AIXR, the group behind the annual VR Awards and other initiatives, this week announced the launch of a new Centre for Immersive Innovation in the UK.
Set to open in early 2024, the centre will be located in Colchester and will provide access to a range of tools and resources for VR and AR. Those include a mixed reality capture studio and what a press release describes as “dedicated haptic zones” as well as educational events and training.
There will also be co-working and office spaces along with a function space.
Currently AIXR is looking for early adopters for the space, and you can find out more by filling in a fact sheet at an official website here.
Elsewhere, nominations are still open for this year’s VR Awards, running until July 8. This year’s ceremony will return to an in-person event on November 3.
Ultrawings 2 developer Bit Planet Games tweeted an apparent photo of a PSVR 2 headset in the wild yesterday, before removing the tweet and re-posting it with a generic promotional shot.
A screenshot of the now-deleted tweet, captured by UploadVR, can be seen above. It shows a supposed PSVR 2 unit, with two Sense controllers, sitting on an office chair, as part of a hint that Ultrawings 2 will be coming to PSVR 2.
In the new version of the tweet, embedded above, Bit Planet Games replaced the image with one of the well known PSVR 2 promotional images.
If real, the original image was likely of a early unit or developer kit sent out to Bit Planet Games to assist with development. That being said, dev kits usually feature a different, unfinished design to the final release units, as the final design is usually not finalized and production yet to begin. According to supply chain analyst Kuo, mass production of PSVR 2 is set to begin in the second half of this year.
We still don’t have a release date for PSVR 2, but it’s likely that many developers have their hands on dev kits already, to prepare for its eventual release.
The Meta Quest (formerly Oculus Quest) finally has video record settings.
Well, it does for developers at least.
A new update to the Oculus Developer Hub, first spotted by Heartlands developer Robert Aldridge, enables a range of video recording settings. Perhaps most importantly, the settings let you change the resolution, frame rate and aspect ratio for your recording, letting you pick a 16:9 window recording at up to 4K at 60fps.
You can even change the recording to include stereoscopic capture or change the bitrate to tweak the quality of the capture based on your needs.
We gave the new features a try in-headset. Changing the aspect ratio gives you a permanent black border showcasing exactly what will be captured in your recording. It’s an incredibly useful feature for those trying to capture Quest gameplay for videos and trailers, though in our experiments with Mothergunship: Forge, performance took a hit with the game loading into new areas slower.
Given the recording options also cut out large sections of your view, the standard on-device recording is still the best option for capturing the entire world around you.
Of course, you have to have an Oculus Developer account to actually access the Developer Hub, so there’s no way to change these settings for usual Quest 2 users right now. We’ve asked Meta if it plans to bring these features to standard Quest accounts too. For now, you can change recording settings using features on SideQuest if you allow access from unknown sources to your device.
Would you like to see more recording options come to Quest 2? Let us know in the comments below!
nDreams currently isn’t working on a sequel to its popular stealth shooter, Phantom: Covert Ops.
The studio confirmed as much in a recent Reddit post celebrating the game’s second birthday. “We’re not currently working on a sequel, but we have a lot of games in active development,” the studio said in reply to one commenter.
Phantom: Covert Ops Sequel Not In Development
This perhaps isn’t a big surprise given that nDreams does indeed have a lot of other games in the works right now. Last year it launched another FPS, Fracked, on PSVR and that came to PC a few months back. Its next big project is a Ghostbusters VR game for Quest 2 and PSVR 2, and it also runs a publishing arm that’s behind Little Cities and the upcoming Sushi Ben, too.
Still, we do hope to see nDreams return to the series at some point in the future. Phantom featured smart VR design, placing users in a kayak and tasking them with paddling through an enemy base, taking down targets in silence. We thought it was a great example of how to keep VR action immersive.
With that said, nDreams does now have three studios working on internal projects. Alongside its base team there’s another also working on AAA VR titles and one more exploring the live service market. With all these resources, we remain hopeful that we’ll see a sequel to the game at some point.
Would you want to see a Phantom: Covert Ops sequel? What would it look like? Let us know in the comments below!
The next project from Pokemon Go developer Niantic is an NBA AR game.
NBA All-World is currently in development for mobile AR and looks very similar to the studio’s past projects. You’ll head out into the real world to find basketball courts dotted on a virtual map (which, to be clear, are random locations, not real-world courts). From there you’ll meet players to engage in 1 v 1 matches. Check out a teaser trailer below.
NBA All-World AR Game Announced
Master the game and you can top local leaderboards, plus there are players to collect by beating them in matches. For now, the game’s expected to roll out on both iOS and Android in the coming NBA season.
There’s plenty more on the way from Niantic right now, including the company’s own IP, an AR pets game called Peridot. The company also recently launched a visual positioning system for ‘Global Scale’ AR experiences. Further down the line, though, the company’s teased possible AR hardware that could bring its apps to a new level.
