quest 3, quest horror, survival horror, VR Game, vr horror, vr survival, vr survival horror / Ryan Harris / June 16, 2023

INVERSE, a multiplayer survival horror unveiled by MassVR, has launched into early access on Quest. Be the monster, or the agents working together to restore power to the facility.

In this 4v1 asymmetric game, players can choose to be the Agents, working together to restore control terminals, or take on the role of the Nul monster, seeking to corrupt and disable unsuspecting victims—so basically Dead by Daylight, but for VR.

During its early access period on Quest, which is now available for free through Quest App Lab, there are currently two multiplayer maps and one single player challenge map available, which includes the ability to play as one of the ‘Reaper’ monsters.

The studio says at the game’s full release, which is slated to come in Fall 2023, INVERSE will up the player count to five Agents and two playable monsters, with more content promised in the future.

Early Access is free, although the studio says the price will increase at full release. Check out the announcement trailer below, which was released during UploadVR’s Summer Showcase.

‘INVERSE’ is a 4v1 Survival Horror for Quest, Free Early Access Now Live Read More »

‘Espire 2’ Mixed Reality Missions Coming as Free Update to Quest, Trailer Here

digital lode, espire 2, espire 2 mixed reality, espire 2 vr, Meta Quest 3, News, quest 3, quest 3 games, VR Game / Mike M. / June 15, 2023

Espire 2: Stealth Operative (2022), the stealth action game from Digital Lode, is getting a free mixed reality mode for Quest 2, Quest Pro and Quest 3 later this year.

Digital Lode revealed footage of the mixed reality update during the UploadVR Summer Showcase, promising a series of stealth missions that “grow and adapt to the player’s personal playspace.”

“Missions are deliberately focused and optimized for all environments ranging from small areas to multiple rooms,” the studio says. “Play as Tempest, an agent who must pass a series of Mixed Reality Missions to earn their stripes and be cleared to pilot an Espire Frame.”

Each mission is said to offer a variety of objectives, and will also include enemy soldiers, bipedal mechs, electronic threats, and “more that emerge to prevent you from completing your objective.”

Espire 2’s mixed reality mode is slated to arrive for free on Quest headsets sometime later this year.

Meta Quest 3, the company’s next mixed reality standalone, is set to arrive sometime this fall, priced at $500. Besides being thinner and more powerful than Quest 2, Quest 3 promises the same color passthrough function as the company’s $1,000 Quest Pro, which could usher in a new influx of similar mixed reality modes in the coming months.

‘Espire 2’ Mixed Reality Missions Coming as Free Update to Quest, Trailer Here Read More »

Leaked Quest 3 Setup Videos Show ‘Smart Guardian’ Room-scanning in Action

Lunayian, Meta Quest 3, meta quest 3 setup, News, quest 3, quest 3 leak, quest 3 setup, samulia / Blake Jones / June 14, 2023

Meta unveiled Quest 3 earlier this month, its upcoming standalone VR headset that not only promises to be thinner and more powerful than Quest 2, but also offer color passthrough for augmented reality. Now renowned dataminer ‘Samulia’ has uncovered what appears to be an early video of the headset’s ‘Smart Guardian’ feature in action.

Samulia published four videos showing off what seems to be a work-in-progress look at a new user experience (NUX) for Quest 3. The videos below seem to show how a new user might setup and use the headset’s guardian function, which is designed to keep users safe from bumping into objects.

The clips, which appear to be early prototypes, look similar to other videos which Meta includes in its headsets to explain basic functions, such as how to use hand-tracking, guardian setup, how to fit the headset for best comfort, etc. Here are those videos, courtesy Twitter user @Lunayian:

https://twitter.com/Lunayian/status/1667717804223610880

https://twitter.com/Lunayian/status/1667717805905526784

In the first two videos, it appears a user is using the headset’s inside-out sesnors to scan their playspace, which includes recognition of objects such as couches, coffee tables, desks, TVs, desktop computers, and decorative items—all of which seem to be recognized and individually meshed.

https://twitter.com/Lunayian/status/1667717807730032641

https://twitter.com/Lunayian/status/1667717809999101952

In the last two videos we see the Smart Guardian in action, which notifies the user of close-by objects. There also appears to be a primary workspace marking function similar to what we see on Quest 2 and Quest Pro in addition to a quick clip of the user playing with a ball in mixed reality, which notably accounts for the user’s furniture as play surfaces.

