Mint Virtual Reality

Nreal changed its name to XREAL and announced an adapter for its Air glasses to support a wider range of devices.

Nreal (now XREAL) is a China-based startup, which launched the first consumer AR glasses in the US, Nreal Light, in late 2021. Light is capable of positioning virtual objects in your real environment, but is $600 and only compatible with a few specific flagship Android phones.

In 2022 the company launched Nreal Air, $380 virtual monitor glasses without tracking cameras and lacking true AR capability. Nreal has almost entirely focused on the Air media glasses since (which are now renamed XREAL Air), and rarely mentions the Light AR glasses anymore.

In a press release detailing the company's rebrand, XREAL explains that as the company grew, "it started to encounter disputes regarding the Nreal mark," which were since "resolved amicably." However, XREAL "decided it would be beneficial to select a new mark that can more clearly and uniquely distinguish the firm as a leader of the augmented reality industry."

These "disputes" likely refer to the lawsuit Epic Games filed against the company in 2021, in which Epic alleged that it was “no coincidence” that Nreal’s name “looks and sounds virtually identical” to its Unreal game engine.

Air's purpose is to act as a virtual display for your existing devices. Currently it only supports USB-C devices such as Android phones, iPads, and laptops. For most devices, the virtual display is fully locked to your head. On only a few specific Android phones and Apple Silicon Macs, the virtual display stays in place as your head turns (3DoF ).

The newly announced XREAL Beam adapter will provide the 3DoF tracked experience for all devices, and adds support for iPhones via wireless casting and games consoles via HDMI to USB-C.

With Air and the Beam adapter you can essentially carry around a portable virtual monitor for your docked Nintendo Switch, for example. However, current transparent AR optics have a very narrow field of view, so you'll only see the full virtual screen at once if it's relatively small or positioned meters away from you. If you want a massive virtual screen at reasonable viewing distances, you'll have to turn your head more often than with a real TV.

Beam has two USB-C ports. For wired devices, one is used for video input and the other to power the glasses for around three hours via the built-in battery. For wireless casting devices, you can use the other port for perpetual charge & play.

XREAL says DRM content will only be supported in wired mode initially, while wireless casting will apparently get DRM support later in the year.

The Air glasses will also get an update to support 90Hz refresh rate later this year, which should make for smoother head tracking.

XREAL Beam preorders will open on Thursday, and the company claims it will be globally available in the second half of July. No price has been announced yet.

Pistol Whip continues Overdrive Season with the next monthly update, adding the new "Nobody Wants You" scene later this week.

Following this month's launch of the Overdrive Season, Cloudhead Games revealed the second monthly scene, Nobody Wants You, joins the Pistol Whip Arcade Mode on June 1. "If 'Shred' was a hard-hitting zeppelin battle for the ages, 'Nobody Wants You' is the beachy psychedelic afterparty to match," Cloudhead states in a press release. Here's the new trailer:

To celebrate this release, Pistol Whip is also getting a free weekend on Steam from June 1 to 4, offering a discount for those who purchase it permanently. It times up well with the upcoming in-game level editor, Pistol Mix, which leaves open beta on June 14. Cloudhead confirms modded scenes will be playable on Steam, Rift and Quest 2.

Pistol Whip is available now on Quest 2, PSVR 2, Pico 4 and PC VR. As confirmed earlier this month, all content "up to and including" last year's Contracts remain available on the original PSVR, though Overdrive and future content updates won't be supported on Sony's older headset.

Apple updated its WWDC23 website today to include the phrase 'code new worlds', seemingly teasing the arrival of its unannounced headset.

Apple is expected to announce its long-rumored VR/AR headset next week during the opening keynote of WWDC23. There's been numerous reports about the headset's development over the last few years, but now all signs seem to point towards a reveal coming next week.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo have both recently indicated that a WWDC reveal is planned, while last week UploadVR's Ian Hamilton  got invited to attend the keynote in person. As we said then, draw from that what conclusions you may.

If that weren't enough though, Apple added the phrase 'code new worlds' to its WWDC23 material today, seemingly teasing the headset announcement.

The headset, likely to be named Apple Reality Pro, will reportedly ship as a high-end standalone headset with both AR and VR capabilities for around $3000. Reports also indicate the inclusion of color passthrough cameras, high resolution displays and a MacBook-tier processor, all packaged in a slim and lightweight design powered by a wired external battery pack.

We're waiting for WWDC 23 with baited breath, but until then, you can catch up on what we've heard about the Apple headset in our roundup:

Apple Headset Specs, Release Date, & Everything We’ve Heard

Reports indicate Apple is preparing to reveal a standalone headset with VR and AR capabilities. Here’s our updated roundup of everything we’ve heard:

UploadVRHarry Baker

A prominent display supply chain analyst revealed the supposed size, pixel density and brightness of the OLED microdisplays in Apple's upcoming AR/VR headset.

Ross Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants, tweeted the specs today:

You want more, I will give you more: Micro OLED specs for Apple's AR/VR headset:
1.41" in diagonal
4000 PPI
>5000 nits of brightness

— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) May 30, 2023

Most existing headset panels have an aspect ratio of 9:10. A 1.41" diagonal display with a pixel density of 4000 PPI and an aspect ratio of 9:10 would have a resolution of 4156×3740.

However, if the aspect ratio is square instead it would equate to almost exactly 4000×4000.

Regardless of the exact aspect ratio, it's fair to say that if Young's specs are accurate, Apple's headset will have a resolution describable as 4K per eye.

