Mozilla Launches ‘Hubs Cloud’ on AWS, the ‘WordPress of Social Virtual Spaces’

9

Mozilla today announced the launch of Hubs Cloud, an AWS-hosted service that allows organizations to run their own private virtual spaces that can be customized to their needs.

Hand-tracking Text Input System From Facebook Researchers Throws Out the Keyboard (sort of)

9

A prototype from Facebook Reality Labs researchers demonstrates a novel method for text input with controllerless hand-tracking. The system treats the hands and fingers as a sort of predictive keyboard which uses pinching gestures to select groups of letters.

Why You Shouldn’t Play ‘Half-Life: Alyx’ Without a VR Headset

31
Image courtesy Valve

Half-Life: Alyx (2020), Valve’s made-for-VR entry into the fabled Half-Life series, launched late last month on SteamVR-compatible headsets to near-universal praise. If you don’t own a VR headset but still want to play though, I’d caution you against playing it for the first time with the new, unofficial PC monitor mod. Get a VR headset and don’t spoil it for yourself.

‘Alien: Isolation’ on Sale for $2 for a Limited Time, One of VR’s First Great Games

23
Image courtesy Creative Aseembly

Alien: Isolation (2014) was one of the first truly good games to get support for PC VR headsets. If you’re wondering why everyone is still crazy about years later, it’ll only take you $2 to find out.

‘Bigscreen’ Brings On-Demand Movies in New ‘Movies & Events’ Update

6
Image courtesy Bigscreen

Bigscreen, the social VR viewing platform, introduced paid movies late last year so you could buy a ticket to join people in watching a number of 2D and 3D films at set times, working more or less like a physical movie theater. Although you’ll still be able to do that through special, one-time events, Bigscreen is adding on-demand movie viewing to the list today, letting you watch its catalog of films whenever you want.

‘Dreams’ PSVR Expansion Now in Final Development Stage, Suggesting Nearby Launch

9
Image courtesy Media Molecule

Dreams (2020) launched out of Early Access on PS4 earlier this year, and while PSVR users have been patiently awaiting any news of the promised VR support, Media Molecule has stayed fairly mum on the subject. Now the studio’s creative director & co-founder Mark Healey says Dreams is currently undergoing its final stages before release.

The 3 Most Common Arguments Against VR and Why They’re Wrong

155
Image courtesy u/MAGNUSIFENT, based on an image by Andreas Aronsson

With the recent release of Half-Life: Alyx, VR has been thrust into the spotlight of the mainstream gaming audience. While players and critics alike have universally praised the game, pushing it to become one of Steam’s best rated games ever, plenty of folks not interested in VR have levied common fallacious arguments about why VR is a dead-end technology. Consider this article your official rebuttal to these tired arguments.

Oculus’ Multiplayer Shooter ‘Dead and Buried II’ Just Got a Huge Update on Quest & Rift

3

Oculus just dropped a surprise update to Dead and Buried II and they even saw fit to give its own subtitle: Reloaded. The free update brings new modes, maps, weapons, and characters.

Subscription-based VR Fitness App ‘Supernatural’ Coming to Quest Today

26

Within, the immersive studio known for some of VR’s highest quality experiences, unveiled a new fitness app for Oculus Quest earlier this month that aims to give you a fun, fast, and intuitive cardio workout in VR. Starting today you’ll be able to dive right in.

‘Half-Life: Alyx’ Was Among the Best Selling Steam Games Released in March

34
Image courtesy Valve

Valve today announced the top 20 best selling games on Steam released in March. And coming as little surprise to anyone, Half-Life: Alyx (2020) has made it on the list.

XRHealth Secures $7M Investment to Expand Its AR/VR Telehealth Platform

2
Image courtesy XRHealth

XRHealth, a Boston-based medical company, today announced that it’s raised $7 million in funding to expand its telehealth platform targeted at VR headset users.

Train Driving Simulator ‘Derail Valley’ to Get Major Overhaul in May

26
Image courtesy Altfuture

Derail Valley, the train simulator for VR and PC, launched into Early Access last year, giving locomotive fans their very own trains to drive through a vast, open world. Now indie studio Altfuture says one of its biggest updates is coming to the game next month, which is said to fix many of the game’s bugs, overhaul many of its existing systems, and add new content and features.

Social VR App ‘VRChat’ is Seeing Record Usage Amidst the Pandemic

12
Image courtesy VRChat

Social VR app VRChat is seeing a surge of users thanks to a well timed update and people around the world looking to connect with others while being asked to stay at home.

‘Pixel Ripped 1995’ Review – An Expertly Measured Dose of ’90s Gaming Nostalgia

Image courtesy ARVORE Immersive Experiences

Pixel Ripped 1995 is a retro-inspired VR game which, as you would imagine, follows in the footsteps of its predecessor, Pixel Ripped 1989 (2018). It’s an absolute nostalgia trip that revisits the series’ unique ‘game within a game’ storytelling style while honing in on what made the fourth console generation truly great: colorful platformers, side-scrolling beat ’em ups, and RPGs aplenty. While it may be a tiny bit rough around the edges, it’s ultimately a charming and well-realized adventure that truly made me feel like a kid again.

SteamVR 1.11 Update Brings New Dashboard Audio Features, Performance Improvements

28

Valve released an updated SteamVR today, version 1.11, which is the culmination of the last several weeks of smaller updates to the beta branch. The company calls this a “Spring cleaning” update in that it focuses on tweaks to the new dashboard, performance improvements, and bug fixes.

39,929FansLike
13,574FollowersFollow
66,541FollowersFollow
27,800SubscribersSubscribe

Latest Headlines

Features & Reviews