With the Rift S launching just two and a half months ago, on Steam the headset has already nearly surpassed all Windows VR headsets in use on the platform. With the original Rift and Rift S, Oculus headsets now make up half of the headsets used on Steam.
Yes… it’s already been 20 years. 1999’s The Matrix is perhaps the most iconic film involving VR ever made, and later this month it’ll return to to select theaters in the US for one week.
VR software has introduced many new challenges to developers. Among these challenges, rich interactions are at the very core of all the new elements VR software designers need to consider when creating games or general applications.
Alongside the company’s new Index headset, Valve offered an optional VirtualLink adapter which would replace the three plugs on the end of the headset’s tether with a single VirtualLink port for use with compatible GPUs. This week the company canceled the adapter and offered refunds, citing technical issues and a lack of adoption of the VirtualLink port on laptops.
Applications are now open for the fourth annual Oculus Launch Pad, a program designed to help empower developers and creators from diverse backgrounds. Applications are being accepted until August 23rd, 2019.
Indie VR title Vanishing Realms brought Zelda-esque room-scale RPG action to SteamVR all the way back at the launch of the first PC VR headsets in 2016. The game is one of the top rated titles on SteamVR, but remains in Early Access more than three years after launch. Development updates from the title’s sole indie developer have been extremely sparse, but recently it was confirmed that a “full expansion” for Vanishing Realms would be coming “in a few weeks.” Now weeks have slipped toward months with no new indication on when the expansion will ship.
Nostros, the upcoming online RPG with VR support in development by NetEase Games, is now has a release date window of Q4 2019.
Red Matter (2018), the sci-fi puzzle-adventure from Vertical Robot, is slated to launch on Oculus Quest on August 15th.
Vive Comos, HTC’s upcoming PC VR headset, is confirmed to launch at some point in Q3 2019, meaning any time between now and September 30th. While the company has been tight-lipped on the headset’s pricing and exact launch date, as well as a few remaining specs, major UK retailer Argos seems to have not only listed Vive Cosmos, but appended the specific price of £699.99.
Facebook today announced and launched Quill 2.0, bringing overhauled VR animation, audio, and narrative tools to make the app an all-in-one pipeline for storyboarding, drawing, animating, and storytelling.
A flurry of new job listings for Apple’s secretive ‘Technology Development Group’ suggests that the company has reached a new phase of turning its years of AR/VR R&D into actual upcoming products. Two of the most intriguing among the new job listings are the roles of ‘AR/VR Demo Evangelist’ and ‘Product Manager, AR/VR’.
We’ll finally get a full reveal of Respawn’s upcoming Oculus exclusive VR title at Oculus Connect at the end of September, including the first opportunity to actually play the game.
Buckle up and put on your PSVR headsets, because PlayStation Plus members will be getting WipEout Omega Collection for free in August.