This isn't entirely unexpected though. As far back as 2021, TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed Apple's headset will use dual 4K micro OLED displays.

In January The Information reported the headset's lenses have a field of view of 120 degrees. Given the resolution, this would equate to an average angular resolution of roughly 33 pixels per degree (PPD).

For comparison, Quest Pro's average angular resolution is less than 20 PPD, and the generally accepted threshold for retinal resolution is 60 PPD. Note that peak angular resolution in the center of a lens will be higher than the average, dependent on the exact distortion profile of each lens.

Apple's headset, now many years in development, is expected to be finally revealed during the WWDC23 keynote on Monday, which UploadVR's Ian Hamilton is attending in person. For a summary of all the rumors we've heard so far, read our roundup here:

Apple Headset Specs, Release Date, & Everything We’ve Heard

Reports indicate Apple is preparing to reveal a standalone headset with VR and AR capabilities. Here’s our updated roundup of everything we’ve heard:

UploadVRHarry Baker

Looking for new VR games arriving in June 2023? We’ve got the full rundown.

May 2023 was an undeniably busy month for VR, offering a little something for everyone. Between Propagation: Paradise Hotel, Another Fisherman's Tale, Walkabout Mini Golf, Humanity, Rogue Ascent, Firmament, Red Matter 2, Hello Neighbor: Search and Rescue, Crimen - Mercenary Tales, Everslaught Invasion and Yupitergrad 2: The Lost Station, we covered a lot through reviews.

That's before we get into the rest. On PSVR 2, Organ Quarter, Transformers Beyond Reality and PokerStars VR ports all launched less than 24 hours apart. Windlands officially appeared on Quest following a previous App Lab release, while X8, Paranormal Hunter, Cosmodread and Beat Saber on PSVR 2 rounded out May. Needless to say, it was a busy month and June's not looking any different.

With the Meta Gaming Showcase on June 1 and our own Upload VR Summer 2023 Showcase following later on, keep this page bookmarked for further updates. For now, here’s all the major upcoming VR games arriving on Meta Quest 2, PC VR, PSVR 2, Pico 4 and more in June 2023.

We Are One - June 1 (PC VR, Quest 2)

Mixing puzzles with room-scale FPS mechanics, We Are One comes from developer Flat Head Studio. Set across self-contained levels, your goal involves working together with your past selves to clear time travel-themed conundrums. You can check out our We Are One preview from Gamescom 2022, or try out the demo now on Steam, App Lab and SideQuest. Keep an eye out for our review later this week.

Killer Frequency - June 1 (Quest 2)

The first VR game from Team 17, Killer Frequency sees players embody a local radio host in 1980s America, helping a small town's citizens avoid a masked killer while keeping the radio alive. A PC release is also planned but that's flatscreen only, so Quest is your only VR option.We'll have a review coming later this week, so stay tuned.

Budget Cuts Ultimate - June 1 (PSVR 2, Quest 2)

Neat Corporation is merging Budget Cuts and Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency into "one seamless adventure." It's the first time we've seen the series on Quest 2 or PSVR 2 and while new content isn't the main focus, Budget Cuts Ultimate will include "some new stuff," alongside returning bonus content.

No More Rainbows - June 1 (PC VR, Quest)

Promising a VR mix of Super Meat Boy & Super Mario Bros, Squido's No More Rainbows is an adventure platformer that uses arm-based locomotion. Playing as The Beast, you find your moody home world turned into a blissful paradise and it's time to reclaim it. Alongside a campaign with nearly 30 levels, multiplayer is also supported.

Battle Talent - June 1 (Quest, PC VR)

Battle Talent is a roguelite fighting sim from Cydream. Set in a fantasy world, it promises a challenging physics-based fighter "designed to emphasize practicing muscle memory" over brute force with varied combat styles, dozens of weapons and magical spells, and more.

Cave Digger - June 1 (PSVR 2)

Cave Digger 2: Dig Harder was a PSVR 2 launch game, so it's little surprise to see Cave Digger follow, promising improved visuals and haptic feedback support. A mining adventure game, you explore four underground levels to dig up riches, leading to one of nine potential endings. If you own the original PSVR version, crossbuy support means you've got a free next-gen upgrade.

Tennis Esports - June 1 (Quest)

With a demo previously available on App Lab, Tennis Esports is coming to Quest 2 and Quest Pro on June 1. It promises to bring the full tennis experience into virtual reality, suitable for both amateur fans and avid players with support for single and multiplayer matches.

Ornament Express - June 6 (PC VR)

Ornament Express tasks you with recovering a client’s belongings through puzzle solving while investigating strange oddities. Developed by Choo Choo Studios, this places you against an eccentric thief in his train of stolen artifacts in 1900s Switzerland.

Quantaar - June 7 (PC VR, Pico 4, Quest 2)

Quantaar is a Smash Bros-like VR party brawler game. Playing a floating avatar above a 3D arena, this sees you going head-to-head with other players in cross-platform PvP multiplayer. That includes three main modes at launch - Brawler, 2v2 and Soccer.

Undead Citadel - June 8 (PC VR)

Developed by Dark Curry, we first reported on Undead Citadel back in 2018. A medieval-era zombie slayer, there's a big focus on physics-based combat, promising over 60 hand-to-hand combat weapons, ranged weaponry, puzzle solving and more. Featuring a story mode lasting "over 10 levels," this also comes with an endless horde mode and sandbox-style "Armory." PSVR 2 and Quest 2 versions are also planned but release dates remain unconfirmed.