Meta hasn’t detailed its Smart Guardian system, a naming scheme first mentioned in a leaked roadmap which was allegedly presented by Mark Rabkin, Meta’s VP of VR. The company has however said Quest 3 will “seamlessly blend your physical world with the virtual one,” and that its system will be capable of “intelligently understanding and responding to objects in your physical space and allowing you to navigate that space in natural, intuitive ways that were nearly impossible before.”

Samulia also has a good track record of mining data from Quest firmware releases well before their official announcements. They’re credited with uncovering NUX video in 2021 showing off the first glimpse at Quest Pro in addition to extracting the Meta logo before it was officially unveiled at the company’s February 2022 pivot announcement.

Leaked Quest 3 Setup Videos Show ‘Smart Guardian’ Room-scanning in Action Read More »

Zuckerberg Gives His First Reaction to Apple’s Vision Pro

apple mr, apple vision, apple vision pro, Apple VR, apple xr, mark zuckerberg, meat quest 3, Meta, meta quest, News, quest 3 / Blake Jones / June 9, 2023

Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg hasn’t been shy about addressing the elephant in the room: with Apple Vision Pro, the Cupertino tech giant is officially entering a market that, up until now, Meta has basically owned. In a meeting with Meta employees, Zuckerberg thinks that while Apple Vision Pro “could be the vision of the future of computing […] it’s not the one that I want”

As reported by The Verge, Zuckerberg seems very confident in the company’s XR offerings, and is less impressed with Apple’s design tradeoffs. During a companywide meeting, Zuckerberg said that with Vision Pro, Appe has “no kind of magical solutions” and that they haven’t bypassed “any of the constraints on laws of physics that our teams haven’t already explored and thought of.” He calls that “the good news.”

Largely, Zuckerberg says Apple is making some telling design tradeoffs, as its higher resolution displays, advanced software, and external battery comes alongside a $3,500 price tag—or seven times more than Meta’s upcoming Quest 3 mixed reality standalone.

But it’s also about ethos. Zuckerberg says the companies’ respective headsets represent a divide in company philosophy, as Apple products are typically developed to appeal to high income consumers. “We innovate to make sure that our products are as accessible and affordable to everyone as possible, and that is a core part of what we do. And we have sold tens of millions of Quests,” he said.

“More importantly, our vision for the metaverse and presence is fundamentally social. It’s about people interacting in new ways and feeling closer in new ways,” Zuckerberg continued. “Our device is also about being active and doing things. By contrast, every demo that they showed was a person sitting on a couch by themself. I mean, that could be the vision of the future of computing, but like, it’s not the one that I want.”

The Meta chief echoed some of these statements on the Lex Fridman podcast where he spoke about his opinions on Apple Vision Pro, noting that Apple’s mixed reality headset offers a “certain level of validation for the category.” Because Vision Pro will cost so much though, Zuckerberg maintains Quest 3 will overall benefit as people inevitably gravitate to towards the cheaper, more consumer-friendly option.

Here’s Zuckerberg’s full statement, sourced from the companywide address:

Apple finally announced their headset, so I want to talk about that for a second. I was really curious to see what they were gonna ship. And obviously I haven’t seen it yet, so I’ll learn more as we get to play with it and see what happens and how people use it.

From what I’ve seen initially, I’d say the good news is that there’s no kind of magical solutions that they have to any of the constraints on laws of physics that our teams haven’t already explored and thought of. They went with a higher resolution display, and between that and all the technology they put in there to power it, it costs seven times more and now requires so much energy that now you need a battery and a wire attached to it to use it. They made that design trade-off and it might make sense for the cases that they’re going for.

But look, I think that their announcement really showcases the difference in the values and the vision that our companies bring to this in a way that I think is really important. We innovate to make sure that our products are as accessible and affordable to everyone as possible, and that is a core part of what we do. And we have sold tens of millions of Quests.

