- XR Gamer Digest
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- Google Buys Vive XR Team
Google Buys Vive XR Team
Elvis LIVES, Meta Quest is the main development platform, you can now hunt in VR
XR = eXtended Reality (everything VR, AR, MR)
📣 If you only read one thing today 📣
🥳 Google acquires part of HTC Vive's engineering team to accelerate Android XR development.
⚔️ Google aims to strengthen its position in the XR market against Meta and Apple. And this is good news for all of us.
🥳 But there’s more:
Elvis lives! In Walkabout Mini Golf.
Most XR developers are working on Meta’s Quest platform.
You can now be a virtual reality hunter in… Virtual Hunter.
eXtend your gaming:
Welcome to XR Gamer Digest #48
Discounts and Tips
🤩 Don’t forget you can get up to 25% discounts when you buy a game from the Meta Quest store. Go here and look for your game (we’re not affiliated with the website, but it’s a great tool).
XR Games
⛳️ Walkabout Mini Golf unveils the Viva Las Elvis course, a dazzling tribute to Elvis Presley’s Vegas heyday.
🧩 Exit Condition One, a sci-fi VR escape room featuring immersive puzzles and room-scale gameplay, launches this January on Meta Quest and Steam.
🫎 Virtual Hunter is a VR open-world hunting simulation with diverse wildlife, realistic mechanics, multiplayer support, and a customizable trophy lodge, now fully released on Steam.
🚗 Assetto Corsa EVO, launched in Early Access on PC VR for $32, offers limited content and mixed reviews, with VR users reporting severe optimization issues and recommending waiting for future patches.
🎸 Lovesick, a 90s-inspired VR puzzle adventure about a bassist trapped in an alternate reality, launches March 6 on Meta Quest headsets with Y2K-themed gameplay.
🪅 Rogue Piñatas: VRmageddon, a family-friendly VR co-op roguelite, launches on Meta Quest on February 6 with cross-platform multiplayer coming later in spring.
🧤 The VR platformer No More Rainbows, known for its innovative hand-based movement and engaging campaign, has expanded to PlayStation VR2.
🔫 After a year of neglect, the tactical PSVR 2 shooter Firewall Ultra gets an unexpected update, boosting XP and rewards to appeal to new players.
😢 Originally set to release this week, COLD VR has been delayed by a couple of weeks, with launches on Quest, PC VR, and later PSVR 2, priced at $20.
XR Entertainment
🤖 Alcove Sanctuary introduces Nova, an AI companion that simplifies VR for all ages, offering guided tours, personalized features, and family memory sharing for $12.99/month.
🤾 Sportvida CyberDash is a $19.99 VR fitness app blending action and workouts in a futuristic setting, available on Meta and Steam VR headsets.
🏌️♀️ CaddieVision, AI-powered AR glasses for golfers, offers real-time swing analysis, club recommendations, and strategy feedback, now available on Indiegogo with early-bird pricing starting at $599.
🤸 Litesport transforms the Meta Quest into a VR fitness hub with mixed reality workouts, real-time coaching, gamified sparring, and premium features for $8.99/month.
⚔️ Launching January 30 for $12 on Quest, Fitness Fables combines fantasy action with VR fitness, offering 80 levels, 24 exercises, and epic boss battles.
XR News
🥳 Google acquires part of HTC Vive's engineering team to accelerate Android XR development, aiming to strengthen its position in the XR market against Meta and Apple.
👓 Meta and Plessey unveil a breakthrough red microLED display with 6 million nits brightness, paving the way for efficient, all-day AR glasses.
🥽 The price of the Somnium VR1 PC VR headset has risen to €3000 due to production challenges, with new orders shipping in 1–2 months and spare parts planned for release later this year.
🔫 Oculus founder Palmer Luckey teases a major XR announcement in the coming weeks, possibly tied to a military-focused headset under his defense company, Anduril.
🖥️ Samsung's Odyssey 3D monitor, launching in April, uses glasses-free 3D technology to enhance Nexon’s RPG The First Berserker: Khazan, set for global release on March 28, 2025.
🧑💻 According to GDC's latest survey, 35% of game developers are working on XR projects, with 59% focusing on Meta Quest, reflecting steady growth despite industry challenges.
🕶️ Oakley Meta glasses, designed for athletes with a center-mounted camera, are set to launch this year alongside Meta's $1000 HUD-equipped Hypernova smart glasses, with true AR glasses planned for 2027.
🎥 Meta is developing a dedicated virtual home theater for Quest, enhancing lighting, sound, and realism for a more immersive viewing experience.
🤳 XR start-up Infinite Reality, now valued at $12.25 billion after a $3 billion funding round, plans to expand globally and advance its immersive platform technology for brands and creators.
🕶️ Xreal One glasses receive a major firmware update adding 120 Hz support, improved screen positioning, enhanced power management, and text optimization for better usability.
👓 Samsung and Google are collaborating on AR glasses, aiming for release "as soon as possible", as part of their efforts to develop the Android XR ecosystem.
Until next time, enjoy your other reality gaming!
Bobby Voicu
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