Meta’s Orion AR glasses prototype is expensive to make—like $10,000 per pair, expensive. Orion’s most pricey component is undoubtedly its custom silicon carbide waveguide lenses, although Meta says it sees a pathway to “significantly reduce the cost” of that key component in the future.
Apple is planning a “feature-packed release” for visionOS 3.0, reports Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who says that Vision Pro’s operating system—and not new XR hardware—is going to be a focus at this year’s World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC).
Pimax has two PC VR headsets in development: the ultralight Dream Air and the wide field-of-view Crystal Super. The company recently offered an update on the development progress of both headsets, including an update on the shipping timeline of Crystal Super.
Animal Company, the free-to-play early access game on Quest, nabbed the top spot for Quest’s highest-earning game this week, overtaking long-time viral hit Gorilla Tag in the weekly charts. Now, developer Wooster Games tells Road to VR it’s not only already profitable, but Animal Company has surpassed one million monthly active users (MAU), cementing its status as VR’s next big F2P game.
Toast Interactive announced their VR games Max Mustard (2024) and Richie’s Plank Experience (2017) have been removed from the Horizon Store for Quest. For now, it’s unclear precisely why, however the veteran indie studio says the move has left them feeling “betrayed and powerless.”
Virtuix announced it’s releasing an immersive tourism app for its Omni One VR treadmill system that lets you walk through some of the world’s most iconic destinations.
Astrea, the studio and publisher behind a host of VR narrative experiences, including Spheres, Astra, and Mobile Suit Gundam: Silver Phantom, has released an interactive VR experience on Quest and PC VR headsets that lets you embody passengers on a train, and help them face pivotal moments in their lives.
Meta revealed its Orion prototype last year to show the progress it has made toward compact AR glasses. Today the company talked more about the prototyping process, especially regarding the ‘compute puck’ that offloads much of the heavy processing into a device that goes in the user’s pocket.
Rockstar Games announced it’s acquiring Video Games Deluxe, the Sydney-based studio behind L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files (2017) and the shelved Quest port of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004).
VR Games Showcase is returning next week, promising to feature 20+ VR games from over a dozen developers and publishers. The livestream, kicking off on March 11th at 12 PM ET, is slated to not only include updates to upcoming releases, but also new game announcements as well as exclusive peeks at gameplay.
Tender Claws, the studio behind Stranger Things VR (2024) and Virtual Virtual Reality (2017), announced they’re debuting another patently weird VR experience at SXSW this week, which is all about swapping perspectives by making eye contact.
Social Discovery Group, the company behind Dating.com and DateMyAge.com, announced it’s launched a venture studio that aims to “transform virtual intimacy into the new normal” by backing early-stage startups in AI-powered communication, XR advancements, and social discovery platforms.