More importantly, our vision for the metaverse and presence is fundamentally social. It’s about people interacting in new ways and feeling closer in new ways. Our device is also about being active and doing things. By contrast, every demo that they showed was a person sitting on a couch by themself. I mean, that could be the vision of the future of computing, but like, it’s not the one that I want. There’s a real philosophical difference in terms of how we’re approaching this. And seeing what they put out there and how they’re going to compete just made me even more excited and in a lot of ways optimistic that what we’re doing matters and is going to succeed. But it’s going to be a fun journey.

Zuckerberg Gives His First Reaction to Apple’s Vision Pro Read More »

Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro: A Tale of Two Headsets

Apple Inc., apple vision pro, AR glasses, featured, quest 3, trending, VR headsets, XR Headsets / Ryan Harris / June 8, 2023

Both Apple and Meta revealed highly anticipated headsets in the last seven days. The hype is just about the only thing they have in common. The two headsets have different audiences, different affordances and requirements, and drastically different price points. As such, they illuminate two drastically different approaches to the XR space.

The Meta Quest 3

The Meta Quest 3 has been the subject of rumors, speculation, leaks, and outright fabrication probably since before the Quest 2 came out. But, it was officially announced last week and is set to launch this fall.

The headset has been relatively easy to speculate on, seeing as it is the fourth iteration of flagship headsets in a familiar and built-out hardware and software ecosystem. As was largely expected, the Quest 3 appears to largely be a blend of the successful elements of the Quest 2 and some of the more advanced features that we saw from the Quest Pro.

From fairly early on, the Quest Pro was largely seen as a dev kit and a testing ground for future products. Pro hallmarks coming to the Quest 3 include color passthrough and the Pro controllers. The price of the Quest 3 is significantly less expensive than the Quest Pro, if slightly more expensive than the Quest 2, coming in at $499.

Following the announcement, most of what we have to go on as far as what kind of punch the Quest 3 packs still does largely come from speculation. Where previous Quest headsets were announced at last year’s Connect – Meta’s biggest annual event – the Quest 3 was announced through a relatively low-key social media campaign on the morning of the Meta Gaming Showcase.

Meta Quest 3 headset

As anticipated as the Quest 3 has been, it might not be the most hyped headset of all time – or even the most hyped headset to come out this week. Meta’s seemingly hasty announcement of the Quest 3 seems to have been timed to come out before Apple’s announcement of the Vision Pro.

The Apple Vision Pro

Apple’s entry into XR has long been awaited – if only because the company has repeatedly put off announcing a product. So, after all of the wait, what can the headset actually do?

The headset’s 12 cameras, five sensors, and six mics enable controller-free tracking, voice interactions, and impressive audio. Connected to a device it can run all day, but a battery pack will let it run on its own for two hours. Apple reported over 10 million pixels per eye, but did not release familiar resolution metrics or field-of-view.

The headset is capable of handling 3D assets sent via messages, and it constructs a 3D avatar that can be used in video calls. Developers with early access include JigSpace, and the headset’s software is compatible with Unity.

All of that said, currently available material doesn’t show a lot of actual XR content. The headset arguably looks more like what industry insiders call an “AR viewer” – that is, rather than providing spatial content, it provides a spatial interface for 2D content. That also made up the bulk of Apple’s demonstrations of the headset – and their justification for its massive price tag.

“If you purchased a new state-of-the-art TV, surround-sound system, powerful computer with multiple high-definition displays, a high-end camera, and more, you still would not have come close to what Vision Pro delivers,” Apple’s Technology Development Group VP Mike Rockwell said in the WWDC event that introduced the device. “Apple Vision Pro starts at $3,499.”

Apple Vision Pro headset

That raises an interesting question for the XR community. An Apple Vision Pro might be able to replace all of those things. But, could it replace a Meta Quest?

New Headsets and the XR Ecosystem

Both the Quest 3 and the Apple Vision Pro had XR experts excited. Many aren’t necessarily viewing the two headsets as in competition, but are rather thinking about how the headsets’ introduction will affect the general XR ecosystem.

“The Quest 3 has finally been announced, which is great for everyone in the industry,” 3lbXR and 3lb Games CEO Robin Moulder said in a talk at this year’s Augmented World Expo. “Next week is going to be a whole new level when Apple announces something – hopefully.”