Mixture - June 8 (Pico Neo 3 Link, Pico 4)

Developed by Polish studio Played With Fire, Mixture was previously released on Quest 2 in February and it now joins the Pico platform. Promising a Moss-inspired high fantasy platformer, you play as two characters; a small knight and a Master Alchemist. A PSVR 2 version is also planned, though we don't know when that's releasing.

F1 23 - June 13 (PC VR)

EA Sports' annual Formula 1 series is back with F1 23 on June 16, introducing new tracks, a roster refresh, additional rules and the return of its narrative-driven story mode, Braking Point. PSVR 2 support has been officially ruled out, making this year's entry PC VR only. If you buy the Champions Edition, it's available three days earlier on June 13.

Pixel Ripped 1978 - June 15 (PC VR, PSVR 2, Quest 2)

Developed by ARVORE and published by Atari, Pixel Ripped 1978 marks the third installment in this retro-themed adventure series, following on from 1989 and 1995. Playing a video game designer in the 70s, you travel between different classic Atari games to stop Cyblin Lord.

Operation Wolf Returns: First Mission VR - June 22 (Quest 2, PSVR 2 & Pico 4)

Operation Wolf Returns: First Mission VR is a new entry in the Operation Wolf series, Taito's arcade light gun shooter series from the 80s. There's no trailer yet but publisher Microids states that it "will remain faithful to the spirit of the original game while premiering a new artistic direction."

C-Smash VRS - June 23 (PSVR 2)

A mix of Squash and Breakout, C-Smash VRS from RapidEyeMovers and Wolf & Wood offers a “complete reimagining” of Cosmic Smash, Sega’s obscure Dreamcast and arcade classic. Featuring a campaign and online multiplayer, a demo is available now and you can check out our C-Smash VRS preview for more details.

Dead Hook - June 29 (Quest 2)

Published by Joy Way, Dead Hook is a new roguelike shooter reminiscent of Doom VFR. A reworked version of cancelled PC VR roguelike Outlier, you play as a “mercenary, smuggler, thief, and devoted husband” shooting through hordes of demons. Previously announced for May 18, it was later delayed due to "important business reasons."

Resident Evil 4 VR and other titles see hefty discounts in a Quest Store sale this week, ahead of Meta's annual gaming showcase on June 1.

The sale starts now and will continue until 11:59pm PT on June 4. The biggest discount by far is Resident Evil 4, which is down 50% to just $19.99 from $39.99.

Other good deals include Into The Radius, down 30% to $20.99 from $29.99, and Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond, also down 30% to $27.99 from $39.99.

There's a bunch of other titles discounted by roughly 30% as well, including Pistol Whip, Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted, Contractors, Totally Baseball, Arizona Sunshine, Walkabout Mini Golf and Creed: Rise to Glory.

Meta notes that NFL Pro Era is also available on sale for the first time, down 16% to $24.99 from $29.99. Bonelab is 20% off for fans of physics-based fun, as is The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution.

Alongside individual discounts, there are of course also packs offering discounts on multiple games bundled together. The 'Hero's Journey' bundle puts In Death: Unchained, Elven Assassin and Into the Radius together for a total of $51.99 (34% off), while the 'Fantasty Fights' pack bundles Gorn and Demo together for just $35.99 (39% off).

There's a few other bundles and game discounts to be had, along with a rotating daily deal as well – you can check out the full list of items on sale here.

The sale comes a few days ahead of the Meta Quest Gaming Showcase, which returns for the third year running on June 1st at 10am PT.

Bloomberg reportedly went hands-on with a prototype version of Quest 3 and provided new details on the mixed reality passthrough experience and more.

The report comes from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who says he was able to test the "interface, video pass-through mode, software features and gaming capability" on a prototype Quest 3 headset, which is reportedly codenamed 'Eureka'. The headset is yet to be formally revealed by Meta, but has been referenced by executives and recently showed up on the Quest app store.

Gurman states that the headset felt "far lighter and thinner" than Quest 2, as expected given the leaked schematics and previous reports that described it as "two times thinner." The head strap also reportedly "seems a bit stronger" than Quest 2 and Gurman says the Quest 3 prototype he tried was grey in color, using "fabric on the sides" instead of the plastic.

He also reports that Quest 3 uses a new chipset, a second generation version of the Snapdragon XR2 used in almost all standalone headsets today. He noted the Quest 3's "speedier performance" over Quest 2, claiming that navigating the interface, launching apps and playing games "felt much improved." That corroborates the leaked roadmap from March, where Quest 3 was described as "at least twice as powerful".

Gurman's description of the Quest 3 prototype matches the apparent schematics, pictured above and below, that were leaked to YouTuber Brad Lynch in September

Gurman describes "three vertical pill-shaped sensor areas across the front," cameras low down on each side of the front of the headset, and a les spacing dial on the bottom for stepless IPD adjustment. This would mark an improvement over Quest 2, which requires you to remove the headset to make adjustments to IPD by directly pushing the lenses into just three preset spacings.

As the leaked schematics also suggested, Gurman reports that the left and right sensor pills each have a color camera for passthrough, while the middle pill has a depth sensor. Quest 2 has no color cameras, while Quest Pro only has one, which it uses to add color on top of a black and white view. Quest Pro was originally supposed to have a depth sensor but it was removed just months before release.

