DEAR VR WASHERS. I am so sorry to let you know that we won't be continuing support of PowerWash Simulator VR. We absolutely love and believe in VR, so this doesn't mean that we won't support it in the future—but we aren't able to continue with support right now.

We have been faced with a cross roads situation: we have a truly excellent and kind VR team who were working on a platform which costs us more than it makes, while also having a list of job openings that we are looking to be filled on other projects. FuturLab took the decision to redeploy our VR team into those other projects/roles. Whilst I would love to live in a world where we could support PowerWash Simulator on every platform going, I will always choose job security for my team. Every time.

Pimax, a global leader in high-performance VR technology, debuted its Crystal Super headset on the world stage at CES2025, letting global media get their first taste with the 29 million pixel VR headset.

The world meets the Crystal Super
The Crystal Super is Pimax's latest flagship headset, featuring a resolution of 3840x3840 per eye, meaning it's the first VR headset reaching retina levels of clarity. Glass aspheric lenses provide 57 PPD at over 120° horizontal field of view, with an incredible brightness of 280 nits.

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicked off in Las Vegas, bringing together a myriad of innovative technologies from around the globe. Among the highlights of this year's event was the debut of Play For Dream MR, an Android-based spatial computer, which garnered praise from media, exhibitors, and attendees alike.

Since its global launch in Singapore, Play For Dream MR technology has made a significant impression with its state-of-the-art hardware, proprietary algorithm architecture, and sleek integrated design. With the capability to seamlessly blend virtual and real-world experiences, the Play For Dream MR is poised to redefine spatial entertainment.

GeForce NOW turns any device into a GeForce RTX gaming PC, and is bringing cloud gaming and AAA titles to more devices and regions. Announced today at the CES trade show, gamers will soon be able to play titles from their Steam library at GeForce RTX quality with the launch of a native GeForce NOW app for the Steam Deck. NVIDIA is working to bring cloud gaming to the popular PC gaming handheld device later this year.

In collaboration with Apple, Meta and ByteDance, NVIDIA is expanding GeForce NOW cloud gaming to Apple Vision Pro spatial computers, Meta Quest 3 and 3S and Pico virtual- and mixed-reality devices - with all the bells and whistles of NVIDIA technologies, including ray tracing and NVIDIA DLSS. In addition, NVIDIA is launching the first GeForce RTX-powered data center in India, making gaming more accessible around the world. Plus, GeForce NOW's extensive library of over 2,100 supported titles is expanding with highly anticipated AAA titles. DOOM: The Dark Ages and Avowed will join the cloud when they launch on PC this year.

Pimax, a manufacturer of leading VR hardware, released in an online keynote presentation the design and specs of an upcoming headset, the Pimax Dream Air. The small and light headset packs 27 million pixels, head, hand and eye-tracking, integrated spatial audio, a DisplayPort connection, and a self-adjusting backstrap.

The Dream Air is a PCVR headset, and borrows a lot of components from the previously announced Crystal Super, including the micro-OLED panels and pancake lenses—but packs this into a small form factor headset, to satisfy different use cases. It breaks with previous Pimax headsets, with a new design language, signalling the small form factor era for Pimax.

Every year, Valve holds The Steam Game Awards, a community-driven initiative to recognize the best games that were launched in that year. Valve has just released the results for the 2024 Steam Game Awards, which are determined by community vote—as opposed to events like The Game Awards, which feature a jury selection—and split into individual categories. This year, though, the overall winner for Game of the Year was Black Myth Wukong, which beat out other finalists: Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, Balatro, and Helldivers 2 for top spot. Game of the Year wasn't Wukong's only victory, either, with the game also taking home the "Outstanding Story-Rich Game Award," which seems logical given its overall victory, and the cleverly named "Best Game You Suck At Award," which is meant to highlight the best difficult game of the year. In this category, Black Myth Wukong was up against Dragon Ball Z Sparkling Zero, The Finals, Ghost of Tsushima, and Tekken 8, which is again a very diverse mix of games and genres, so it's somewhat interesting to see a narrative-driven game like Wukong come out ahead here.

The rest of the Steam Game Awards 2024 was less of a one-man show, with Metro Awakening VR taking Best VR Game of the Year, Elden Ring nabbing the Labor of Love Award, and God of War Ragnarök taking the Best Game on Steam Deck Award. Helldivers 2 won Better with Friends, while Silent Hill 2 took home the Outstanding Visual Style Award, Liar's Bar won Most Innovative Gameplay, Red Dead Redemption won Best Soundtrack Award, and Farming Simulator 25 was crowned with the Sit Back and Relax award, beating out the likes or Webfishing, House Flipper 2, and Tiny Glade. One of the more surprising "minor" awards winners here is God of War Ragnarök taking home Best Game on Steam Deck, since you often hear in discourse around the Steam Deck that it's not suitable for AAA gaming, and God of War is only two years old at the time of writing, meaning it is still very demanding, with an NVIDIA GTX 1060 6 GB quoted as the minimum recommended GPU to play the game.