On the morning of the third day of AWE, the Quest 3 had been announced just an hour or so earlier and the Apple announcement had yet to be aired. However, a number of speakers presented the same idea – this is an exciting time for XR and Apple is contributing to that momentum rather than creating that momentum on its own.

A Bushel of Apples in XR…

One of the XR community’s biggest hopes regarding Apple’s entrance into the market is that XR will be catapulted to the mainstream by Apple’s gravitas. One of the main concerns is that Apple tends to play by their own rules, so a wave of new Apple XR users might be disruptive (or at least, not additive) to XR’s established ecosystem. Not all share this concern.

“If Apple does announce something, they’ll do a lot of education,” Khronos Group President Neil Trevett said during a panel at AWE. “It will progress how people use the tech whether they use open standards or not.”

Now that we’ve seen from Apple, it’s worth wondering how much education would be involved. The Vision Pro seems largely intent on offering a spatial view of Apple’s apps rather than on incorporating existing XR solutions and uses.

“Apple is not seeking to build a wide XR ecosystem with a cheaper device, like Meta with the Quest line-up,” XR analyst Tom Ffiske wrote on the headset. “The company instead seeks to monetize an already-lucrative subsection of its audience with high-margin subscriptions and software, accessible at a $3,499 price tag.”

Make no mistake: at least for now, Apple Reality Pro is another Apple device within the Apple hardware ecosystem. It is not a new XR device within anything like a metaverse ecosystem.

Apple Vision Pro

“Apple Reality Pro’s biggest advantage is integration into the Apple ecosystem,” VRDirect founder and CEO Rolf Illenberger said in an email shared with ARPost. “The all-important ability to go from the iPhone, to iPad, to Apple Watch with a similar user experience and low barrier to entry… That’s where we believe the potential exists to create believers in AR.”

Mesmerise Head of Platform, Michael Hoffman, is of the same opinion, “Compatibility with other iOS devices will also help the headset integrate more seamlessly into daily life.”

…Or a Rush on Pears?

The next question is whether Apple can bring people into XR without the Vision Pro. Meta (ignoring its various evils) did a lot to introduce people into the XR universe through incredibly low price points. This is not a game that Apple is playing at all – there probably won’t be too many Vision Pro headsets sitting under Christmas trees this year.

That doesn’t mean that Vision Pro doesn’t have a future. After all, this is the first iteration and it hasn’t even hit the market yet.

“The wire may prevent some users from purchasing the product, and the price tag will scare away many people,” Mytaverse CTO and co-founder Jamie Lopez said in an email shared with ARPost. “But Apple has a long history of lowering prices and making new hardware easier to use. Time will tell how Vision Pro changes the world.”

Still, the announcement may have brought people’s attention to XR in the shorter term. If the sticker shock scares them away from the Vision Pro but doesn’t scare them away from XR, they may find that a lot of what the Vision Pro announcement demoed is already possible on far more affordable headsets.

#WWDC23 pic.twitter.com/FVB2iu5zy0

— XREAL 👓 (@XREAL_Global) June 6, 2023

XREAL (formerly Nreal) made this connection on Twitter and, (potentially unpopular opinion) I didn’t see Apple showing the Vision Pro doing a whole lot of things that the XREAL Air can’t do – and the XREAL Air is literally a tenth of the price.

To be clear, Apple claims sarcastically high resolution for the Vision Pro. This allows users to do things like read emails and webpage text in-headset. This is still a bit of a tall order for products like XREAL.

Advancing Next-Generation Inputs

“By the time we have the Apple headset and the new Quest 3, everybody is going to be freaking out about how great hand tracking is and moving into this new world of possibilities,” said Moulder.

Hand-tracking does play a huge part in the Vision Pro announcement, as the Vision Pro doesn’t have controllers. While it can connect to other devices like Bluetooth keyboards, the headset uses a combination of gaze tracking, hand tracking, and voice commands – which was a first sign that the headset might not be particularly robust for applications like gaming.

Meta, on the other hand, has been experimenting with inputs like voice and gesture controls since the Quest 2, but is by no means ditching the controllers. As cool as gesture recognition is, more robust applications like games and enterprise applications require more nuanced controls – and for now, that still means buttons.