The NBA, meanwhile, has been heavily involved with immersive technologies of late. Back in May, the company teamed up with Meta to launch a new experience within Horizon Worlds, too.
Are you interested in NBA All-World? Let us know in the comments below!
The $450 Samsung Galaxy A53 isn't a flagship gaming phone, so does that mean it can't handle Diablo Immortal? We played it and were surprised by the results.
Another VR music maker is headed to Quest. This time it’s PatchWorld from patchXR.
A store listing for the app appeared this week, confirming it will launch on July 7. Check out a trailer for the game below.
PatchWorld Coming To Quest
PatchWorld offers up a library of tools and instruments to make music with. You’ll design your own avatar and then use unique interfaces to create your own sounds.
patchXR says you’ll be able to share creations online via a PatchWorld platform. In fact you can already view some experiences made in the app over on an official website. Later down the line, multiplayer support too. The platform is also expected to release on PC VR headsets.
The concept looks very similar to other VR apps like Electronauts and Virtuoso, both of which are also available on Quest. Will you be checking out PatchWorld on Quest and/or PC? Let us know in the comments below!
Upcoming PSVR 2 exclusive Horizon Call of the Mountain will feature “multiple paths” for players to pursue.
An updated webpage for the game — as mentioned by PSVR Without Parole — confirms as much. The description for the game notes that players will “Explore a diverse landscape – embark on a journey with multiple paths to take where you’ll have to look all around you to uncover the secrets of the mountains.”
New Horizon Call of the Mountain Details Revealed
This suggests that Call of the Mountain won’t feature a huge open-world like the flatscreen games it’s based on. That said, we were never really expecting for this new game to be on the same scale as its siblings, and this page does at least confirm the game won’t be fully linear.
A GIF for the game also shows protagonist Ryas defending himself from one enemy with another in the background. There had been speculation from past trailers that you might only take on one machine at a time but this suggests otherwise.
Call of the Mountain is also expected to feature an introductory boat ride experience for new players. Currently, the game doesn’t have a release date but, then again, we don’t even know when PSVR 2 itself is going to launch right now.
The HP Pavilion Gaming Desktop, an affordable gaming PC with 8GB of RAM, is currently on sale from HP with a $100 discount, further lowering its price to $600.
We’re still waiting on confirmation of a specific release, but we know the update will drop sometime this week, allowing you to ditch the controllers and use your hands for the entire Little Cities campaign.
After some discussions internally and a few requests from fans, Purple Yonder decided hand tracking support would be the game’s first big piece of post launch content. “We really wanted to jump in at the deep end and see what we could do and if we could make it playable with hands and that’s what we’ve managed to do,” James told me. “It was a lot of work to get to that stage, a lot of challenges, but we’re there and it’s working really well.”
To place objects and build roads, you’ll point at an area of the map and use the familiar pinch gesture, found in many other hand tracking apps. However, movement with your hands is a bit unique in Little Cities — you close and drag your hands in a fist to move laterally, while moving fists closer or further apart will let you zoom. Moving fists in a steering wheel motion will rotate the map.
Apart from that, a lot of the remaining UI buttons and actions transferred from controllers to hands without much modification. The wristwatch mechanic, for example, works almost exactly the same as it does with controllers. “That just works really well with hand tracking because you just naturally look at your hand and that all still works the same way.”
“When you’re selecting things, if you haven’t played Little Cities, the way it works is you have like a build bubble and you pop that with your finger. And then you get a section of other bubbles which shows different options you can build. And that just works really well,” explains James.
“We didn’t really have to change much to get that working with hand tracking and it just feels really good, this kind of tactile feeling. Cause it’s not only you kind of popping these bubbles to select things, but it feels like your real hands when you’re doing it.”
The Big Hands in Little Cities update releases this week on the Quest platform. Both Quest 2 and the original Quest will support hand tracking, with players on the former being able to take advantage of Hand Tracking 2.0.
Co-op VR dungeon crawler, Legendary Tales, is getting a huge new world as part of an early access update soon.
The New World update was announced this week and intends to swap out the current starting hub for an area roughly 70 times larger. You’ll still be able to meet up with friends and visit various NPCs, but you’ll also have separate starting points for different dungeons and find much more to explore out in the world itself. Check out a trailer for the update below.
On a different note, the developer says that it’s looking into different dungeon themes to add to the game soon. Plus it hopes to launch randomized dungeons but can’t commit to that just yet.
We’ll also see full quests introduced in the future. These include mainline story missions and side objectives that help unlock new rewards. Weapon crafting is also coming to the game.
Smaller updates, meanwhile, include a new quick slot, changes to the skill tree, titles and new monster types.
There’s no final release date for this update yet, but Urban Wolf does say it’ll be out later this year. We already think Legendary Tales offers a lot of fun in co-op with its physics-driven action, so we’ll be excited to see if these new additions bring a lot to the game.
For now, Legendary Tales remains on Steam. No word on a possible Quest version yet.