Quest 3's stereo color cameras and depth sensor bring significantly improved real-world passthrough and mixed reality, Gurman reports. He says that the "clarity and VR displays within the Quest 3 feel similar to those in the Quest 2" but that mixed reality passthrough sees "night-and-day improvement" over Quest 2.

He claims the prototype he tried "offered an almost lifelike rendering of the real world" and that he was even able to use his phone in passthrough mode while wearing the headset – almost impossible on Quest Pro.

Gurman also reports that the headset was able to automatically identify walls, "so, for example, you can play a game where you shoot objects off a wall or cover your environment in a digital skin." This would be a marked improvement over the mixed reality experience on Quest 2 and Quest Pro, which requires arduously manually marking out the walls in your play space.

The strangest revelation of Gurman's report is his description of the new controllers. He claims they lack tracking rings, like Touch Pro controllers, but also don't have cameras for self-tracking. That seems to suggest they're tracked in the same way hands are without controllers. Because of this, he claims the headset "may have a difficult time determining where [the controllers] are in space, which could hinder some games," but Meta is "looking to offset that with various other tracking improvements."

The report also corroborates that the headset doesn't include face or eye tracking capabilities, as indicated by the leaked schematics. Likewise, Gurman reports that the final price is still undecided but "may come in higher than the Quest 2's $400." This tracks with the leaked roadmap, which suggested a price that cost "a bit more" than Quest 2, and previous comments from from Mark Zuckerberg indicating it would be "in the price range of $300, $400, or $500," suggesting $500 as the likely entry price.

Comments from Meta executives point to Quest 3 launching later this year. Meta launched both Quest 2 and Quest Pro at Connect, its annual VR/AR conference, usually held in October. Quest 3 will most likely follow suit. Meta is also set to host its third annual Meta Quest Gaming Showcase this week.

With increased mixed reality and passthrough capabilities, Meta is positioning Quest 3 as a low-end competitor to Apple's unannounced VR/AR headset, which will reportedly be revealed at its WWDC 23 keynote on June 5.

Believed to be branded Apple Reality Pro, Apple's headset will reportedly land at around $3000, featuring a much higher resolution, a MacBook-tier chipset, a custom xrOS operating system and an even thinner and lighter design.

Apple Headset Specs, Release Date, & Everything We’ve Heard

Reports indicate Apple is preparing to reveal a standalone headset with VR and AR capabilities. Here’s our updated roundup of everything we’ve heard:

UploadVRHarry Baker

It lays the groundwork for a new era of competition in the virtual and augmented reality space between Meta and Apple, akin to the last decade of mobile competition between Apple's high-end iOS systems and other cheaper devices running Google's Android-based alternative.

With indications of a roughly $500 price point, Meta Quest 3 aims to offer similar capabilities to Apple's headset at a fraction of the price. Gurman speculates that Quest 3 may ultimately cost "a fifth as much" while being "more than a fifth as compelling."

In this week's episode of the Between Realities VR Podcast, Alex and Skeeva host Tribe Greywolf VR.

Tribe talks about his unique approach to streaming and content creation. Other topics include finding and sharing exploits in VR games, Augmented World Expo next week, and a debate about the use of 3rd party voice chat versus open mics with proximity chat in multiplayer VR titles.

— Between Realities Links —
Merch Store: https://teespring.com/stores/between-…
Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/BetweenRealities
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/BetweenRealities
Twitter – https://twitter.com/BtweenRealities
Discord – https://discord.gg/EvNnj2w
Facebook – https://fb.me/BetweenRealities
Alex VR – https://www.youtube.com/Alex_VR
Alex VR’s Twitter – https://www.twitter.com/Alex__VR
Skeeva – https://www.youtube.com/Skeeva007
Skeeva’s Twitter – https://www.twitter.com/Skeeva

Walkabout Mini Golf is moving to end Quest 1 support due to Meta platform changes, but a "frozen" build may keep it playable on Meta's older headset to some degree.

Walkabout Mini Golf is joining a growing list of games dropping support for the original Quest headset, including Synth Riders, VRChat and Myst. Like many developers, Mighty Coconut cites Meta's decision to end Quest 1 support this year as the reason.

Detailing this decision on its website, the team states it devoted resources to keeping the original Quest version playable "for as long as we technically were allowed." However, the v51 update means "there's only so much we can do on our side before we're forced out."

Elaborating further, the team explained Quest 1 players can continue playing a "frozen build" of Walkabout Mini Golf, which won't receive new courses or further updates. Multiplayer support will continue, though the team can't promise for how long after July 2023.

After this sunset date, we cannot assure the functionality or availability of all features within the Quest 1 version. We are planning to keep multiplayer working on Quest 1 for as long as we can, but after November 2023 multiplayer functionality may be limited or non-functional due to versioning requirements for our multiplayer servers.

Mighty Coconut offers some suggestions for fans of the popular mini golf game, reaffirming that your progress should seamlessly transfer if you upgrade to a Quest 2 or Quest Pro headset. If you've got a gaming PC, the Quest 1 should still work to play the PC VR edition through a Link cable. Otherwise, Walkabout Mini Golf is also available on Pico, Viveport and PSVR 2.

Queen might be the most high-profile addition to the Beat Saber catalogue so far.

We've seen some absolutely massive modern musicians – such as Billie Eilish, BTS and The Weeknd – added to Beat Saber, but none of them quite have quite the intergenerational appeal and reach as the legendary Queen. Bohemian Rhapsody alone is a bigger deal than almost any other track in Beat Saber so far.