For what it’s worth, Moulder advocated for an input system that uses one controller for things like conjuring menus and one free hand for fine interactions. I would like to see a system like that work with applications like Nanome that provides intuitive interactions that would be great with hand tracking, but provides enough interactions that controllers are still the only way to go.

“Current hand tracking technology does not meet the needs that 6DoF controllers can provide, which consumer AR glasses don’t,” Nanome co-founder and CEO Steve McCloskey told ARPost in a recent in-platform interview.

Time Will Tell

Will flocks of people buy the Apple Vision Pro? Will those that don’t, pick up headsets like the Quest 3 or even consumer AR glasses? Do Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro exist in the same market, or was Zuckerberg wrong to time his announcement in a way that forced the two headsets into an artificial narrative? All I know is, it’s going to be an interesting couple of years.

Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro: A Tale of Two Headsets Read More »

Quest 3 Will Continue to Support PC VR Thanks to Oculus Link

Meta Quest 3, News, quest 3, quest 3 air link, quest 3 oculus link, quest 3 pc vr, quest 3 quest link, quest 3 steamvr / Ryan Harris / June 2, 2023

Like its predecessors, Quest 3 will be able to plug into high-end gaming PCs to play top PC VR titles.

Meta might have largely abandoned PC VR, but it’s not ready to pull the plug completely.

A spokesperson for the company has confirmed with Road to VR that Quest 3 will continue to support Oculus Link (also known as Quest Link) and Air Link.

Oculus Link allows users to plug Quest headsets into their PC via USB-C to interface with the Oculus PC software. From there users can use the headsets, including Quest 3 when it launches, to play Oculus PC games like Lone Echo and SteamVR games like Half-Life: Alyx.

Air Link, which offers the same PC VR capability—except wirelessly over Wi-Fi—is also confirmed for Quest 3.

As with prior versions of the headset, this could be a lifeline for the PC VR space which would otherwise be shrinking if not for a glut of Quest 2 users using their headset to play PC VR games. Quest 2 became the most popular headset used on SteamVR shortly after it launched, and has remained there ever since, holding a significantly larger share of usage than any other headset on the platform (including Meta’s older dedicated PC VR headsets like Rift and Rift S).

Quest 3 Will Continue to Support PC VR Thanks to Oculus Link Read More »

Meta Shows First Glimpse of Quest 3 Mixed Reality Gameplay and Improvements Over Quest Pro

Meta Quest 3, News, quest 3, quest 3 ar, quest 3 mr, quest 3 passthrough, VR Headset / Blake Jones / June 2, 2023

With Quest 3 now officially announced, Meta is emphasizing the device’s improved MR capabilities.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to Instagram to share a first look at mixed reality gameplay on Quest 3 which was announced yesterday.

The video shows the headset’s full color passthrough MR mode, which allows it to present a view of the outside world while selectively adding virtual content to the scene.

We also see some shots of virtual objects attached to the wall, like a glass window into an undersea world, or a zombie jumping through a window into the room to attack the player. While Quest 2 and Quest Pro have done the same in the past, Quest 3’s new depth sensor should make attaching virtual objects to walls, floors, and ceilings more convincing thanks to a more precise map of the world around the headset.

We also see Meta CTO Andrew “Boz” Bosworth jump into the action, showcasing a co-presence experience where both Zuckerberg and Bosworth battle each other virtually but in the same physical space.

Beyond Quest Pro

It’s difficult to tell from the footage how Quest 3’s passthrough resolution compares to Quest Pro. However, it’s notable that the footage doesn’t show any of the obvious color fringing that was an artifact of Quest Pro’s passthrough architecture, which used multiple black-and-white cameras that were fused with the color from a single RGB camera. That ought to be solved now that Quest 3 will include two RGB cameras which will allow stereoscopic capture of color information, rather than monoscopic like with Quest Pro.

Another common artifact of Quest Pro (and Quest 2) passthrough is the warping of objects (especially hands) that are close to the headset. This is caused by a breakdown of the computer-vision depth estimation which struggles with near-field objects, especially when they’re moving.

