All articles tagged with #vr
Sony has transferred 419 global patents, including 180 U.S. filings, to Meta in a deal finalized in December 2025. The transfer covers virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies, suggesting Sony is scaling back its XR hardware ambitions. This move follows the commercial struggles of the PSVR 2 and aligns with Meta's aggressive expansion into next-generation wearable devices.
Meta is rolling out realistic AI avatars called Holograms, starting with a face-only version on Ray-Ban Display glasses this fall, followed by a full-body version on its new VR Glasses in spring 2027. The system uses server-side generative AI to create lifelike digital representations from audio and facial scans, though early testing revealed limitations in movement and detail.
Meta launched the Ray-Ban Gen 3 and a new camera-free Ray-Ban Meta Audio model at Connect 2026, alongside the Muse Charm pendant and Meta VR Glasses. The Gen 3 costs $449, while the Audio model starts at $349. Meta aims to expand its AI hardware ecosystem to reduce reliance on Apple and compete with OpenAI.
Valve has launched the Steam Frame, a $1,059 standalone VR headset featuring a native port of Half-Life: Alyx for its ARM-based Snapdragon chip. While the device offers impressive comfort and foveated rendering, early reviews highlight significant battery life limitations, inconsistent game compatibility, and a high price point compared to competitors.
Polyarc, the Seattle-based VR studio behind Moss and Moss: Book II, has closed after nearly 12 years, with at least 29 employees seeking new roles as the studio winds down; factors cited include a shifting VR funding landscape and Meta's pivot away from the metaverse, though all Polyarc games remain purchasable.
Apple is cutting more than 200 jobs across its Vision Pro and Siri teams, including largely shutting down the Vision Pro gaming unit and downsizing the Vision Pro immersive-content group. The company says the restructuring is to evolve the business and deliver better experiences, with new roles to be created as it pursues future hardware like slimmer headsets and Apple glasses after the Vision Pro’s 2024 launch.
Apple reportedly laid off about 60 employees from its Vision Group, effectively disbanding the Vision Pro team and redistributing staff to other projects as the company pivots toward smart glasses, with reports of canceling a second Vision Pro and a cheaper “Vision Air,” and a potential headset launch pushed to late 2028.
Apple reportedly laid off at least 60 employees from its Vision Group, signaling a shift away from VR development toward smart glasses and ongoing work on visionOS, with Vision Pro continuing in a downsized capacity.
Valve's Great on Frame hub has expanded to 50+ optimized titles, including many VR games and flatscreen hits like Hollow Knight: Silksong, Portal 2, and Hades. A launch date and price for Steam Frame hasn't been announced, but FCC certification suggests an imminent release.
Meta’s Reality Labs posted a $4.62 billion loss in the second quarter on $431 million in revenue, a figure narrower than analysts’ $5.07 billion loss on $423.4 million revenue. The unit, which develops Quest VR headsets and Ray‑Ban Meta glasses, has burned over $80 billion in operating losses since 2020 as Meta presses on with its virtual-reality and wearables push.
Google is open-sourcing its 3D emoji (Noto Emoji 3D), releasing raw OBJ files for anyone to use in VR worlds, indie apps, or memes, following a look into how the 3D icons were designed.
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.
Meta is spinning out Supernatural as an independent company called Supernatural Health. The current Supernatural app will wind down on December 3, and a new app is expected later this fall in Quest's Horizon Store, built by a smaller team with some of the original coaches back on board. Pricing is returning to the original $20/month ($200/year) after a Founding Member rate of $180 for the first year. Founders and coaches are departing from Meta, and the updated app will bring fresh workouts and features. The move follows Meta's 2021 $400 million acquisition of Within and a subsequent FTC antitrust case that was dropped in 2023.
Valve has raised Steam Deck prices by about 44–46%: 512 GB OLED from $549 to $789 and 1 TB from $649 to $949, with the 256 GB LCD variant reportedly removed. Valve cites rising RAM/SSD costs and logistics as the reason, signaling that Steam Frame (and Steam Machine) pricing and release timing may be revisited. The price hike adds risk to Steam Frame’s roadmap and fuels uncertainty about when and how it will be priced, potentially extending Valve’s rumored “Valve time.”
Ruff Talk VR Showcase delivered a wave of news: new titles announced — Survive The Night, OogaBonk, Just Hoops Nano, Cozy Worlds Together, and Order 13 VR; new content/DLC drops — Scared By Squares, The Obsessive Shadow, Clonk, Neolithic Dawn, Dark Trip; and a lineup of new gameplay trailers for Knights of Fiona, How To God, Fixer Undercover, Disembodied, Loop One Done, Warchasm, System Critical 3, Pedal Rebel, Hyperlane Highway, Adrian’s Quest, Exoshock, Viper Vice, and Project Nova, with releases planned across Meta Quest, SteamVR, and PS VR2 across various windows.”,