XR week in review: Meta lays off XR staff, Quest Games Optimizer gets better & Ray-Ban Smart Glasses level up
Meta cuts XR jobs, Quest Games Optimizer gets a notable upgrade, and Pico smooths the path for indie developers — here’s what mattered in XR this week.
Welcome back to our weekly XR Update, where we round up the most important developments in virtual, augmented, and mixed reality. Every edition comes with concise summaries, plus our signature mix of background context and takes on what’s happening in the industry. If something catches your eye, just follow the links for the full story.
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Content
XR Hardware: Updates on VR, AR, and Mixed Reality Headsets
Quest 3S Now Available Refurbished — at a Discount
Meta is now offering the Quest 3S, its entry-level VR headset, as a refurbished model for $270 — $30 less than the new retail price. Each refurbished unit goes through a thorough inspection, testing, and professional cleaning, is reset to factory settings, and ships with the same accessories and a one-year limited warranty as a brand-new device.
Meta AI Arrives on Ray-Ban Smart Glasses outside the US
Meta’s AI assistant is rolling out to Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses in more EU countries, launching in English, French, Italian, and Spanish. Next week, a visual recognition feature is coming, letting users ask Meta AI about what they’re seeing, along with a live translation tool between supported languages.
XR Market & Industry Moves
Meta Hands Out Pink Slips at Reality Labs and Oculus Studios
Meta is trimming headcount in its XR division again, with VR fitness and gaming taking the biggest hit. The layoffs target staff in the Reality Labs group—specifically Oculus Studios, Meta’s in-house game development team, and some hardware teams. The VR fitness platform Supernatural, which Meta acquired for north of $400 million, is especially impacted.
Former Arkane Austin VR Lead Launches New Studio—Backed by Meta
Eric Beyhl, previously Head of VR and Lead Art Outsource Manager at Arkane Austin, has founded Cire Games, a new studio with funding from Meta’s “Oculus Publishing Ignition” program. Cire Games isn’t limiting itself to VR, instead aiming for multi-platform releases. The studio spun up after Microsoft shuttered Arkane Austin earlier this year.
Pico Eases Path for Solo XR Developers with New App Policy
Pico has introduced a policy shift that now lets individual developers publish and sell their XR apps directly through the Pico Developer Console. The submission process is now fully digital and, according to Pico, designed to be intuitive even for newcomers. Apps submitted by indie devs will show up in the Discover Indies section.
VR Games & XR Apps: This Week’s Headlines
Meta Quest: The 50 Top-Selling VR Games Ever
Meta has published a breakdown of the 50 best-selling VR games on Meta Quest. No surprises at the top: Beat Saber leads, with Job Simulator and Superhot VR rounding out the podium. But conspicuously absent are Meta’s own big-budget AAA titles: Neither Asgard’s Wrath 2, Batman: Arkham Shadow, nor Ubisoft’s Assassin's Creed Nexus VR cracked the top 50.
First Look: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered in VR
The LunchAndVR YouTube channel has posted early tests of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered running in VR with motion controls. The mod, built on UEVR (a tool for bringing Unreal Engine games into VR), breathes new life into the classic RPG. Motion controls are still unstable and can cause crashes, so while full 6DOF profiles aren’t ready, there are already performance and 3DOF profiles available to try.
This AR Software Turns Your Windows Laptop Into a 100-Inch Mobile Workstation
Sightful has announced “Spacetop for Windows,” a software solution that works with AR headsets to create a massive 100-inch virtual workspace. The bundle — which hits at $899 from April 24 — includes the Xreal Air Ultra 2 headset and a twelve-month Spacetop subscription (renewed annually at $200). The product is now available in Germany, with additional countries coming in 2025.
Quest Games Optimizer v12.7.0: More Power to the Players
The newest update for Quest Games Optimizer (v12.7.0) gives users more control on Meta Quest 3, Quest 3S, and Quest 2, allowing them to disable Application Space Warp (AppSW) and Dynamic Resolution Scaling (DRS). The developer notes these toggles are mainly for testing, as both features typically boost performance and help games hit higher frame rates.
VR Blockbuster Wanderer Gets Major Fixes Across PSVR 2 & Quest 3
Following a rough launch plagued by bugs and performance issues, developer Mighty Eyes has shared a comprehensive patch roadmap for Wanderer: The Fragments of Fate. The first hotfix is out now, with a major combat system overhaul slated for May 2025 (Patch 1), and another big update (Patch 2) coming in June or July. Expect PS5 Pro support, Quest 3-specific upgrades, and new DLC content later in 2025.
Photorealistic PC Horror Hit ‘Pools’ Is Coming to VR
Developer Tensori has dropped a free update (“Chapter 0”) for its horror game Pools and announced a VR edition coming to PC VR on May 30, 2025. Releases for the App Store and PlayStation 5 (with PSVR 2 support) are on deck for later this year. The new chapter unlocks once all other content is cleared.
15 New VR Games, DLCs & Trailers for Quest, PSVR 2, and PC VR
This week saw a wave of VR announcements: The House of Da Vinci VR is landing on PlayStation VR 2; Star Wars: Beyond Victory is coming to Quest 3; Eggy brings mixed-reality dragon sim action; there’s a VR mod for GTA San Andreas Definitive Edition; and Wall Town Wonders is headed to PSVR 2 and SteamVR. Also in the pipeline: Les Mills XR Bodycombat for Steam, Virtual Skate for Quest 3 and SteamVR, and a reveal for the frenetic music game Peak Rhythm.
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