It’s difficult to tell from the footage we have so far, but there’s a good chance that Quest 3 significantly reduces these passthrough warping artifacts thanks to its included depth sensor. Whereas Quest 2 and Quest Pro estimate the distance to objects and surfaces around the headset with computer vision, Quest 3’s depth sensor will provide much more reliable distance measurements which the system can use to judge how far it should render each part of the scene.

It will be interesting to see if the prior issue with color fringing on Quest Pro manifests in the same way with depth. With a single depth sensor, the headset only has a monoscopic depth view, whereas it will have a stereoscopic visual of the real world. Ostensibly the stereoscopic view of the world will be projected onto the depth map, and ‘depth fringing’ may occur around near field objects for the same reason that we saw color fringing on Quest Pro.

Meta Shows First Glimpse of Quest 3 Mixed Reality Gameplay and Improvements Over Quest Pro Read More »

‘Asgard’s Wrath’ Sequel Revealed, Coming to Quest This Winter

asgard's wrath, asgard's wrath 2, Meta Quest Gaming Showcase, News, quest 3, quest gaming showcase, sanzaru games, VR Game / Ryan Harris / June 1, 2023

During Meta’s Quest Gaming Showcase today the company revealed the hotly awaited sequel to Asgard’s Wrath, the single-player adventure which launched on Rift in 2019.

Called Agard’s Wrath 2, the game is slated to launch on Quest 2 and Quest Pro in Winter 2023. Picking up where it last left off, the sequel suddenly thrusts you into a battle with a creature from an Ancient Egypt-inspired realm. There, you encounter the ‘Weavers of Fate’ who set you on a mission to find and stop a certain trickster god.

Check out the reveal trailer, which is only available on YouTube due to its age rating.

Meta-owned studio Sanzaru Games says the sequel includes a host of new realms to explore, including Asgardian realms in addition to vast desert expanses of ancient Egypt. You’ll be able to battle and puzzle your way through temples, caves, and dungeons, where you’re encounter monsters, main quests, sidequests, crafting resources, mini-games and more.

Like the first, you’ll have access to a cast of warrior-followers to help you solve puzzles and help you take on enemies. God-scale perspective

Asgard’s Wrath 2 includes an updated combat system that departs from the last, which previously required you to block and parry hits, destroy shields and armor, then kill the enemy itself. Now you’ll be able to hack away at defenses naturally in addition to parrying for opportune melee windows. It also includes elemental types and a wider variety of enemies in addition to physics-based melee. Upgradeable abilities and weapons extend beyond the player, as companions also have their own skill trees.

Enemies are said to scale to user level and ability, giving them access to better moves and defensive measures. In addition to the main game, there’s also set to be an infinite dungeon crawling mode to help you bone up on tactics.

Pre-orders for Agard’s Wrath 2 are available today, with a Quest launch scheduled for winter 2023. In the meantime, learn a little more about the game in this nine-minute developer walkthrough, again, only on YouTube.

‘Asgard’s Wrath’ Sequel Revealed, Coming to Quest This Winter Read More »

‘Attack on Titan VR’ Coming to Quest This Winter, New Trailer Here

attack on titan, attack on titan vr, attack on titan vr unbreakable, Meta Quest Gaming Showcase, News, quest 3, quest gaming showcase, VR Game / Blake Jones / June 1, 2023

Attack on Titan VR: Unbreakable was first announced by Japan-based studio UNIVRS late last year, promising to bring the anime’s high-flying action to VR for the first time. It’s coming a little later than advertised, as the game was originally slated to arrive on Quest in Summer 2023; at today’s Quest Gaming Showcase the studio says it’s now targeting a Winter 2023 release.

As recompense, the studio showed off a pretty slick trailer which includes pre-rendered animations, but no actual gameplay.

Still, much of the rope-swinging action seen in the video, courtesy of the franchise’s iconic omni-directional mobility gear, is undoubtedly doable from a VR locomotion standpoint considering we’ve seen the same movement scheme across a number of VR games, such as Windlands, Yupitergrad, and Jet Island to name a few. It’s possible much of the action seen here could translate directly to gameplay, save a bunch of the smooth lighting effects.

