With the holiday season upon us and the year winding down, I wanted to take a moment before the festivities really kick off. Tomorrow, I’ll share a special holiday message with all of you, but today, let me play Santa. I’ve got not one, but two amazing XR game giveaways to share! Stick around for the details on how to enter our festive draw.
Top News of the Week
Meta Looks Back on a Successful 2024 and Braces for 2025’s Competition
Andrew “Boz” Bosworth, Meta’s CTO, recently penned a blog post reflecting on the company’s achievements over the past year and hinting at what’s on the horizon. He was joined by comments from Mark Rabkin, VP of MR/VR at Meta, and insights from Janko Roettgers’ Lowpass newsletter. While much of the discussion covers known territory—like the launch of the affordable Quest 3S headset—there are a few nuggets worth highlighting:
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Solid Sales for Quest 3S: Bos commented on the promising sales figures, noting a surge during Black Friday and anticipating more activations as the holiday season unfolds. It will be intriguing to compare these numbers with past results from the Quest 2.
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New Faces in the Quest Ecosystem: Rabkin revealed that many Quest 3S buyers are new to the Quest family, whether they are first-time MR/VR users or switching from different brands. This is encouraging for growth in the XR space.
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Kids Changing the Store Dynamics: Meta has noticed an influx of younger users, favoring social and co-op multiplayer games, leading to new store hits like Gorilla Tag. Meanwhile, adults are diving into more entertainment-based experiences.
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Meta’s Store Strategy: Keeping an eye on successful genres, Rabkin mentioned that Meta is investing in a broader range of apps, emphasizing social gaming, entertainment, and MR-first content. This is a clue for developers seeking funding from Meta.
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Popular Apps on Quest 3S: Gorilla Tag, YouTube VR, and Horizon Worlds are leading in popularity. The enduring appeal of YouTube VR points to continued interest in media consumption on VR/MR headsets, while Horizon Worlds’ success is a testament to Meta’s aggressive promotion strategy.
- Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses: They’ve been popular, especially with the new AI integration feature. Meta plans to further enhance this, aiming for AI assistants that provide proactive daily aid—not just reactive help. While exciting, it does raise some privacy concerns.
With Apple entering the XR market and Google teaming up with Samsung for a launch next year, Meta is feeling the competition heat. Bosworth highlighted the intense stakes, adding, “If we slip, we could lose our leadership position.” For users and developers, this competition promises more innovation and choice.
For more on Boz’s thoughts, check out the Meta blog, Lowpass newsletter, and Mark Rabkin’s insights on X.
Other Relevant News
The Rising Role of Spatial Intelligence
The intersection of AI and XR keeps growing, and a hot topic is using AI to understand locations better—what’s called "Spatial Intelligence." Two noteworthy contributions this week:
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Niantic’s Large Geospatial Models: Niantic delved into using LLMs for geospatial understanding. This is about leveraging AI to fill in gaps in spatial data, much like how we can imagine the full structure of a building from a few pictures.
- NYU’s Spatial Understanding with LLMs: Researchers at NYU developed VSI-Bench, a benchmark for assessing AI’s spatial understanding. This is pivotal as standard LLMs struggle with 3D space comprehension, even with multimodal inputs.
I foresee this trend significantly impacting XR’s future.
News Worth Mentioning
8K Camera for Apple Immersive Video Now Available
Blackmagic Design is now taking preorders for its URSA Cine Immersive camera, specifically crafted for 8K VR180 shooting, aligning with Apple’s Immersive Video needs. Featuring 180° stereo lenses, this camera is ideal for professional studios, not hobbyists, priced at $30,000. Updates to DaVinci Resolve will support this new format.
Meta’s Avatar Animation Update
Meta has introduced an "Audio To Expression" feature in its SDK. This uses AI to animate the entire avatars’ face, bringing expressions beyond simple lip-syncing. Available for free in Meta’s SDK, it’s a great addition for developers.
Fix for Quest’s Steam VR Stuttering Issue
A potential solution for Quest’s stuttering on SteamVR has emerged. Disabling the Motionsmoothing feature reportedly improves performance. If you’re at Valve, give it a look!
Digital Tokyo Landscape Released
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is offering a free point cloud of the city, useful for AI training, digital twin creation, gaming environments, and more.
Meta’s Winter Sale
Treat yourself to discounted VR games during the Quest Holiday Sale, featuring deals on titles like Demeo and Assassin’s Creed VR. Check out Road to VR and Upload VR for details.
Upload VR’s Game Awards
Upload VR has spotlighted the top AR/VR games of 2024, awarding the best in several categories. Curious which game snagged the Best VR Game? Hint: it starts with “Bat.”
Alien Rogue Incursion Launch
Though Alien Rogue Incursion just hit the market, it hasn’t quite captured the spotlight as expected. Despite its atmospheric appeal, gameplay can feel repetitive. This, and other releases, while enjoyable, might not be the game-changers for VR adoption we hoped for.
For comprehensive reviews, head to Road to VR and Upload VR.
Content News Highlights
- COLD VR, inspired by SUPERHOT, is poised for a January launch, priced at $19.99.
- Figmin XR now supports colocation on Apple Vision Pro.
- Tentacular Playground is a newly available building game on Steam.
- Niantic’s Scaniverse offers geolocated WebXR explorations.
- Dino Hab VR experience, developed with Meta, is now available.
- Grimlord goes full release on Quest and Steam.
- Zenni Vision VR lets you gauge visual acuity at home.
- Masters Of Lights debuts on PSVR 2.
Details on each can be found in the linked articles.
Reviews for Your Consideration
- Attack on Titan VR: Unbreakable has exciting giant combat but suffers from bugs and repetitive gameplay.
- Green Hell VR’s new co-op mode makes for an entertaining group experience.
- COLD VR has potential, but some levels need bug fixes to reach its full promise.
Find additional feedback in the respective reviews linked above.
Other Tidbits of Interest
- Genesis is an open-source engine for generating animated 3D worlds.
- OpenAI’s o3 Model is a powerful new AI model, albeit with a hefty price tag.
- AEXLAB’s Vail VR shooter has topped $5.5 million in revenue.
- Tom’s Guide compared XREAL One and Viture Pro AR glasses.
- Joe Hunting’s New Film, "The Reality of Hope", explores a unique VRChat-inspired relationship story.
Partner and Friends Updates
PatchWorld’s Offer
PatchWorld, a unique Quest app for musical creation, has seen significant updates and a 50% discount lasting until January 6, 2025. Try it now!
Join DeoVR’s CES Party
Attend DeoVR’s “After Dark” party at CES, starting January 8th. I’ll be there—let’s catch up!
Home Sports Giveaway
Win a free key for Resolution Games’ Home Sports, or purchase it directly from the Quest Store. It’s a new contender for the MR sports genre.
Party Versus Giveaway
Another giveaway for Party Versus, a mixed reality game from Schell Games. Enter to win a free key or purchase it as a show of support for the developers.
Fun in the XR World
Wrapping up, enjoy a dose of humor with a selection of light-hearted XR-themed links. From poking fun at day-to-day VR hiccups to ChatGPT’s amusing antics, there’s a chuckle here for everyone.
A Call to Charity
Finally, as we enter this holiday season, remember the people affected by the ongoing situation in Ukraine. Consider donating to the Red Cross to aid their humanitarian efforts. Your support makes a significant impact.
Support The Red Cross in Ukraine
(Header image by Meta)