It's not just Bohemian Rhapsody on offer here though – the Queen music pack offers Beat Saber players 11 tracks from the band's discography, including most of their biggest hits and a handful of more unexpected numbers. That said, of all the music packs so far, Queen's music is perhaps the last traditionally suited to Beat Saber, known for its fast-paced, steady, electronic origins.

Many Queen tracks are fast-paced, but they're also often quite slow – sometimes in the same song! There are Queen tracks where a consistent BPM is elusive, which might seem like a challenge for a rhythm game that's founded on the opposite.

However, the new Queen tracks in Beat Saber are some most joyous and explosive recent selections added to the game. Highlights include some of the obvious hits – Don't Stop Me Now, Another One Bites The Dust, Killer Queen – but it's the band's enduring, chaotic magnus opus that shines above the rest.

Playing Bohemian Rhapsody on Expert difficulty was easily the most fun I've had in Beat Saber in a long time. It's by far one of the best additions (if not the best addition) to the game of all time. The designers at Beat Games match the track's iconic chaos perfectly with a beautiful cacophony of mapping that has you arms alternating from steady beats to overwhelming runs of notes in every direction. It's absolute perfection and a joy to play through.

What makes it even better is the stunning Queen-themed environment included with the music pack. Featuring giant vinyl records along the sides and flashes of the instantly-recognizable silhouette of Freddie Mercury (and the perhaps slightly less-recognizable silhouettes of Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor), it's used to great effect in the entire selection of tracks.

That said, the environment truly shines during Bohemian Rhapsody. The effects, movement and lighting all gradually ramp up in intensity as you reach the mid-song guitar solo, then it all suddenly cuts when you hit the operatic section that follows. The track uses its themed environment and lighting in a way that feels more impactful than almost any other track in the game, perfectly emphasizing the chaos and drastic shifts in mood.

All of this makes Bohemian Rhapsody alone an essential DLC purchase for any Beat Saber or Queen fan. That said, the rest of the DLC pack is still absolutely fantastic and comes highly recommend. It feels like we've reached another turning point for Beat Saber – the VR darling that can seemingly never be stopped. The addition of Queen is a incredibly huge draw. They're a timeless band whose legendary status is only surpassed by a few others.

Who's next – The Beatles? We can only hope.

The Queen music pack is available now for Beat Saber on all supported platforms, including Quest, PC VR, PSVR and PSVR 2.

Beat Saber Review 2022: Seminal VR Title Remains As Relevant As Ever

With regular updates, DLC releases and changes to the game since launch, Beat Saber remains VR’s poster child. Read on for our updated Beat Saber review for Quest 2, PSVR and PC VR. Years of Dominance It’s hard to understate Beat Saber’s influence on the VR industry.

UploadVRHarry Baker

Ghosts of Tabor celebrated a milestone achievement with developers saying they've reached 100k players across PC VR and Quest.

Available now in early access, Ghosts of Tabor is an extraction-based VR FPS survival game with PvP and PvE modes. Inspired by Escape from Tarkov and DayZ, you're tasked with scavenging for loot, finding food, gear and weapons, with crafting and more available across different scenarios. Despite limited visibility on Quest's App Lab, Ghosts of Tabor reached a milestone 100,000 players, and developer Combat Waffle Studios released a video thanking the community.

It's unclear how Combat Waffle Studios is assessing this figure, which could be tallied by individual accounts or unique sales. We've reached out to ask the developer directly and will update this article if we learn more. Even still, it's clear that Ghosts of Tabor is finding a significant audience. Steam lists a 'mostly positive' at over 2k user reviews, while the App Lab page lists 2.3k reviews.

Ghosts of Tabor is available now on Quest via App Lab and PC VR for $19.99. Combat Waffle states it will remain in Early Access "until all major features are implemented, including the ones the community thinks are crucial," while the official website confirms plans for PSVR 2 and Pico versions.

Roguelike VR horror game Cosmodread is available on PSVR 2 now, after surprise dropping on the platform earlier this week.

It's been a big week for PSVR 2 – not only is Cosmodread now available on the headset, but it's joined by Nock and Beat Saber, which also launched this week with somewhat little notice.

There was also the PlayStation Showcase earlier in the week, which included a new trailer for Resident Evil 4 Remake's VR Mode, a new look at Synpase and the reveals of Arizona Sunshine 2 and Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2.

Strangely, Cosmodread's surprise drop wasn't included in the PlayStation Showcase lineup, but nonetheless comes as a welcome addition to the headset's library. The game, which first released for Quest and PC VR in early 2021, comes from the same developer as the cult-classic grandfather of VR horror, Dreadhalls.

In our original Cosmodread review, we said that "although it doesn’t do a whole lot to push the genre forward in many meaningful ways, it absolutely nails the suffocating terror, incredibly immersive atmosphere, and unnerving tension that makes VR horror so powerful."

Cosmodread is available now on PSVR 2 for $14.99. To learn more, you can read our Cosmodread review for Quest and PC VR.

Cosmodread Review: Roguelike VR Horror Where No One Can Hear You Scream

Cosmodread (formerly known as Cosmophobia) is the latest game from Dreadhalls creator White Door Games. If you’re curious about whether or not this VR horror roguelike lives up to its potential, we’ve got you covered with our full Cosmodread review included down below. White Door Games is a

UploadVRDavid Jagneaux

Paint Fiesta looks like mixed reality Microsoft Paint, turning your living room into a canvas on Quest 2.

