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

🥳 But there’s more:

Chess Club gets an MR update.

Quest 3 will have more power for MR games after an update.

The Pirate Queen and Wallace & Gromit in The Grand Getaway VR nominated for Emmys.

eXtend your gaming:

Welcome to XR Gamer Digest #28

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).

🥳 The July Sale is active on the Quest store – dozens of titles with up to 48% discount. 

XR Games

♟️ Chess Club receives a permanent price drop to $9.99 and introduces a new Mixed Reality mode.

🏹 High-flying co-op adventure Windlands 2 arrives on PSVR 2 this week with enhanced features and a free upgrade for PSVR owners.

🧙 Witchblood, a classic VR Metroidvania, launched on Meta Quest, offering an immersive magical adventure with over 6 hours of exploration and combat.

⏳ Chernobyl Again is a VR time-traveling adventure where you must prevent the Chernobyl disaster, now listed on the Meta Quest store.

🏌️ Walkabout Mini Golf is releasing a Wallace & Gromit-themed DLC course on July 25th for all supported VR platforms and iOS, featuring 18 holes and themed content.

🔫 Astro Hunters VR, a new PvPvE extraction shooter by Wenkly Studio, is launching on Steam on August 8, with a multiplatform release to follow.

🤞 Into the Radius 2 released in Early Access on PC VR, featuring single-player and two-player co-op gameplay.

🔫 Arken Age, a single-player sci-fi shooter with a 10-15 hour campaign, is "coming soon" to PSVR 2 and PC VR.

🏎️ FormulaX, a legally distinct F1-themed racing game, is now available in early access on Quest App Lab.

XR Entertainment

🙌 Meta Quest 3 now supports multi-room mixed reality experiences, enhancing spatial and scene anchors for larger areas.

🥽 Apple unveils a new series of immersive 8K 3D video content for Vision Pro, featuring travel, nature, sports, and exclusive experiences, available for free on the Apple TV app.

😱 Quest 3's dynamic occlusion now offers higher quality and better performance, using 80% less GPU and 50% less CPU, making it easier for developers to implement in mixed reality apps.

🌆 Meta Horizon Worlds v172 introduces expanded world genre tags for creators, new mobile app features including avatar customization and Light mode, and several bug fixes.

😈 Also, Meta is internally testing a graphics overhaul for Meta Avatars, with a launch or announcement likely at Connect 2024.

🎮 The PlayStation VR2 app, enabling VR gameplay on Steam with the PS VR2 headset and controllers, is launching on August 6, 2024.

XR News

😱 Meta is reportedly targeting the launch of Quest 4 in 2026 and a Vision Pro competitor in 2027.

🏴‍☠️ The Pirate Queen and Wallace & Gromit in The Grand Getaway VR games have been nominated for the "Outstanding Emerging Media Program" Emmy Award.

😭 Magic Leap is shifting from selling AR headsets to licensing its technology and has laid off around 75 employees, including its sales and marketing departments.

📱 The Meta Quest app has been renamed 'Meta Horizon' as Meta prepares to license its XR content store and operating system to third-party headset manufacturers.

🥽 Samsung's XR headset is set to launch in March 2025, with development kits available in October 2024.

🕶️ Google aims to take the Ray-Ban partnership from Meta for its Gemini glasses, but Mark Zuckerberg plans to counter this by investing in EssilorLuxotti

🤖 Meta AI, an intelligent assistant with Meta Llama technology, is now available on Meta Quest, offering hands-free interaction and real-time information in mixed reality.

🏟️ IIFX and PIXO VR have launched a VR training pilot program for frontline workers at Mercedes Benz Stadium, supported by Intel, Dell Technologies, and PICO XR.

Until next time, enjoy your other reality gaming!

Bobby Voicu