VR stealth game Thief Simulator VR is coming to Meta Quest (formerly Oculus Quest) soon.
A port of the game has appeared in the Coming Soon section of the Quest store and is named Thief Simulator VR – Greenview Street. Check out a trailer for the experience at this link.
Thief Simulator VR Confirmed For Quest
Thief Simulator is focused on non-violent stealth. You break into buildings using a variety of skills like lockpicking or just straight up smashing in doors and windows. You’ll be able to bag items and make a hasty escape, but the game doesn’t feature any form of combat; get spotted by the cops and it’s game over.
To help you on your way you’ll have character progression with a skill tree and new equipment to unlock. Levels are intended to be wide and open so that you can take multiple paths to your objective, too.
Over on developer 3R Games’ website the studio explains that Greenview Street will feature a lot of optimizations to bring the game to Quest, including foveated rendering and changes to car AI and weather. What’s not clear, however, is if the new title means the game will differ in actual content. We have seen titles like Blade & Sorcery: Nomad or Green Hell VR offer streamlined versions of the PC VR original in the past, for example.
Currently, there’s no release date for this version of the game. Would you want to experience Thief Simulator VR on Quest? Let us know in the comments below!
In this week’s episode of Between Realties, Alex and Skeeva host Chris Alderson, Co-Founder and Art Director of Polyarc Games.
Chris tells the story of how the hit VR game Moss came to be and explains how they brought Quill to life. Other topics include upcoming VR headsets and the idea of people bonding with digital entities.
Welcome to another VR Job Hub where every weekend gmw3 gathers together vacancies from across the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR) and now Web3 industries, in locations around the globe to help make finding that ideal job easier. Below is a selection of roles that are currently accepting applications across a number of disciplines, all within departments and companies that focus on immersive entertainment.
Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there are always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hubto check as well.
If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology-related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (community@gmw3.com).
We’ll see you next week on gmw3 at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.
Owlchemy Labs is one of the supporting sponsors for the UploadVR Summer Showcase 2022. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out on our Youtube! Their generous donation helped produce the showcase and guarantee we can keep bringing you the best of the best in VR news. Read more about them on their sponsorship page HERE.
Owlchemy Labs are determined to make their games as accessible as possible. By breaking down barriers through adding various options they’re on a mission to make VR gaming easier for everyone to enjoy. When discussing their new updates for #CosmoniousHigh, Chief Operating Owl Andrew Eiche said that Owlchemy Labs “makes VR for everyone”. Their main aim is to make a very comfortable experience and to stop as many people as possible from feeling sick from the VR experience. He goes on to say that “accessibility is the main goal” and that games “should be as accessible as we can (possibly) make”.
As part of this goal, Owlchemy have announced some new accessibility features for Cosmonious High, their out-of-this-world VR experience that sees you in an alien school with freedom to interact with many things and meet a diverse and interesting bunch of characters. This new update “covers different accessibility needs”, says accessibility engineer Peter Galbraith, helping VR gamers in overcoming many of the obstacles that may stop them from enjoying the game to the fullest.
Firstly, Cosmonious High has been updated to have a one-handed mode that makes every input accessible on a single controller. Should only one controller be turned on, the game will recognise this as one-handed mode and allow the user to play using this mode automatically. This will aid anyone who is unable to hold two controllers comfortably for any reason and also make it easier for VR newcomers to enjoy too.
Adjustments have also been made in regards to the height of the game in the headset. Objects have an option to be lowered should the player wish to play whilst seated and the individual height and head position of players has been accounted for allowing for the level to be adjusted. On top of this, there’s an optional ‘smaller student mode’ which shrinks the environment and enlarges the player which may help with scaling for users so that they can see more of the world in one view. Players with mobility issues will find these two changes particularly useful as it feels much less restrictive in how the game allows you to play Cosmonious High.
Furthermore, if you get stuck during Cosmonious High for a period of time or haven’t completed an action, the game will also remind you of the next task to complete. These reminder tutorials can be turned off if you prefer but they’re there should you need a nudge in the right direction. If there’s something that you can read but not quite understand, there will be additional iconography too which should make it a bit clearer what action needs to be completed.
A helpful quality of life update with object interactions is also part of the update, with certain objects now having more options to interact with to stop any potential nuisance with completing certain tasks. Sometimes, objects would be a little picky with how you use them but this is being improved to make things easier for all players.
Various visual upgrades have also been made, with improved clarity for collectables and to make goals and objectives of card collecting much clearer.
Lastly, inclusivity is an important factor in Owlchemy’s mantra and they are showing this by adding 2 important things: More languages for localized descriptions of assignments, including English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese and Korean. These will change automatically depending on which language you’re playing the game in so you will get the correct language to match that which you’re playing in.
The speech trays that come out of the mouths of talking characters will now show their name and pronouns. The pronouns will also be shown on their pictures, which Owlchemy have done to show that they want to make an “inclusive universe where everyone should feel comfortable and welcome.”