UNIVRS says Attack on Titan VR: Unbreakable is set to feature both single player and co-op modes, and will be available in both Japanese and English, dubbed and subbed.

Here’s how the studio describes the action:

In Attack on Titan VR: Unbreakable, players are tasked with taking on unique missions as members of the Scout Regiment. They will need to combine entirely free three-dimensional movement through use of their Omni-directional Mobility (ODM) Gear with cross-range combat in order to defend themselves against killer titans. As players progress, the battle difficulty will increase, so only those with determination and skills critical to making it through to the final battle will survive.

Attack on Titan VR: Unbreakable is coming to Quest 2 and Quest Pro. It’s uncertain whether it’s also targeting other headsets at this time, such as PSVR 2 or SteamVR headsets.

‘Attack on Titan VR’ Coming to Quest This Winter, New Trailer Here Read More »

Quest 3 Features Confirmed in First Hands-on

hands on with quest 3, Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest Pro, News, quest 3, quest 3 features, quest 3 hands-on / Ryan Harris / May 29, 2023

It seems Meta is looking to stoke some hype for its next Quest headset just days before Apple is slated to unveil its own, as Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman released Quest 3’s first hands-on, confirming a number of features from previous leaks in the process.

Gurman detailed a number of features in his hands-on with the upcoming mixed reality headset, saying that Quest 3 feels lighter and thinner than the Quest 2, featuring a stronger strap with fabric sides.

Like we’ve seen in previous renders, Quest 3 is said to feature three vertical “pill-shaped sensor areas” on the front of the device. On the left and right are color video pass-through sensors and standard cameras, while a depth sensor is placed in the middle, which is used for environment meshing and automatic identification of surrounding walls.

Tracking cameras are found on both left and right bottom sides of the device, departing from Quest 2’s four-sensor array placed on each corner of the headset. Sounds pretty similar to the image featured in a previous leak from Bradely Lynch.

Quest 3 is said to come with a physical interpupillary distance (IPD) adjustment wheel next to the volume rocker which will allow users to dial in a finer IPD measurement. As a departure from its Quest Pro-esque feature set, Quest 3 is said to lack face and eye-tracking, which means none of the lauded ‘social presence’ features or foveated rendering.

Notably, Gurman says the actual clarity and VR displays within the Quest 3 feel “similar to those in the Quest 2 — despite the resolution being rumored to be slightly higher.” It seems Quest 3’s claim to fame will be its color mixed reality passthrough and faster performance thanks to a second-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2.

“[V]ideo pass-through on the Quest 3 presented colors more accurately and offered an almost lifelike rendering of the real world. I was even able to use my phone while wearing the headset, something that often feels impossible on a Quest 2,” Gurman says.

There’s no mention of optics, or whether it will indeed use pancake lenses like Quest Pro or a Fresnel lens like Quest 2.

From Gurman’s description, it seems Touch controllers aren’t getting the Pro-level design either, as they appear to be optically tracked by the headset via IR markers à la Quest 2. It’s said to lack both Quest Pro’s embedded controller sensors and Quest 2’s hoop-style tracking design, which could be interesting.

Pricing for the Quest 3 isn’t finalized, however it’s expected to be higher than the Quest 2 at around $500. Meta is also expected to concurrently offer Quest 2, making for the widest headset lineup the company has ever offered at one time.

Gurman says Meta is set to target the cheaper headset segment while Apple targets the upscale market with its reported $3,000 mixed reality device. While Apple’s headset is expected to make its debut on June 5th, Gurman says Meta is bringing Quest 3 in October.

Quest 3 Features Confirmed in First Hands-on Read More »

Meta to Host Quest Gaming Showcase Just Days Ahead of Rumored Apple Headset Announcement

Apple AR, apple mr, apple reality, apple reality pro, Apple VR, apple xr, Meta, meta quest, Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest Gaming Showcase, Meta Quest Pro, News, Quest 2, quest 3, quest gaming showcase 2023, wwdc, wwdc 2023 / Ryan Harris / May 1, 2023

Meta announced its third annual Quest Gaming Showcase is arriving next month, coming only a few days before Apple’s rumored XR headset announcement at Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).

