XR = eXtended Reality (everything VR, AR, MR)

🥳 But there’s more:

Apple is sharply scaling back Vision Pro production after weak sales since early summer and might halt production of the current version by year-end. Even if I feel that they didn't expect more from the product, still...

At the same time, Microsoft-owned Mojang just announced they're ending all VR/MR support for Minecraft by March 2025.

While tech giants retreat from their XR commitments, the real innovation is happening at the grassroots level.

We've seen this pattern before in mobile gaming. Innovative companies built that market from scratch before the big acquisitions started rolling in – King for £4B, Playdemic for £1.1B, and Glu Mobile for £1.7B. But XR is different. Today's start-ups can build specifically for this transformative medium instead of just adapting old games to new screens (I mean, look at our game, Hell Horde).

The timing couldn't be better for agile XR start-ups, like MixRift, our studio. While the tech giants are pulling back, smaller teams who deeply understand XR can move in and shape its future. The next breakthrough XR experiences won't come from corporate boardrooms – they'll come from passionate teams free to take real risks and push boundaries.

eXtend your gaming:

Welcome to XR Gamer Digest #41

Discounts and Tips

🥳 The Meta Quest Halloween sale offers up to 50% off horror games, available until November 3.

🎉 The VIVEPORT Halloween Sale offers up to 40% off VR horror games and includes three free titles for new or renewing annual subscribers, available until November 4.

XR Games

👹 Hell Horde, our game, just got a big update for Halloween. You can play it for free here.

🔫 The sci-fi shooter Arken Age launches on PSVR 2 and PC VR on January 16, 2025, with a 10-15 hour story-driven campaign set in a terraformed world filled with alien alliances, customizable weapons, and intense boss battles.

⬆️ Red Matter has received a major visual update on Quest 3 and 3S, now offering enhanced 4K textures, dynamic shadows, and HD meshes for near PSVR 2-level graphics quality.

🪟 Shattered, a psychological thriller escape room, transforms your physical space into a mind-bending labyrinth on Meta Quest 3 and 3S, launching later this year.

🎺 Trombone Champ: Unflattened, a VR adaptation of the hit rhythm comedy game, launches on Meta Quest November 26, bringing over 50 tracks, custom modes, and mixed reality gameplay.

🎳 Bounce Arcade, a VR pinball game from Velan Studios, launches November 21 on Meta Quest, featuring 3D tabletop arenas and a first-person perspective with a Halloween-themed "Monster Manor" level.

🎲 Game Room on Apple Vision Pro adds Backgammon, expanding its immersive and mixed reality board game collection.

🔫 The mixed reality PvP shooter Last Stand launches in early access on Quest 3 and Quest Pro on November 14, turning home environments into destructible battlefields for 1v1 shootouts.

👽Alien: Rogue Incursion, a story-driven VR shooter in the Alien franchise, launches December 19 on PSVR 2, PC VR, and Quest 3/3S, delivering immersive horror and tactical combat without heavy gamer mechanics.

XR Entertainment

🌎 Meta's realistic Hyperscape demo, featuring 3D-scanned real-world environments, is now accessible on Quest 3 and 3S outside the US.

🏀 Meta Quest continues its NBA partnership for the 2024-25 season, streaming 52 live VR games in Xtadium and NBA Arena on Horizon Worlds, with exclusive courtside views, immersive highlights, and interactive fan experiences.

🧩 Sight Unseen is a VR puzzle game where you solve challenges by detaching a robotic eye with infrared vision to uncover hidden paths and traps.

XR News

🥽 Apple may halt Vision Pro production by year-end, citing reduced demand and ample inventory amid slower adoption of the $3,500 headset.

🧱 Minecraft will end VR support for all headsets by March 2025, following the recent announcement of PS VR discontinuation.

🕵 HTC VIVE’s new VR "Holodeck" platform, created with German law enforcement, enables realistic, interactive crime scene recreations to aid forensic investigations and training.

🥽 Safari on Apple Vision Pro will soon support embedded spatial photos and videos, allowing 3D content to be viewed directly on web pages in visionOS.

🎉 Meta Quest 3S is attracting the highest percentage of new Quest users since the release of Quest 2, according to Meta's VP of VR.

🕶️ Snap has launched its Spectacles 5 AR glasses in six European countries, available to developers through a €110 monthly subscription.

Until next time, enjoy your other reality gaming!

Bobby Voicu