Described by developer Mike Festa as inspired by MS Paint, Paint Fiesta launched earlier this month on Quest 2 via App Lab with hand-tracking support. Available for free "for a limited time," Fiesta launching a Kickstarter campaign on May 31 to expand this into a full release later this year. Detailed in an email to UploadVR, that includes plans for local multiplayer using shared spatial anchors, remote multiplayer, water balloons filled with paint, paintball guns and more.

"I was inspired to make this game by the fond memories that I have of creating digital content at a young age. It felt like magic to be able to paint on my TV and clean it all up with the click of a button," Festa tells UploadVR in an email.

You can read the official description below:

Reality is your canvas! Paint on your walls, as seen through the passthrough camera, using just your hands. Let your imagination come to life as you experience the future of immersive digital content creation. This app is under active development and your input can help shape its direction!

While Paint Fiesta is available now, keep in mind that Kickstarter is not a preorder system, delays are common and there’s no guarantee you’ll get the features that you pledged toward.

Paint Fiesta is available now on Meta Quest 2 and Quest Pro. It's also planned for release on PC VR via Steam and the developer wants to bring it to the App Store "when Apple's headset is ready."

Hello Neighbor: Search and Rescue brings the flatscreen franchise into VR for the first time, offering some engaging and spooky stealth survival sequences marred by slightly sketchy performance on Quest.

Available now on Quest, PC VR and PSVR 2, this VR entry in the Hello Neighbor franchise comes from Steel Wool Studios, the studio behind the popular Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted VR release from a few years back. Given Help Wanted was a huge success on Quest, it would be understandable to have high expectations for Search and Rescue, which similarly marks a first foray into VR for another hugely popular horror franchise.

Luckily it's evident from the get go that a lot of care and passion has been poured into bringing Hello Neighbor to life in a new immersive format. While the overall release is not without problems, the world of Search and Rescue immediately pops to life with strong use of color and a well-defined cartoon art style that does a lot to establish the game's charm early on. Exploring the game's opening areas, I was struck by just how visually playful it felt – especially given the dreary, oppressively-dark aesthetics that normally dominate the survival stealth genre. The cute character design is cohesive with their expressive animations, which together convey the different personalities of the largely-mute cast quite well.

It's clear that despite the creepy subject matter, the studio wants you to still feel a sense of child-like glee as you play. It's a fantastic dichotomy that's conveyed effectively by the move into VR. Take the game's scale, for example, which sees you embody the shorter statures of a team of children that you'll dynamically switch between during gameplay. These children are very clearly smaller than the world around them, with the art and environmental design leaning in to emphasize that at every turn. Your small size is never more apparent than when you come face-to-face with the creepy Mr. Peterson, who towers over you in VR. Playing as a small child in an immersive medium makes running away from him all the more terrifying.

That said, it's also a bit jarring (and confronting) when Mr. Peterson catches up on you from behind and violently yanks your character's perspective around to face him, often with little notice. While other games, like Resident Evil Village, have got away with taking such aggressive control over the player's perspective, a few other disappointing elements make it feel less earned in Search and Rescue.  

Interactions with objects feel finicky and sluggish, and overall performance was unreliable when playing on Quest. I experienced occasional framerate stutters, as well as many instances where I temporarily clipped through parts of the environment, reaching an unintended point-of-view. Both teleport and smooth locomotion movement is offered, but I found the former to be over-sensitive to aim and the latter would often get stuck on the environment or move unpredictably.

There was even one instance where I completely lost control of my character for at least 10 seconds, with my perspective proceeding to jerk around the environment and fly between positions several meters away from each other for seemingly no reason.  The issues were never game-breaking, but tarnished an otherwise charming experience and made it feel less polished than you'd like. Likewise, while the game's visual art style is strong, it's marred by an abundance of jaggy edges on Quest, no matter where you look.

There were points where the game performed fairly smoothly, almost as expected, allowing more of the good stuff to shine through. Sneaking through the house and avoiding Mr Peterson is both thrilling and terrifying, working well with positional audio to help you identify where he is. Likewise, being able to dynamically switch between the game's cast of kids at any point – by picking up the walkie talkie on your hip – offers some interesting approaches to single player co-operative puzzles, each equipped with slightly different tools.

It's a shame that there's no actual co-op multiplayer on offer, as being able to switch between the cast alongside another a friend could have been quite compelling in VR. Nonetheless, the approach here is different enough to other games in the genre that it feels fresh.

So far, we've only tried Search and Rescue on Quest, so there's a strong chance that the game looks and performs better on PSVR 2 and PC VR, where it's not limited by standalone hardware. If we get a chance to try the game out those platforms, we'll let you know what it's like.

Despite the above, it's clear that Steel Wool Studios have approached the challenge of bringing Hello Neighbor to VR with a lot of love and passion. While it might not be quite as polished as Help Wanted's release on Quest, it's hard to see that stopping Hello Neighbor fanatics from jumping in anyway. For them, getting chased by Mr. Peterson in full immersive VR might just be enough to justify the price of admission. For Quest players who are more pedantic with performance, maybe it's worth waiting to see if a patch improves the experience over time.

We've reached out to developer Steel Wool Studios and publish tinyBuild representatives to enquire about the performance issues and bugs we encountered with the Quest release. We'll provide an update if we receive a response or hear about any planned improvements.

