All articles tagged with #virtual reality
A Hackaday piece reports that the original Quest (Quest 1) now has an unlocked bootloader thanks to the QuestStack tool, which automates privilege escalation to give users privileged hardware access and step outside Meta’s walled garden; the unlock currently applies only to Quest 1, with a simpler web-based method also available by a separate project.
Video games and virtual reality are being repurposed from entertainment to medical tools: they're helping calm children during imaging and minor procedures—reducing or avoiding general anesthesia in some cases—and enabling public participation in scientific research through games that guide tasks like DNA sequencing, signaling a broader future where gaming tech advances health care and science.
Valve inadvertently leaked eight Steam Frame VR videos in an ARM Steam Client update, offering an in-depth look at how to wear and comfortably fit the headset, plus a QR-based sign-in method. The clips also showcase modular accessories (hand straps, crown strap, light blocker, eye spacer) and magnets for easy attachable components, IPD adjustment, and battery-pack placement. No price is revealed yet, though the device is expected this summer and the RAM is listed as 16GB amid hardware-cost concerns.
No Man's Sky celebrates its 10th anniversary with a retrospective video that ends by teasing a new update called Cosmos, while highlighting Hello Games' long-running commitment to VR support across updates and hinting that more details will follow.
A fan-made VR mod for Mario Kart 64, built on the SpaghettiKart PC port, drops players into the racer in first-person with head-tracking and adjustable VR options (stereo depth, eye height, HUD). It’s free on GitHub and requires owning or dumping a Mario Kart 64 ROM; Nintendo isn’t backing it. The immersive view can evoke strong speed sensations and may cause motion sickness, especially on fast sections like Koopa Beach.
A Space.com writer experiences Space Explorers: The ISS Experience in VR at a Manhattan venue, stepping through a life-size, camera-enabled recreation of the International Space Station. The show uses NASA footage and camera setups inside and outside the station, guided by astronauts with a “shooting script” approach to filming, creating a vivid sense of the ISS and Earth from orbit. The piece highlights VR as a powerful medium to share the ISS story with the public and notes the real station’s uncertain future, including a possible deorbit around 2030.
Valentine recalls Moss’s emotional VR moment at E3 2017—being the Reader and guiding Quill with tactile, in-world interactions that forged a deep bond—before noting the newer Moss: The Forgotten Relic on PC and consoles preserves the story and puzzles but loses the VR intimacy; healing Quill is now a button press rather than a personal gesture. While expanding Moss to more platforms is welcome for accessibility, the console version cannot fully recapture the original magic, leaving the experience more as a traditional game than a unique VR relationship.
Smithsonian Starstruck is a 40-minute VR walkthrough that lets visitors explore stars, exoplanets, and observatories (Hubble, Chandra, JWST) through an HTC Vive Focus 3 headset. The journey spans from near the Sun to the Milky Way’s center, including a close look at Janssen (55 Cancri e), Betelgeuse’s final stages, and Sagittarius A*, with a glimpse of Chile’s Giant Magellan Telescope. Opening in Washington, DC, in May with adult tickets around $29–$35 and discounted group rates, it will expand to Denver, Orlando, and San Antonio later this year. While it may not deliver cutting-edge hardware wow for Apple Vision Pro users, it offers an engaging, accessible space-nerd experience that benefits from a group setup to reduce awkward collisions in the shared space.
Meta's Horizon Store Peak Summer Sale runs through July 5, offering deep discounts on hundreds of Quest games, apps, and DLC, plus themed bundles like The Walking Dead and Stealth Masters; notable deals include Synth Riders, Moss, The Climb 2, Vader Immortal, and more.
Steam's annual Summer Sale runs until July 9 at 1pm ET, offering well over 800 VR titles with deep discounts (up to 90%), including popular picks like Half-Life: Alyx, Skyrim VR, and Phasmophobia; you can filter the store for VR to explore the deals.
A new 5,000-square-foot VR attraction in Washington, D.C., created by Fever with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, lets visitors explore the cosmos from the ground—standing in for the Sun’s surface, crossing the event horizon of a black hole, and viewing the Pillars of Creation—using data-driven visuals and scientist input to convey the vastness of space.
Google and Xreal have opened preorder for the Aura XR glasses: you can reserve the device for $99 with a full launch planned this fall in the US, UK, Japan, Canada, and South Korea, though final pricing hasn’t been announced yet. Best Buy will be the first in-store retailer when it arrives. The Aura weighs under 95 grams and runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Reality Elite XR platform with Google’s Android XR. If you reserve within the first two weeks, you’ll get a $199 launch credit toward the purchase, effectively saving about $100 off the final price. Further details are expected after Xreal’s Augmented World Expo showcase.
Steam Next Fest June 2026 begins today and runs through June 22, delivering a lineup of PC VR demos for both upcoming titles and VR-enabled releases. The list, provided by Valve, includes games like Loop One Done, Fixer Undercover, Peak Rhythm, and Amelia’s Escape, but it may change as developers join or drop out; some demos may not be VR-enabled or may only be available for the festival week.
UploadVR's Summer Showcase 2026 revealed over 30 VR game announcements across Meta Quest and SteamVR, spanning co-op sci‑fi epics, roguelikes, racers, puzzles, and horror experiences, with many titles slated for early access or launches later in 2026–2027 on Quest, SteamVR, and PSVR2.
Import records show Valve’s distribution partner offloaded about 32 metric tons of 'Virtual Reality Devices' in Los Angeles, which after container weight deductions equates to roughly 13 tons of Steam Frame VR headsets—likely under 20,000 units—ahead of Valve’s planned summer launch. The same data set also indicates Valve has accumulated about 141 metric tons of 'Game Consoles' (Steam Machines) since late April and shows three May shipments of Steam Decks, suggesting a broader hardware ramp beyond VR. Valve has signaled a summer release for Steam Frame and Steam Machine and is adjusting prices due to RAM shortages.