XR weekly round-up: Heaps of new VR games, Meta's powerful MR interface & news from Valve's VR headset
VR hoverbike action in Retronika, physics madness with MAGE, Pokémon Go maker Niantic before sale and Postal 2 becomes a VR game — the 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 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.
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Content
MIXED Previews & Reviews
Meta Quest 3: Retronika makes your hoverbike dreams come true
Retronika is a hoverbike game for Meta Quest 3 that combines shooter and racing game elements and creates an excellent hoverbike feeling.
MAGE is a powerful physics sandbox for Quest 3, and we tried it out
MAGE is a unique physics sandbox for Quest 3 that renders hundreds of dynamic objects at 120 FPS. Using supernatural powers, you can interact with dozens of objects at once that react realistically to physical forces and cast dynamic shadows.
Quest 3: Whitewater VR features the most realistic water simulation yet
Whitewater VR — Extreme Kayaking Adventure is the first real kayaking game with realistic water simulation for Meta Quest 3. You paddle in whitewater rapids through rapid currents, cascades and waves. Despite graphical highlights, the game does not make an all-round successful impression. There is no multiplayer mode.
Scan your room and view it with Meta Quest - in five minutes!
With Niantic's Scaniverse app and the WebXR application Into The Scaniverse, you can scan objects and rooms with your smartphone and view them immediately afterwards in Meta Quest 3. The 3D content really comes into its own in VR. A native Meta Quest app is set to follow soon.
Meta Quest: The Passengers offers a train ride like you've never experienced before
The Passengers is an extraordinary VR experience in which you slip into the skin and mind of other passengers in a train compartment. You experience the same train journey from their individual perspectives and immerse yourself in the memories that occupy them. A deeply sad work of art about human loneliness.
XR hardware: News on VR, AR and mixed reality headsets
Playstation VR 2 gets PC performance boost with latest update
With version 3.0.0 of the PSVR 2 app, Sony introduces a function to check the Bluetooth connection quality and fixes problems with delayed controller feedback. Even after this update, important PSVR 2 functions such as HDR, haptic feedback, eye tracking and 3D audio are not supported on the PC.
Samsung's first MR headset is likely to be an expensive niche product
According to reports, Samsung's mixed reality headset Project Moohan will only be produced in small quantities of 100,000 devices per year. This suggests a very high entry-level price, similar to the Apple Vision Pro. The headset is likely to be of interest primarily in terms of technology and implementation.
Meta to showcase its powerful new mixed reality API next week
Meta will be demonstrating the first practical examples of its new Passthrough API at GDC 2025. For the first time, the interface allows mixed reality apps to access the camera feed of the headsets for object recognition, location detection and user-defined AI models. General availability of the API is expected in early 2025.
Valve Deckard could come with a USB wireless dongle instead of a cable
Valve's new VR headset Deckard could come onto the market with a USB dongle for smooth wireless streaming of PC VR games. The dongle should also be compatible with other self-sufficient headsets such as Meta Quest. It is currently unclear whether Deckard can only be used in conjunction with a PC.
XR market and business news
Pokémon Go maker Niantic confirms sale of games division
Niantic, the developer behind the AR hit Pokémon Go, has confirmed the sale of its games division to mobile games provider Scopely. Despite the mega-success of Pokémon Go, subsequent games have not been able to build on this success. Niantic could specialize in AR developer tools and platforms in the future.
VR games and XR apps: all the latest news
VR Games Showcase 2025: All new VR games, announcements and trailers
The VR Games Showcase 2025 had 22 VR game announcements in store. Highlights included the multiplayer shooter Forefront, PSVR 2 gameplay from Hitman VR: World of Assassination, the dungeon crawler Reave, the horror game Ghost Town and the physics brawler Gorn 2. Flat2VR Studios also presented some upcoming VR ports.
The controversial cult shooter Postal 2 is coming to Virtual Reality
The controversial cult shooter Postal 2 is getting a VR conversion for Meta Quest, PSVR 2 and PC-VR. The game was indexed in Germany, so it is uncertain whether the VR version will be released here. Postal 2 VR is being rebuilt from the ground up for VR, with manual weapon control, physics and interaction options.
Quest+: Meta adds the most successful VR tactical shooter to the subscription — but only in the UK
The game catalog of Meta's VR subscription Quest+ has been expanded in the UK to include Job Simulator, Eleven Table Tennis and the tactical shooter Ghosts of Tabor. According to Meta, a regionalized approach for new games in the subscription service is currently being examined.
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