The application of XR into the attraction and amusement landscape is covered by industry specialist Kevin Williams in his latest Virtual Arena column. An amazing immersive adventure based in 1605 London is experienced with the launch of The Gunpowder Plot.
The creation of an immersive experience that audiences will be prepared to pay ticket prices to participate in has been a constant challenge. The mixing of the right level of immersive, with live performance and themed environments has been attempted as both stage performance, art installation, and attraction. And London played host to the latest adaption of this process into the mainstream.
Based on the historical character Guy Fawkes, and the turbulent period of English history he was embroiled in, Layered Reality has launched The Gunpowder Plot. This is an immersive experience, combining theatrical theming, and live performance, alongside immersive projection, and virtual reality.
Image credit: KWP
Located on Tower Hill in the shadow of the historic Tower of London, the Tower Vaults venue has been transformed into an entertainment space, bar, and dining hospitality. The developers have previous experience in offering this level of immersive entertainment, following on from their successful deployment of Jeff Wayne’s The War of The Worlds: The Immersive Experience – which we reported on previously.
Layered Reality in collaboration with Historic Royal Palaces and Figment Productions has been working to launch this ambitious historical reinterpretation of the gunpowder plot. Figment Productions, best known for their work in creating the ‘Derren Brown’s Ghost Train: Rise of the Demon’ theme park attraction; has worked hard to create a virtual recreation of the London of 1605. The developer employs over 50 actors to be represented virtually within this experience, including accurate period costumes.
The developer does not stop there, representing the old London landscape, with the Thames, the original London Bridge, and the surrounding castles so lovingly that you will want to be able to visually navigate the streets of the historic city – eventually lost to plague, and the Great Fire of London. The VR elements of the experience are broken into three distinct portions of the overall adventure for the audience. With the crossing of the Thames by rope, a harrowing night crossing across the river, and an audience with the King!
Image credit: Mark Dawson
The adventure is a true immersive experience and builds greatly on a more theatrical representation of the immersive elements. A troop of well-known stage and screen actors fill the cast – led by Tom Felton, better known for his portrayal of Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies. It is the interweaving of the immersive technology with the live actors that has become a signature of Layered Reality’s artistry.
Image credit: KWP
In groups of up to 16, guests are transported through time, with their guides being real actors, using their performances to immerse the audience, complemented by the theming of the vaults. Along the way there are sequences where guests don HTC Cosmos Elite VR headsets and immerse further into the action sequences of the story, concluding with the group having to agree on the moral decisions they should take impacting the conclusion of the adventure. The whole experience lasts over an hour and is broken up with the signature-themed pub area, halfway through the adventure, for the guests to mingle.
Image credit: Mark Dawson
Aside from the obvious opening night jitters from the technology, the overall experience was an amazing undertaking and offered a compelling and fun adventure. Only wishing that we could have spent longer admiring the incredible historical recreation rendered virtually of the old city. The experience will be moving from soft opening to taking bookings and is expected to be the first of many immersive themed experiences based on popular properties.
In an interesting quirk of history on its own, the location of The Gunpowder Plot experience is situated in the same vaults that some 28-years ago housed the Legend Quest VR experience. Developed at the time by pioneers, Virtuality, in collaboration with Virtual Reality Design & Leisure, the first true multi-player fantasy VR game was incredibly rudimentary but pointed to the abilities of this fledgling technology. Jump forward to 2022, and again the Tower Hill location offers a tantalizing glimpse of a future in a technological endeavour that will start a revolution in guest entertainment.
Fortnite Chapter 3, Season 3 is here, and it comes with new features, as well as a fresh set of challenges. These are all the new challenges for Season 3.
PSVR 2 has been announced and is hopefully coming soon, but what about PSVR 2 games?
Note: This article was originally published on January 6 and has since been updated.
We’ve got a full rundown of all announced and rumored PSVR 2 games to keep track of. We’ll be keeping this list up to date, so check back often.
Harnessing the power of the PS5, PSVR 2 will be capable of much more ambitious games than the original headset, which ran on the PS4. But with the device only just announced, Sony is playing its cards close to its chest when it comes to the software library. So far we have only a handful of fully announced PSVR 2 games, but there are plenty of other titles that are rumored or hinted at to talk about too. This list includes rumored PSVR 2 games and also titles that appear on both PS4 and PS5 but have PSVR support for the latter, making them likely targets for PSVR 2 too.
The first game Sony itself has officially announced for PSVR 2, Horizon Call of the Wild is a spin-off of the popular open-world series. You’ve likely already played Horizon Zero Dawn, in which protagonist Aloy learned about the near-extinction of humanity and the rise of dinosaur-like machines, and the sequel, Forbidden West, is coming to PS4 and PS5 soon.
