Space Junkies (2019), the multiplayer sci-fi arena shooter from Ubisoft Montpellier, has reached a pretty significant impasse; the studio is pulling its previously planned support for the flatscreen version of the game, and issuing its final update on PSVR and PC VR headsets.
Whenever I used to think about brain-computer interfaces (BCI), I typically imagined a world where the Internet was served up directly to my mind through cyborg-style neural implants—or basically how it’s portrayed in Ghost in the Shell. In that world, you can read, write, and speak to others without needing to lift a finger or open your mouth. It sounds fantastical, but the more I learn about BCI, the more I’ve come to realize that this wish list of functions is really only the tip of the iceberg. And when AR and VR converge with the consumer-ready BCI of the future, the world will be much stranger than fiction.
Schell Games’ latest VR title, Until You Fall, launched in Early Access on Steam last week to strong reviews, but currently the game only officially supports the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. Come October, the developers expect to add support for Index & Windows VR as well.
Facebook Reality Labs, the company’s AR/VR R&D group, published detailed research on a method for hyper-realistic real-time virtual avatars, expanding on prior work which the company calls ‘Codec Avatars’.
Japan-based studio SpicyTails announced that Spice & Wolf VR will land on PSVR and Nintendo Labo VR this week. Furthermore, the studio says that the experience’s sequel is already in the making.
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Sony is taking down a few beloved games from the PlayStation Store tomorrow, including Driveclub, Driveclub Bikes, and Driveclub VR.
Google has released to researchers and developers its own mobile device-based hand tracking method using machine learning, something Google R call a “new approach to hand perception.”
The second-generation HoloLens, first unveiled at Mobile World Congress earlier this year in Barcelona, still doesn’t have a firm release date yet, although it appears that’s about to change pretty soon.
Digital game storefront Humble Bundle is offering DiRT Rally for free, now through September 1st. The version of the game being given away is via Steam with official support for the Oculus Rift, though unofficial support for other SteamVR headsets should work via the Revive mod.
Valve’s collection of VR-minigames, The Lab, is one of the highest rated SteamVR titles and it’s free. With support for Index, Vive, Rift, and Windows VR, there’s no reason not to try it if you own a PC VR headset. Beyond some very polished mini-games, Valve has included quite a few easter eggs to uncover.
NextVR, the VR livestreaming event app, is now available on Oculus Quest for free, which is said to come alongside a new technology that promises clearer and sharper video rendering.
Beat Games, the studio behind the popular block-slashing rhythm game Beat Saber (2018), today released a free update that brings with it six new playable tracks to the game, and a few new features and improvements too.
There’s a few great VR party games out there, including the reigning champion Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (2015), although I think a new game is poised to take the VR Party Crown. Resolution Games, the studio behind Bait! (2016) and Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs (2019), released arguably their most promising title yet today, the unique couch co-op game Acron: Attack of the Squirrels!
Valve launched The Lab as an experimental VR playground way back in 2016. Today the company is updating the game to bring it up to speed with the company’s latest VR tech stack, including Index controller support, overhauled physics, spatialized audio, and more.