Everslaught Invasion brings intense two-player co-op to Quest 2, but it's best experienced in shorter sessions. Read on for our full review:

Not many games effectively convey dread outside of horror but Everslaught Invasion manages this pretty well. Wooden spikes barricade these quiet streets with not a soul in sight. "The Corrupted approach," you’re warned, allowing for a brief preparation period. "Corrupted" is a fitting if unimaginative name for these grotesque foes and the game's story is mainly through entries in its codex. You play as a ‘Cleric of the Order’ in fighting them off. Taken altogether, the story is a pretty standard backdrop and it's the engaging gameplay that's the draw here.

You can visit an airship headquarters between missions and Everslaught Invasion lets you swap between three playable classes. The Warrior prioritizes melee damage and defense while Rogue sacrifices power for speed. Vanguard, meanwhile, falls somewhere in between. Select four weapons in the armory - you won’t find any within missions - and these range from common axes to fancy swords. Every option packs different stats for weight, armor damage, crit rates and more. Choose a map once ready and prepare to fight.

That’s important because carelessness leads to Clerics being cornered or encircled, though straightforward controls and hack-n-slash combat helps. Movement is stick-based smooth locomotion only with dashes and jumps using the right trigger. Weapons are grabbed with grip buttons and rotating your left wrist looses a hookshot from your gauntlet toward marked ledges and enemies upon pressing the trigger. Rotating your wrist the opposite direction arms your gun.

For defensive play shields can be activated by holding the palm of your hand toward your headset to parry incoming attacks. Self-healing is also an option by moving your left fist to your right wrist and hitting the trigger. That is, assuming you’ve got enough charges, as indicated by the gauntlet’s red vials.

Clearing waves offers a brief reprieve and every map houses multiple upgrade stations, offering ammo refills, weapon buffs and temporary skills in exchange for skill points or coins, both earned by defeating foes and stopping curses. This may seem basic, but combined with different weapons and classes, combat holds significant versatility that’s boosted by varied level design.

Whether you prefer keeping distance or dismembering Corrupted up close, Everslaught Invasion supports various play styles. Co-op play adds further strategy with teammate communication allowing you to warn each other of blind spots, for example. Revivals are also possible if an ally gets knocked down, something that's absent in solo play.

If you died in disgrace or valiantly fought off Corrupted until the last wave, every mission ends by awarding experience that earns new weapons upon leveling up. XP is also applied separately to your class, earning blood vials to level up permanent skills instead. For example, Rogue can decrease the hookshot’s cooldown by 30% or increase the chance of landing critical damage, while Warrior can increase damage resistance or let orbs instantly restore his health.

The progression system aptly rewards those willing to put the time in, but it took me a while to feel invested. Before this review, I played Everslaught Invasion on two occasions and both times were short demos which I enjoyed considerably. Unfortunately, even with the satisfyingly combat and co-op, I found grating repetition set in during longer play throughs. This feeling wasn’t helped by enemy patterns, so I’d advise playing in shorter stints.

Everslaught Invasion Review - Final Verdict

Everslaught Invasion is an entertaining hack-n-slash from MobX, building upon the original game well with enjoyable co-op, good level design and versatile combat. Repetitive elements mean it's better suited to short sessions because there’s only so much the progression system can do to mitigate this. The lack of comfort options given the intense motion feels like a significant oversight. Solo players might be better off elsewhere, though if you’re itching for a new multiplayer action game, I recommend giving this a look.

UploadVR focuses on a label system for reviews, rather than a numeric score. Our reviews fall into one of four categories: Essential, Recommended, Avoid and reviews that we leave unlabeled. You can read more about our review guidelines here.

PlayStation announced an official pair of wireless Bluetooth earbuds, promising lossless audio and low latency on PS5 and PC.

"I'm also pleased to reveal our first-ever PlayStation earbuds, which will bring next-generation audio immersion to PS5 and PC," stated PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan during PlayStation Showcase. "They simultaneously connect to smartphones via Bluetooth. New wireless technology will deliver lossless audio with low latency." Pricing details remain unconfirmed but more details are promised “in the months ahead.” You can watch the reveal below, timestamped at 57:34:

An official name wasn't revealed but the PlayStation earbuds could offer a potential audio fix for Sony's latest VR headset. Our PSVR 2 review called audio our "biggest disappointment" with no in-built option, relying on detachable 3.5mm in-ear headphones that come in the box or your TV. Earbuds may present a more elegant solution than the over-the-ear Pulse 3D headset, which fits around PSVR 2 but involves wearing two headsets simultaneously.

Elsewhere, Sony's PlayStation Showcase provided several new PSVR 2 announcements. Alongside our first look at Resident Evil 4 Remake VR Mode, last night revealed Arizona Sunshine 2 and Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2. Synapse dropped story details and a release date, Beat Saber surprise launched with a Queen music pack and there's also a new Crossfire: Sierra Squad trailer.

Meta conducted its third wave of major layoffs today.

Reportedly, around 5000 staff are affected in this round. Two policy managers from the Reality Labs AR/VR division confirmed on LinkedIn that they were let go today, as did many more employees from other parts of the company. Unlike the previous two waves, however, we haven't yet seen any reports of AR/VR layoffs from technical roles.

The first round of major layoffs took place back in November, cutting 11,000 employees - 13 percent of its workforce at the time - including some Reality Labs engineers and designers.