Call of the Wild is an all-new entry in which you play as a new character (though you will meet Aloy) and is developed by one of Sony’s newly-acquired studios, Firesprite. More details are yet to be revealed but you can see the first gameplay above and we’re hopeful that this will be a PSVR 2 launch title, too.
Resident Evil 8
After months of rumors and speculation, we finally know that the entire Resident Evil 8 experience is on the PSVR 2 games list. First released in 2021, Resident Evil 8 reunited players with Ethan, the protagonist from Resident Evil 7, as they went on an all new horror adventure. The first trailer for PSVR 2 support also shows motion controls (which weren’t included in the PSVR version of Resident Evil 7) and new features. No release details yet, but hopefully this will be a free update to the original.
Resident Evil 4 Remake (‘Supported Content’)
There’s a catch to this one. Capcom is remaking Resident Evil 4 for PS5 and it looks fantastic. But the PSVR 2 integration is currently described as “supported content”, which suggests we won’t get the full game in VR. That may have something to do with the fact the original Resident Evil 4 is available on Quest 2 as a platform exclusive. It remains to be seen exactly what this PSVR 2 content will look like, but the game’s out in March 2023.
No Man’s Sky
To the surprise of pretty much no one, the excellent VR support for No Man’s Sky will find its way into the PS5 version when PSVR 2 is release. Hello Games has already done a great job implementing VR into the PS4 and PC versions of the game, so we basically already know that the PS5 edition will hold up. As with past updates, we’d expect this to be a free add-on to the game for PS5 owners.
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners Chapter 2 – Retribution
The original Saints & Sinners is one of PSVR’s best games, so it’s great to hear that the follow-up will reach both that headset and PSVR 2. Though we’re still not sure if this is a full sequel, we can expect plenty of new content as we once again step into the role of the Tourist and survive on the streets of New Orleans. The PSVR 2 version arrives in 2023.
Firmament
Myst developer Cyan World’s latest game was originally planned to come to PSVR. But the studio recently confirmed that it’s stopping work on that version of the game and will instead bring it to PSVR 2. It’s clear to see why the PSVR version might have been an issue – Firmament looks like an absolutely gorgeous game and another interesting addition to the adventure genre. It was actually announced all the way back in 2018 but the full release is planned for 2022 with PSVR 2 support arriving when the headset is ready for launch.
Alvo
Having started life as a PSVR-exclusive shooter with support for the Aim controller, Alvo is one of the first games to confirm it’ll be making the jump to PSVR 2. This is a rewarding modern-era shooter inspired by the likes of Counter-Strike. The Aim controller might not be directly supported anymore (Sony hasn’t made any comment on compatibility), but the game’s already up and running on Quest 2, so expect a similar control scheme to that version.
Unannounced Coatsink Game
Esper, Shadow Point and Jurassic World Aftermath developer Coatsink is confirmed to be working on a launch title for PSVR 2. Parent company Thunderful confirmed as much in a recent financial report. Exactly what the team is working on is unclear – it could be a port of one of its older VR titles, or it could be something brand new. Aftermath was its most recent VR effort, but it’s unclear if that game is fully exclusive to Quest or could come to other platforms.
Among Us VR
Originally confirmed for PSVR 1, we now know Schell Games’ take on the ever-popular whodunnit will be coming to PSVR 2. Currently all we know is that the game will hit the headset “when it is released”, so expect it to be a launch title. Otherwise, this offers 4 – 10 player games in which one player is secretly cast as a killer that must murder the entire crew without getting caught. If it’s anything like as fun as the flatscreen original then it’ll be a hit.
Unannounced nDreams Games
In a recent funding announcement, UK-based nDreams confirmed that it’s working on multiple projects for PSVR 2. The studio has a long history with VR, but is best known for its 2020 stealth action VR, Phantom: Covert Ops, in which players infiltrated hostile territory in a kyack, and last year’s blockbuster PSVR shooter, Fracked. There’s no word yet on what these new projects will be, but nDreams now consists of three studios making VR content, and we’d gladly replay Fracked on new hardware.
Unannounced First Contact Entertainment Game
Firewall and Solaris developer First Contact Entertainment is hiring for development of an unannounced PSVR 2 game. We don’t know what it is yet, but the developer has described it as a next-generation project. The smart money would be on a follow-up to the hugely popular Firewall, which helped define multiplayer shooters on PSVR thanks to its brilliant use of the rifle-shaped Aim Controller.
Runner
Horizon might be the first game Sony announced for PSVR 2, but Runner developer Truant Pixel announced its intention to release on the platform nearly a year before that. This is an anime-inspired biking game in which you speed down futuristic highways fending off enemies with dual-wielding weapons. It’s got gorgeously animated cutscenes and is also expected to launch on Quest 2 and PC VR. Perhaps not a raw display of PSVR 2’s power, then, but a good indication of what you can expect from indie development on the headset.
