Apple Confirms Acquisition of VR Live Streaming Company NextVR
NextVR, the live event broadcasting platform for VR headsets, has been acquired by Apple in what was reportedly a $100 million purchase.
NVIDIA Launches CloudXR 1.0 SDK to Enable AR/VR Streaming Services in the Cloud
NVIDIA today announced the launch of version 1.0 of its CloudXR SDK, a suite of tools which allows network operators to offer cloud-rendered AR/VR streaming capabilities.
Oculus Link Now Works with USB 2.0 Cables, Including the One that Ships With Quest
Oculus Quest can function as a PC VR headset with the Oculus Link feature which was introduced in beta late last year. At launch the feature only supported USB 3.0 cables, which somewhat awkwardly didn’t include the cable that came in the box with Quest. A recent update to Oculus Link now allows Quest to use the feature with USB 2.0 cables, including the one it ships with.
‘Tetris Effect’ Arrives on Oculus Quest Today
Tetris Effect (2018) first released on PlayStation 4 and PSVR in late 2018, later coming to PC via the Epic Store, which included support for SteamVR headsets. Now the award-winning stacker puzzle game is available on Oculus Quest starting today.
‘Phantom: Covert Ops’ Preview – A Compelling Take on VR Stealth, but Comfort Challenges Could Muddy the Waters
The premise of Phantom: Covert Ops almost sounds ridiculous at first blush: you’re a special forces dude in a tactical kayak who is slinking around the waterways of an old Russian base. But don’t let the silinees of a tactical kayak fool you, this is actually a fundamentally compelling and immersive approach to a VR stealth game, but with one unfortunate conceit.
Co-op VR Cooking Game ‘Cook-out: A Sandwich Tale’ Coming to Rift & Quest This Year
Resolution Games, the Stockholm-based studio behind Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs (2019), Bait! (2016) and Acron: Attack of the Squirrels! (2019), today unveiled a short slice of gameplay for its next multiplayer VR game, Cook-Out: A Sandwich Tale.
Unreal Engine is Now Royalty-free for the First $1 Million in Revenue
The Unreal Engine 5 tech demo on PS5 wasn’t the only news Epic Games revealed today. The company also announced a change to the pricing structure of Unreal Engine which waives royalties on the first $1 million of project revenue, as well as the launch of Epic Online Services, a free suite of tools to enable in-game friends lists, matchmaking, lobbies, and more.
Unreal Engine 5 Tech Demo on PS5 Shows Where Next-gen Graphics are Headed
Epic Games today revealed a PS5 tech demo built with Unreal Engine 5, the next-gen version of the company’s game engine. With new features for advanced lighting and unprecedented geometric detail, Unreal Engine 5 hopes to enable a generational leap in real-time graphics.
After Multiple Delays, ‘Iron Man VR’ for PSVR Finally Has a Firm Release Date
Camouflaj, the studio behind PlayStation VR exclusive Marvel’s Iron Man VR, had initially intended for its high-flying super hero adventure to arrive on PSVR back in February. After a subsequent delay, which pushed the launch back to May 15th, it was later announced that the game would be delayed until further notice due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Now Sony has fixed the official launch date for July 3rd.
‘Supernatural’ Review – Fun Gameplay, Breathtaking Visuals, But Hefty Entry Price
There’s no better moment than now to find a reason to get up and moving, which is probably why acclaimed AR/VR studio Within launched its at-home VR fitness app Supernatural (2020). The gameified fitness app will get your heart pumping to the beat of a list of songs from popular artists, all while you have a digital personal trainer piped into your ears for encouragement. Is it worth the monthly $19 subscription price though? The short answer: not for me, but it could be for you.
Miniature ‘Beat Saber’ Concept Offers a Peek into the Future of AR Games
Oculus released optical hand-tracking on Quest as an experimental feature late last year, and ever since developers have been showing off their own unique and creative ways of integrating users hands into VR. Yet again we look at developer Daniel Beauchamp for inspiration on the future of XR design, as he’s put together a literal mini-version of Beat Saber (2018).
Developer Reveals How Live Actors Sneak into the ‘The Under Presents’, and When You Can Find Them
The Under Presents is a genre-defying VR experience with a curious secret: from time to time some of its characters are puppeteered by real people, and if you’re lucky, you could be part of the show.
Etee Finger-tracking VR Controller Kickstarter Concludes with Over $110K in Funding
London-based hardware startup TG0 launched a Kickstarter campaign earlier last month for the Etee dev kit, a VR controller with integrated SteamVR Tracking. TG0 positions the controller’s button-less design and finger tracking as its main attractions.
HTC Vive Pro Full Kit Now Comes with ‘Half-Life: Alyx’ for Free in Europe
It looks like HTC is making a final push to relieve itself of Vive Pro stock in Europe, as the company is including a copy of Valve’s critically-acclaimed VR title Half-Life: Alyx (2020) with purchase of the full kit.