In April, the second wave occurred as as part of the "year of efficiency" Mark Zuckerberg had declared to investors in February, cutting another 4000 or so roles. It included developers from two of Meta's acquired VR game studios, Ready at Dawn and Downpour Interactive.

That brings the total number laid off from Meta since November to around 20,000.

Zuckerberg described 2022 as a “humbling wake-up call” for Meta, citing declining macroeconomic conditions reducing overall advertising spend and the increased competition from TikTok. "I think we should prepare ourselves for the possibility that this new economic reality will continue for many years", he told staff.

Meta is far from the only big tech company conducting layoffs at this scale. Google parent Alphabet laid off 12,000 in January, Microsoft has laid off 10,000 so far this year, and Amazon has laid off 27,000.

Only Apple so far seems unaffected, reportedly laying off only a tiny number of corporate retail staff. “I view that as a last resort and, so, mass layoffs is not something that we’re talking about at this moment” Tim Cook told CNBC earlier this month.

Zuckerberg on the other hand has been pitching Meta's layoffs as a positive opportunity for a "flattening" of the corporate hierarchy, claiming that this flatter structure with a higher ratio of engineers and fewer managers will allow Meta to execute faster, take more risks, and focus more on its strengths. Whether that's just PR spin or will actually pan out will be seen in coming years as Meta starts facing direct competition from Apple in the AR/VR space.

PlayStation Showcase broadcasts later today with a focus on PS5 and PSVR 2 games, but what announcements can we expect? Here are our predictions.

Last week, Sony confirmed its latest PlayStation Showcase would air on May 24 at 1pm PT / 9pm BST. Stating the presentation will run for "a bit over an hour," it promises to show games in development "from top studios" globally between first-party teams and third-party publishers. Given the high-profile nature of PlayStation Showcase compared to February's State of Play presentation, which mostly offered indie reveals for PSVR 2, big names seem likely.

It's left many speculating about what we'll see and while we don't know what deals Sony might've made with developers for games that might be a couple years out, here are five PSVR 2 predictions for the PlayStation Showcase:

Firewall Ultra

First Contact Entertainment's upcoming sequel to Firewall Zero Hour remains the only publicly confirmed Sony published PSVR 2 game in development. A 4v4 tactical shooter, Firewall Ultra is scheduled to launch later this year, so a new trailer and/or release date confirmation seems like a safe bet for PlayStation Showcase.

Resident Evil 4 Remake VR Mode

Following a successful PSVR 2 port for Resident Evil Village, Capcom previously announced "supported content" is coming for Resident Evil 4 Remake. Before the flatscreen version's launch last March, Capcom reaffirmed that a VR Mode is in development and it's unclear what this PSVR 2 content will look like. PlayStation Showcase feels like as good a place as any to reveal more.

Beat Saber

It's been a while since we've heard anything about Beat Saber on PSVR 2. Jim Ryan revealed the news during CES 2023 and practically nothing else, saying they’ll have “more information to share in the near future.” Even now, Beat Saber tops the PlayStation Store charts for the original PSVR, so we're hopeful to learn something more today.

Half-Life: Alyx

We've all been waiting for this one and, ultimately, we have no idea whether this is actually going to happen. Still, there's no better way to persuade those on the fence about getting PSVR 2 than a port of Valve’s stunning return to its flagship franchise. Released in 2020, Half-Life Alyx remains one of VR's greatest games and in 2019, Greg Coomer told Push Square, “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.” Now that PSVR 2's here, it could finally be time.

New Astro Bot

Sony hasn't announced any upcoming first-party PSVR 2 games yet, but Astro Bot could fit the bill perfectly. Astro Bot Rescue Mission on PSVR remains one of the best PSVR games, followed up with the flatscreen Astro's Playroom as a pack-in PS5 launch game. Two and a half years later, we haven't heard what Team Asobi plans next, so we're hopeful Astro's next adventure takes him back to VR.

UploadVR will attend the Apple WWDC23 keynote, where an Apple AR/VR headset will reportedly be unveiled.

Rumored to have been in development for many years, numerous reports suggest the VR and AR capable Apple headset, believed to be branded Apple Reality Pro, will be publicly announced during WWDC23. Running for five days, Apple's annual conference starts with a keynote address on June 5 at 10am PT.

UploadVR's Ian Hamilton has been invited to attend the keynote in person. Draw from that what conclusions you may.

When Apple announced its latest annual conference back in March, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported that Apple planned to unveil the headset at WWDC23, and his recent reporting sticks by these claims. This was further reinforced by supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who stated last week it's "highly likely" the headset will be revealed at WWDC23.

There's been increasing talk about what Apple's headset can offer too, and last weekend's Bloomberg report from Gurman discussed the execs behind the software, hardware, content and marketing. The report claims Apple executive Phil Schiller pushed for Apple's headset to have a "strong gaming component," which alleged that gaming wasn't a focus until recently.

Building on these expectations is Oculus founder Palmer Luckey, who recently claimed that he's seen an early version of the Apple headset. "I have not seen the final headset, but I have seen an earlier version of the headset and it is excellent. It is gonna be a huge deal," he claimed in a recent Twitter Spaces interview, speaking with Peter Diamandis, Executive Chairman of non-profit organization XPRIZE.

If you're interested in learning more, check out our Apple Headset Rumor Roundup.

Apple Headset Specs, Release Date, & Everything We’ve Heard

Reports indicate Apple is preparing to reveal a standalone headset with VR and AR capabilities. Here’s our updated roundup of everything we’ve heard:

UploadVRHarry Baker