Low-Fi
The long-anticipated sci-fi title from Iris VR has been promising to join the line-up of PSVR 2 games for years now. Low-Fi is designed to be a futuristic life-simulator inspired by the likes of Blade Runner in which players can make their own choices about how to proceed. It’s been in early access on Itch for a few years, with the developer continuing to bolt on new features. Hopefully 2022 will see the launch of the full version of the game on PSVR 2.
Samurai Slaughter House
Another indie studio that’s been very quick to confirm it’ll join the list of PSVR 2 games, Samurai Slaughter House is a bloody melee combat game with a black and white art style and physics-based fighting. The game’s also planned for PC VR and Quest 2.
PSVR 2 Games: Rumored Games
These are possible PSVR 2 games that developers have either hinted at or seem very likely to come to the platform.
Gran Turismo 7
PS4’s Gran Turismo Sport featured bare-bones support for PSVR. The actual experience was incredibly polished, but it only let you race against one other AI opponent or perfect your lap times. Series creator Kazunori Yamauchi himself expressed frustration with the performance needed for a good VR experience and once said he expected that to improve in the next-generation of consoles. More recently, he cryptically noted that he couldn’t talk about possible VR support for Gran Turismo 7 “yet”. All things considered, this seems like a solid bet to become a full PSVR 2 game in the future.
Farpoint 2
Farpoint became one of PSVR’s most popular shooters thanks to its reliance on the excellent rifle-shaped Aim Controller. The game had a full single-player campaign and a fun — if limited — multiplayer option, sending players to an alien world to fight spider-like monsters. Developer Impulse Gear recently put out another great shooter named Larcenauts for Quest and PC VR. Around that time, we asked the studio’s Greg Koreman about a possible return to the series.
He told us: “We definitely don’t have anything to announce at the moment but that is our roots and we’re very happy with what we did on Farpoint. And I think you look at that game and that universe and there’s absolutely a lot more to explore there.” Yep, it sounds like a sequel is very possiblyy one of the upcoming PSVR 2 games.
Half-Life: Alyx
What must be one of the most hoped-for PSVR 2 games is a port of Valve’s stunning return to its flagship franchise from 2020. Alyx absolutely delivered on the AAA VR dream with a long, highly-polished campaign that really capitalized on the platform. Before launch in 2019, Valve’s Greg Coomer had this to say to PushSquare on the possibility of a PSVR port for the game: “We believe Sony’s VR platform has been a huge success for the medium, and we assume that lots of Sony customers would love to experience this new chapter of Half-Life.” Could we see Alyx arrive on PSVR 2 with this in mind?
PSVR 2 Games: Cross-Gen Games With PSVR 1 Support
There are games that are on both PS4 and PS5 already and have PSVR support on PS4, thus making them likely candidates for PS5 games in the future.
Hitman 3
Arguably the last truly huge PSVR release, Hitman 3 featured timed-exclusive support for the headset when it launched in January 2021. Not only could you play the entire game in first-person using the DualShock 4’s motion controls, but you could import the campaigns from Hitman 1 and 2 and play them there too. This January the timed-exclusivity window will be up and the game’s getting VR support on PC, too, with two-handed motion controls. It’s a very good indication that, when PSVR 2 drops, the PS5 version of Hitman 3 could well add in support.
Resident Evil 7
Resident Evil 7 is due to get a PS5 remaster later in 2022. It will include ray tracing support, improved framerates and integration with DualSense’s’ haptic feedback and resistence triggers. There’s been no confirmation of PSVR 2 support thus far but, given this remains one of the best games on the original headset, we’ll keep our fingers crossed. If PSVR 2 gets Resident Evil 7 and 8? We’ll be very lucky indeed.
The Persistence
Sony bought Horizon Call of the Mountain developer Firesprite in 2021, but the Liverpool, UK-based team had been showing support for PSVR long before that. It created the fantastic timed-exclusive, The Persistence, first for PSVR. It’s a thrilling, procedurally generated survival horror game that established palpable atmosphere. The Persistence eventually found its way to other headsets and flatscreen platforms including PS5. Once the new headset’s released, it’s a solid bet that this will be one of the new PSVR 2 games we can enjoy on the device.
Kona
Kona is something of an oddity. It’s a first-person investigation game set in snowy Northern Canada. You look into strange events that have left a small town deserted and survive the blizzard. The PS4 and PC versions of the game got premium VR DLC that let you play the entire experience with a headset. A PS5 version arrived somewhat out of the blue with a free upgrade. Hopefully we’ll see this version also get PSVR 2 support once the headset arrives.
And that’s the current list of confirmed and rumored PSVR 2 games! What are you looking forward to? Are there any other titles you’re hoping get announced? Let us know in the comments below!
Satirical VR shooter, The American Dream, arrives on Quest next week.
Developer Samurai Punk will bring the game — which first launched on PC VR and PSVR back in 2018 — to the standalone headset on June 30. It will cost $14.99. Check out a trailer for the Quest version below.
