Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth offered the first bit of insight into the company’s recent Reality Labs shakeup, publicly acknowledging that Meta’s metaverse efforts suffered from a “lack of focus” that ultimately hurt the user experience on Quest.
Every game is the result of thousands of choices. Some of these choices are creative, some technical, and some concern the scope and budget. After pouring sweat and tears into a project, there is nothing more heartbreaking for a game developer than realizing that some early choice made long ago was not the best one from the end user’s perspective. In this Guest Article VR developer Rein Zobel offers hard-won lessons in creating rich, immersive VR worlds.
Google-owned XR studio Owlchemy Labs announced that its breakout VR hit Job Simulator (2016) has now surpassed six million installs.
Luke Ross, the prolific VR modder, was recently involved in a DMCA takedown issued by CD Projekt for his paywalled Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod, which the studio claims breaks its terms of service. Now, Ross has removed access to all of his various VR mods in response.
Lynx has unveiled the Lynx-R2, a significant upgrade over its original R1 mixed reality standalone which aims to capture the enterprise and prosumers market.
Distance Technologies has unveiled the Field Operator HUD (FOH), an AI-enhanced AR system designed for military vehicles ranging from light utility platforms to main battle tanks.
While a flurry of VR studio cuts and closures in the last 12 months has painted a picture of a deeply struggling landscape for VR developers, modern Quest success stories have largely flown under the radar. The free-to-play title UG, for instance, has exploded in both popularity and earnings, matching top titles like Gorilla Tag and Beat Saber in mere months. In an interview with Road to VR, the creators of UG have shared a rare look inside the success of Quest’s latest hit.
AR glasses maker XREAL is taking its competitor VITURE to court over a patent dispute, claiming that it’s selling and/or importing units into the US that infringe on its intellectual property. Viture claims however that Xreal is using the suit as a weapon to unfairly compete in the market rather than as a legitimate defense of innovation.
In light of Reality Labs’ reorganization, which has seen recent internal studio closures and layoffs, Oculus founder Palmer Luckey calls the doomer narrative “obviously false.”
Luke Ross, the prolific VR modder, has been forced to remove his popular Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod, citing legal concerns from CD PROJEKT.
The launch of Android XR, a newly announced headset from Valve, and major strategic shifts at Meta are just the start of what made 2025 a significant year for the XR industry at large. 2026 will mark the 15th year that we’ve been following this XR journey here at Road to VR. With the context that comes with that long-term perspective, it’s once again time to reflect on the biggest stories of the last year and to talk about what’s on the horizon.
AR glasses maker XREAL has filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the United States against affiliates of VITURE, its direct competitor.
Meta’s recent rash of studio closures means that the planned sequel to Batman: Arkham Shadow has also officially been cancelled.
Meta announced it’s discontinuing Horizon Workrooms next month, its productivity-focused VR platform, marking another step in the company’s ongoing restructuring of its VR and metaverse strategy.
