Meta Reveals Next Generation Aria Glasses for Research and Experimentation
Meta today revealed its next-gen glasses, Aria Gen 2, which the company intends to release to third-party researchers working on machine perception systems, AI and robotics.
Prop Hunt-style Game ‘Mannequin’ Goes Free-to-Play on Quest as Freemium Multiplayer Games Thrive
Mannequin (2024), the VR game that brings a unique twist to prop hunt, is going free-to-play on Quest starting today—which could point to more developers opting to go the freemium route.
MIT Reality Hack Has Become a Focal Point for US East Coast XR Devs & Entrepreneurs
While the XR industry’s major hubs are concentrated on the West Coast of the US, the MIT Reality Hack hackathon has become a focal point for XR developers and entrepreneurs on the East Coast of the US. Now in its eight year, the event has expanded with new opportunities for industry discussion and networking thanks to the concurrently held EXPERIENTIAL Conference. Executive Director Maria Rice offers an overview of this year’s hackathon and winners.
HTC Launches Browser-based 3D & VR Platform ‘VIVERSE Worlds’, Aims to Be ‘YouTube of 3D Content’
HTC today launched VIVERSE Worlds, a 3D content platform that can be embedded on “any website for any device,” positioning it as a lighter, more flexible way of hosting and browsing 3D content across the web.
Valve’s Standalone XR Headset ‘Deckard’ Reportedly Launching This Year at $1,200, Leaker Claims
Valve’s rumored standalone XR headset, codenamed ‘Deckard’, is practically the stuff of legend at this point, with speculation brewing since data miners first discovered mention of the alleged device in January 2021. Now, leaker and data miner ‘Gabe Follower’ maintains Deckard is coming by the end of 2025, priced at $1,200.
Meta Abandons In-Headset Building Tool for ‘Horizon Worlds’, Marking a Shift in Expected Growth
Meta released a new Desktop Editor for Horizon Worlds in preview, giving world creators a Unity-style game development platform for the first time. The PC-based editor is designed to be more robust, and make world creation easier and higher quality than its previous Quest-native VR editor, which Meta says it’s now deprecating.
Apple’s Latest AI Tools Coming to Vision Pro in April, Developer Preview Now Available
Apple Intelligence, the company’s set of AI tools currently available on iOS and Mac, is coming to Vision Pro in April with the public release of visionOS 2.4. But if you’ve activated developer mode, you can already go hands-on.
‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’ is Getting an Official XR Game with First Installment Coming in 2026
‘Ghosts of Tabor’ Studio’s Next Shooter ‘Silent North’ Launches into Early Access in March
Ghosts of Tabor studio Combat Waffle is nearing launch of Silent North, the studio’s next VR shooter that promises plenty of multiplayer zombie survival action, with Quest and Steam early access launches planned for sometime in March.
‘Among Us VR’ to Become ‘Among Us 3D’, Adding Support for Flatscreen PC Play
Schell Games and Innersloth announced that flatscreen support is coming to Among Us VR (2022), which means crossplay for VR and PC players.
Meta Announces $50M ‘Horizon Worlds’ Content Fund as Some VR Studios Struggle to Make Ends Meet
Meta today announced a $50 million fund to incentivize the creation of new and improved content in Horizon Worlds, the company’s first-party social gaming platform. The move comes as many seasoned studios that build self-contained VR apps for the Quest platform are struggling to sustain themselves due to what Meta says is a shifting demographic of headset users.
‘Pokémon Go’ Maker Niantic Reportedly Selling Gaming Division, Shifting Focus to AR & Mapping Tech
Niantic, the company behind Pokémon Go (2016), is reportedly in talks with Saudi Arabia-owned Scopely to sell its gaming division.
Meta Connect 2025 Developer Conference Announced for September: What We’re Hoping For
Meta announced its annual Connect developer conference is returning this year on September 17th-18th. While it’s probably still too early to speculate, there are a few things we’re hoping to hear about.