The American Dream Quest Version Revealed
The American Dream pictures a reality in which America uses guns as tools for daily tasks. You’ll go through several scenarios like opening beer cans, playing catch and flipping burgers with the aid for firearms. The game is intended to be a satirical take on American gun culture.
We first reviewed the game in 2018, praising its unique premise though adding that it suffered from some pacing issues.
“Using VR’s unique potential to tell powerful and insightful stories with stark, reflective criticism is on display in ways we haven’t seen before,” we said. “The humor won’t land for everyone and the message will likely get misinterpreted or lost by some, but The American Dream raises questions that are absolutely worth discussing regardless of your stance on gun laws. This VR experience, despite the quirky visual style, is not for the faint of heart.”
Will you be picking up The American Dream on Quest? Let us know in the comments below!
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Pico’s first consumer headset to release in the west is still a work in progress, but it suggests Meta has some serious competition in its future. Read on for our Pico Neo 3 Link review.
Note: Please keep in mind that the Pico Neo 3 Link is described as a beta product and is still getting software updates with new features and fixes. What’s written below was accurate at the time of publication, but may soon change.
I’ll just come right out and say it: unless you’re a diehard VR enthusiast desperately in search of a standalone VR headset not owned by Meta, you probably shouldn’t buy a Pico Neo 3 Link. This isn’t because the headset itself is necessarily bad — it’s actually a very decent device that’s comparable to Quest 2 in many areas including price at €450 — but simply because the Neo 3 Link is still a work in progress, and may have less than a year of shelf life before it’s replaced.
Newly acquired by TikTok owner ByteDance, Pico has dropped some big hints that its next-generation VR standalone is around 12 months out. In fact, anyone that does buy the Neo 3 Link will get a discount on that hypothetical new device when it releases. Make no mistake then, the Neo 3 Link is very much a beta product in search of guinea pigs. This limited release is intended to both test the waters of the consumer VR market and help prove out the company’s software and hardware offerings as it plots new devices and expansions to the US.
That said, as we’ll discuss later, the Neo Link 3 does actually have some big advantages over Quest 2 if you’re looking to also use the device with a PC.
Design, Comfort & Specs
Whichever angle you look at it from, the Neo 3 Link looks a lot like a Quest 2. Literally, yes, it’s a similar design with four cameras for tracking and a bulky front visor that stores all of the headset’s compute. Charging’s done via USB-C and Pico even borrows Quest 2’s three-point lens adjustment covering a range of eye distances by reaching inside and moving them.
One nice advantage that the Neo 3 Link does have over Quest 2 is that it basically comes with the Elite Strap already integrated into the device. There’s a back dial that allows you to quickly adjust your fit and provides a little better weight distribution than the Quest 2 with its basic headstrap, even if it overall makes it the heavier of the two headsets. Combined with the soft fabric lining and stretchy rubber top strap, the headset’s pretty comfortable to wear for long stretches of time without getting much fatigue on your face and head.
Even on the inside, though, things are mostly identical to Quest 2: the Neo 3 Link runs on Qualcomm’s XR2 chipset and offers the same 1832×1920 per-eye resolution. There’s also a limited 120Hz mode for some less demanding games, but most content will run at 90Hz. In other words, the games and apps the Neo 3 Link 3 can run are exactly the same as those you see on Quest 2; don’t expect any significant leaps in graphical fidelity and performance.
Two speakers located in the headset’s side straps provide serviceable audio, with a headphone jack for those that want it and easily-reachable volume buttons.
Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the Neo 3 Link is the second USB-C port it has, hidden underneath a rubber cap. This is essential for the headset’s PC VR offerings, but we’ll get to those in a bit.
Controllers & Tracking
Again, if you’ve held a Quest 2 controller you’ll know what to expect from the Neo 3 Link’s two motion controllers. They’re the tried-and-true mix of a single trigger, side grip button, two face buttons with an analog stick each. The tracking ring runs on top and, interestingly, both controllers have a Home and Menu button each, which is a nice inclusion for anyone that ever forgets which is which on the left and right Touch controllers.
The controllers are certainly light and fit comfortably in your hand, though they don’t have quite the same premium feel as the Quest 2 controllers and they also both run on a pair of AA batteries each.
When it comes to the actual tracking itself I’ve been pretty pleased with the accuracy and consistency in well over 15 hours of playtime.
The Standalone Experience
As far as the content library goes, the Neo 3 Link currently does a decent job of bringing Quest 2’s best third-party games to a new ecosystem, where they look and play practically identical. That includes all-timer releases like Superhot VR and Eleven: Table Tennis as well as recent hits like Demeo and After The Fall, with some notable omissions like Job Simulator. I’d expect the list of missing games to narrow by the week as more titles launch on the device, though (you can keep up with a list of all Neo 3 Link support games here).
The Neo 3 Link also isn’t as strictly curated as the Quest store, which means you get front-and-center access to some great indie titles like Crisis VRigade 1 and 2, as well as some not so great titles you’ll scroll right on past. With that said, you’re still essentially getting a pared back version of the Quest 2 line-up with the Neo 3 Link, without any of the big exclusives like Beat Saber, Echo VR and Resident Evil 4 VR.