Meta is livestreaming the Quest Gaming Showcase on June 1st, a bit unusual for the company, as it traditionally holds the annual event in late April.

Calling it their “biggest celebration of the depth and breadth of content across the Meta Quest Platform yet,” Meta is slated to share over 40 minutes of content, including a brand-new pre-show covering game updates and debut trailers, starting 15 minutes before the show begins.

Meta says to expect new game announcements, gameplay first-looks, updates to existing games, and more. There’s also set to be a post-show developer roundtable, which will feature conversation around upcoming games.

There could be at least one clue to what’s in store, as we get a brief glimpse at a horned helmet in the showcase’s promo video, which seems very much like Loki’s helmet from Rift exclusive Asgard’s Wrath (2019). Maybe Meta’s Sanzaru Games has slimmed down the Norse-inspired RPG?

Meanwhile, previous reports maintain Apple is finally set to unveil its long rumored mixed reality headset during the company’s WWDC keynote, taking place on Monday, June 5th.

Provided Apple indeed plans to announce its headset at WWDC, Meta could be looking to generate so called ‘strategic noise’ to better manage market reactions, and potentially offset any negative sentiment prior to Apple’s expected announcement—undoubtedly slated to be a pivotal moment for the entire XR industry.

Meta recently released its Q1 2023 earnings report, showing a consistent investment of around $4 billion per quarter into its XR division Reality Labs. With Apple rumored to be unveiling their own XR headset and a host of apps, reportedly set to include everything from fitness to VR/AR gaming, Meta may want to showcase where some of that investment is going.

Who knows? We may even hear more about Meta’s promised Quest 3 at the gaming showcase, which the company has confirmed will “fire up enthusiasts” when its released at some point this year, notably targeting a higher price point than its Quest 2 headset.

To find out, tune into the Quest Gaming Showcase on June 1st at 10AM PT (local time here), livestreamed across the company’s various channels, including Twitch, Facebook, YouTube, and in Meta Horizon Worlds.

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Meta is Planning a Cheaper VR Headset for Release in 2024, Pointing to Possible ‘Quest 3 Lite’

Meta, Meta Quest 3, meta ventura, News, quest 3, quest 3 lite, Standalone VR Headset, ventura, vr standalone / Mike M. / March 2, 2023

Meta is planning to ship a VR headset in 2024 which the company wants to make as accessible as possible to consumers.

According to a report by The Verge, Meta’s VP of VR, Mark Rabki, told thousands of employees in a memo that it plans to release a consumer VR headset in 2024, codenamed Ventura.

“The goal for this headset is very simple: pack the biggest punch we can at the most attractive price point in the VR consumer market,” Rabki wrote in the memo.

Meta seems to be positioning Ventura as a ‘Quest 3 Lite’ of sorts. In the reported memo, the company announced its upcoming Quest 3 would be targeted at enthusiasts, which is said to be a “bit more money” than the current $400/$500 headset, while also including mixed reality capabilities similar to Quest Pro. The company has publicly confirmed Quest 3 will release at some point this year.

Additionally, the report maintains that any ‘Pro’ level headset will be “way out in the future” after Ventura is released in 2024.

This means Meta will be selling Quest 3 at the same time it releases Ventura in 2024, and likely within the life span of Quest Pro too, so the company will need to offer all of them at fitting price points as to not muddy the waters.

It’s uncertain where Meta hopes to cut corners with the ostensibly cheaper standalone. One thing the company can do is ship without motion controllers, which would cut down on overall price, although that would stymie consumer access to the back catalogue of VR games. Not all games make use of Quest hand-tracking.

With Ventura, the company could opt to essentially update Quest 2’s hardware with minor modifications, like replacing the Fresnel lenses with pancake optics to slim down the overall profile, and add a faster chipset.

Whatever the case, it seems the company is looking at capturing the low end of the VR market, which would better lock in a new generation of VR users into the Meta ecosystem—something the company needs if it hopes to increase user retention. Offering a cheaper headset could also potentially broaden Meta’s access to emerging markets, somewhere Chinese competitors like Pico Interactive may succeed given the chance.

Meta is Planning a Cheaper VR Headset for Release in 2024, Pointing to Possible ‘Quest 3 Lite’ Read More »