XR weekly round-up: Quest 3S weak point, new VR games and big updates
Quest 3S with weaknesses in the lenses, exciting VR games in November such as Metro Awakening, major updates for Quest and Pico and new mixed reality apps — 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.
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Content
XR hardware: News on VR, AR and mixed reality headsets
Quest 3S is great, but …
The Quest 3S, designed for VR newcomers, was critically evaluated by testers. While mixed reality and virtual reality were impressive, the built-in Fresnel lenses with their uneven image sharpness detract from the overall impression, especially when watching films and reading texts, according to Josef.
Major update for Pico 4 & 4 Ultra
Pico releases a comprehensive update with improvements for tracking, Bluetooth support and optimized hand gesture recognition. The 5.12.0 update also brings new features such as smartphone mirroring and an improved video player.
Meta Quest receives biggest firmware update in years
Meta also rolled out a massive update that brings a new look for Horizon OS, improved room setup, passthrough optimizations and new avatar features. The travel mode has also been expanded, and a new calendar app has been integrated.
XR market and business news
Meta reconsiders VR game funding
Meta reportedly cut funding for some external studios, which led to redundancies and project postponements. The company is now focusing more on so-called lifestyle apps and promising VR games, according to a report. Meta did not deny this and said that it would invest more in developer support this year than last year.
Playstation 5 Pro is released and some PSVR2 games are already benefiting
The new PS5 Pro was launched on November 7. We have compiled a list of all the titles that are already benefiting or will benefit from the additional computing power.
VR games and XR apps: all the latest news
Exciting VR releases in November
November brings promising VR titles, including Metro Awakening, Spatial Ops and The Thrill Of The Fight 2. For the full list, take a look at our article.
Alien: Rogue Incursion for Quest postponed
The Quest version of the VR horror game has been postponed until early 2025 to meet Survios' quality standards. PC VR and PSVR2 versions will be released as planned in December 2024
Metro Awakening in a technical comparison
The fully fledged, VR-exclusive Metro game impresses on Quest 3 and PSVR2, and we have compared the two versions. While PSVR2 offers better textures and lighting, Quest 3 scores with an overall sharper and clearer image.
Tried out Living Room for Quest 3
The child-friendly mixed reality game transforms rooms into colorful ecosystems. The graphics are kept simple, but the MR integration impresses with its sensible use of space.
Award-winning VR film Gargoyle Doyle released
The 40-minute animated VR film tells a humorous story spanning 800 years and won the award for best VR film at the Annecy Animation Festival. We took a look at the new Quest film.
Triangle Strategy in mixed reality
Square Enix's tactical RPG cuts a great figure on Quest 3, with an MR mode that is welcome but adds little value. The 3D environments are worth seeing thanks to stereoscopy, but the game remains stuck in the 2D medium.
Djay app with mixed reality support
The popular DJ software is released for Meta Quest with VR and MR support. The app offers professional features such as MIDI controller support and access to over 5,000 free tracks as well as over 100 million additional tracks via integrated streaming services.
Reader question: Meta Quest: Who can break Meta’s monopoly?
This week, Tomislav addressed the reader question of whether Meta will continue to dominate the VR market or whether serious competition is on the horizon.
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