Pico is really going to have to double down on investment to make this library much more compelling; it’ll need not just parity with third-party Quest releases but some hits to call its own and help differentiate it from the Quest ecosystem. I’ll be very interested to see how it goes about achieving this in the months to come.
You’re also missing a wealth of features Meta has implemented into Quest 2 over its 18 or so months on the market. That includes hugely important input options like hand-tracking. The Neo 3 only supports this with the enterprise-level Pro model and that’s only with an externally-mounted Ultraleap sensor. Plus there’s an an ever-increasing suite of social and productivity enhancements like sensing when someone has stepped into your play space or inviting others into your home environment. The list goes on: marking out virtual desks and couches, multitasking on 2D windows, tracked bluetooth keyboard recognition and more. There’s a lot to catch up on here.
This is, crucially, where the word ‘beta’ really comes into play. Pico is essentially only just starting out on the same journey Meta began with the release of the first Quest, and we’d expect many of these features to eventually find their way into the Neo series. The big question is if the Neo 3 Link will continue to be supported with those new features once its successor arrives because, if not, it’s even harder to recommend the device to more casual VR users.
PC Integration
But, while the Neo 3 Link might be missing a lot of the features you can currently enjoy on a Quest 2, it also boasts one big feature Meta doesn’t have. Packed inside every box alongside the headset is a USB-C to DisplayPort cable. You can use this to connect directly to your PC and experience clean, uncompressed PC VR. Meta’s USB-C to USB-A Link, meanwhile, offers a stable connection but compresses the image, and it’s very noticable. Pico also features an AirLink option for wire-free streaming, but it adds that compression back in.
I’ve been using the wired connection to try out demos from Steam Next Fest, and as I’ve reviewed Green Hell VR’s PC version, I found the clarity on offer with the wired connection easily makes the Neo 3 Link my prefered hybrid headset. Until now, I’d kept a Rift S handy at all times because it offered the right mix of ease of use and clarity. The Neo 3 Link will allow me to finally shelve that headset.
That said there are some issues to iron out. For starters, the Neo 3 Link humorously comes with its own screwdriver to secure the USB-C connection to your headset without risk of detachment. It certainly works, but it’s not exactly practical to keep a screwdriver around at all times as you go between modes.
The actual SteamVR integration, meanwhile, has worked well for me in terms of performance and controller compatibility though I have seen some strange issues. For example, the virtual controllers shown in SteamVR have always resembled the Oculus Rift CV1 Touch controllers, and not Pico’s designs. I recieved an update earlier this week that said that issue was fixed but, even after that update, it’s still there. Button prompts to exit streaming also don’t really seem to work. Hopefully Pico can work with Steam to further improve implementation in future updates and products.
Privacy
Presumably many people would be interested in the Pico Neo 3 Link as an alternative to the Quest 2 because it isn’t associated with Meta. You don’t need a Facebook account to setup the device (though Meta still says it will be removing this requirement for Quest in the future) and you won’t lose access to games and apps if that account is banned for any reason.
But, just because you don’t need a social media account, doesn’t mean the Neo 3 Link doesn’t raise privacy concerns. TikTok itself has been at the center of this debate for some time, though the company has always claimed that US users’ data does not leave the country, save for “backup redundancy in Singapore.” But this hasn’t silenced concerns; just last week a Buzzfeed News report claimed ByteDance employees had access to “nonpublic data about US TikTok users”.
In my 2020 Quest 2 review I said that “the ball’s kind of in your court” when it comes to deciding how much of an issue these concerns are for you. “You don’t need me to tell you that Facebook doesn’t have a great reputation on data privacy. You can see the obvious benefits the company might see in a technology platform that could literally tell where you’re looking at all times, then.”
You should consider this statement relevant to ByteDance, too.
Pico Neo 3 Link Review: Final Impressions
The Pico Neo 3 Link marks a decent start for ByteDance’s consumer VR ambitions with a headset that’s comparable to the Quest 2 in a lot of important ways — some even favorably — even if this beta release is missing some vital features and software. Crucially, being able to offer the headset for €450 with a DisplayPort cable included suggests that Meta’s iron grip on VR value might be about to get some serious, much-needed competition.
But it’s hard to recommend the Neo 3 Link to many VR fans simply because the device is so obviously testing the waters for what comes next. With a Neo 4 looking increasingly likely in the near future, the Neo 3 Link’s purpose is mainly to prove out features for what comes next. A discount on the Neo 3 Link’s successor isn’t much of an incentive to dive in now when you could simply save a lot more money by waiting 12 months for that next device. Still, if you’re strictly looking to buy a headset now that offers a compression-free PC VR experience and a taste of standalone as well, the Pico Neo Link 3 is a decent Quest 2 alternative.
