XR weekly round-up: Meta is working on a premium VR headset & YouTuber gets first hands-on with Samsung's new XR headset
Layoffs at one of VR's best studios, record figures for Meta and a new player shows its toy — the VR industry is in a state of upheaval. The most important XR news of the week.
In our weekly XR Update overview, you will always find the most important XR news from the past week with a brief summary. If you are interested in a particular topic, click on the link to the full article in the relevant paragraph. As usual, we provide you with background information and opinions in addition to the facts.
Have fun reading!
Content
MIXED Comment
Meta's plan works: Augmented reality is back!
After years of stagnation, a new race for AR glasses has begun, involving all the major tech players. Meta's success with the Ray-Ban Smart Glasses and positive reports on the Orion prototype of fully-fledged AR glasses are likely to have spooked the competition.
MIXED Reviews & Previews
Path of Fury on Quest 3: A kung fu thriller that took my breath away
Path of Fury is a stylized kung fu action game that will make you break out in a sweat. In our preview, the game impressed us with its 80s retro charm and physically demanding game mechanics, even if the long-term motivation remains to be seen.
MIXED reader questions
When will AAA gaming come to the Meta Quest?
One reader wanted to know when AAA gaming will reach virtual reality. The answer: There are economic and technical reasons why there won't be any huge, detailed VR game worlds in the foreseeable future. But VR games are getting better from generation to generation.
XR hardware: News on VR, AR and mixed reality headsets
Project Moohan: Samsung's MR headset looks very promising
Samsung's mixed reality headset Project Moohan was shown and tested by Marques Brownlee for the first time on camera. The headset, which is being developed in collaboration with Google, is set to be released this year and, according to Brownlee, is particularly impressive thanks to its software and AI functions.
Report: Meta is working on a premium quest again
According to a Bloomberg report, Meta is working on a new high-end VR headset that could be the successor to the Quest Pro, which was released in 2022. Further details are not yet known, but a lot could change in Meta's VR plans between now and 2027.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080: First benchmarks show sobering performance increase
Initial benchmark results for the GeForce RTX 5080 show only moderate performance increases of less than 10 percent compared to the RTX 4080. Even the current RTX 4090 remains significantly faster. Availability could also be severely limited at launch.
Nvidia's RTX 5070 Ti to be released on February 20 — retailer leaks specific date
An online retailer has leaked a specific date for the RTX 5070 Ti for the first time. According to the leak, the new Blackwell graphics card could be available from February 20. However, limited availability is to be expected at the start.
This exoskeleton is set to deliver VR haptics for under 1,000 US dollars
The start-up Haptikos presents a haptic hand exoskeleton that is said to be half the price and twice as precise as commercial alternatives. The $2.500 prototype is expected to come in under the 1,000 dollar mark by 2026 and enable realistic tactile sensations in VR and AR.
XR market and business news
Another major VR studio lays off employees
Fast Travel Games, one of the most renowned VR studios, is laying off 30 employees. The reason is lower sales than expected. In recent months, redundancies in the VR industry have increased, which could point to a turbulent year in 2025.
Zuckerberg: "2025 will be a crucial year for the Metaverse"
Meta's VR and AR division Reality Labs achieved both record sales and a record loss in the fourth quarter of 2024. Zuckerberg was satisfied and promised improvements for the proto-Metaverse Horizon. However, Reality Labs is miles away from profitability.
Meta sells over 1 million Ray-Ban smart glasses in 2024
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the smart glasses developed in cooperation with Ray-Ban had sold over one million units by 2024. He is targeting 5 to 10 million sales for the next generation.
VR games and XR apps: all the latest news
Battlemarked is announced and immediately my most anticipated VR game
Demeo returns in official D&D guise! The announcement trailer for Battlemarked gives a first look at the upcoming co-op strategy game from Resolution Games and Wizards of the Coast. After the success of Demeo, there is great anticipation for new adventures.
What do you think of the latest XR developments? Join the conversation on Facebook, Bluesky or X or share your opinion in the comments below.
For feedback, topic suggestions, or other ideas, please email us at hello@mixed-news.com.
Note: Links to online stores in articles can be so-called affiliate links. If you buy through this link, MIXED receives a commission from the provider. For you the price does not change.