Himax Technologies, Inc. ("Himax" or "Company"), an industry leader in fabless display driver ICs and other semiconductors, today announced it will present its next-generation, proprietary ultra luminous 400K nit Color Sequential Front-lit LCoS Microdisplay solution at CES 2025, the largest consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, U.S.A. from January 7 - 10, 2025. The unparalleled brightness of the LCoS solution reaffirms Himax's market leadership in LCoS and its steadfast commitment to advancing AR applications, catering to the critical demands of leading tech innovators in AR technology.

Himax's proprietary Color Sequential Front-lit LCoS Microdisplay sets a new benchmark in brightness performance for microdisplays. With an industry-leading 400K nits of brightness and typical power consumption of just 300 milliwatts, this breakthrough ensures superior eye-level brightness even in high ambient light environments, making it a perfect fit for outdoor usability. The integration of 2D waveguides further enhances its ability to deliver clear, vibrant visuals, making it ideal for next-generation see-through goggles. In addition to its brightness, the microdisplay boasts a lightweight, ultra-compact form factor of less than 0.5 c.c., exceptional vibrant color performance, and low power consumption, all essential factors for all-day wearable devices. This makes the Color Sequential Front-lit LCoS Microdisplay a perfect solution for the evolving needs of AR goggle devices.

Welcome to the second to last full week of the year of 2024 and hopefully the last week in the office for most of you. This week's major release revolves around Xenomorphs, but unfortunately requires a VR-headset, but if you've been nice, maybe Santa will bring you one? The rest of this week's new releases turns you into an animal detective, being in charge of a pirate ship, being a young car mechanic in Poland in the 90's, a viking adventure in the netherworld and finally trying to solve some late night crimes in the Victorian era.

Alien: Rogue Incursion / This week's major release / Thursday 19 December / VR Game
Experience the universe of the Alien films like never before: in terrifyingly immersive single-player VR. An all-new action-horror entry into the classic franchise, Alien: Rogue Incursion transforms you into Zula Hendricks-the ex-Colonial Marine hellbent on exposing Weyland-Yutani's black-site experiments-on an extremely dangerous mission to the uncharted planet Purdan. With her synth companion Davis 01 for guidance, Zula must infiltrate the infested Gemini Exoplanet Solutions research facility and survive the ever-present threat of the most cunning Xenomorphs ever encountered, with both skilled stealth and serious firepower at her disposal. And when the threat she discovers has extinction-level consequences, Zula suddenly finds herself with humanity's fate on her shoulders. Steam link

We started Android over a decade ago with a simple idea: transform computing for everyone. Android powers more than just phones—it's on tablets, watches, TVs, cars and more.

Now, we're taking the next step into the future. Advancements in AI are making interacting with computers more natural and conversational. This inflection point enables new extended reality (XR) devices, like headsets and glasses, to understand your intent and the world around you, helping you get things done in entirely new ways.

Imagine being able to step into any world in an instant—from the bustling streets of New York City to the snowy mountain tops of the Alps. These worlds are no longer merely places to observe from afar. They can now be explored and interacted with simply through a gaze, a gesture or your voice. What once seemed like science fiction has become a reality as eXtended reality (XR) transforms how we engage with the world around us.

XR is an umbrella term for technologies that use digital elements to extend or alter reality by merging the physical and digital worlds together. This includes virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR) as well as other similar technologies yet to be developed. XR offers infinite possibilities, creating a dynamic spatial canvas where users' sight, sound and motion combine to interact with the outside world. A world that will unlock unprecedented experiences across core areas of life, from working and learning to entertainment, gaming and even health and wellness.

Sony Electronics is setting a new benchmark for immersive 3D experiences with its cutting-edge ELF-SR2 (27-inch) and ELF-SR1 (15.6-inch) Spatial Reality Displays and the NVIDIA Omniverse development platform. The combination of Sony's unmatched 3D display technology and Omniverse's powerful real-time 3D design and simulation capabilities is poised to revolutionize industries from gaming and entertainment to architecture, engineering, and automotive design—without the need for VR headsets or special glasses.

With Sony's Spatial Reality Display and the new NVIDIA Omniverse, creators can now experience real-time rendering like never before. NVIDIA Omniverse is a platform of application programming interfaces, software development kits, and services that enable developers to seamlessly combine Universal Scene Description (OpenUSD) and NVIDIA RTX rendering technologies into existing software tools. By connecting OpenUSD-based applications developed on NVIDIA Omniverse with Sony's Spatial Reality Display, creators can instantly view and manipulate their 3D assets in real time. This allows creators to turn their digital designs into holographic-like experiences, giving them the freedom to explore all aspects of their work from every angle, no extra hardware required.

bHaptics, a leader in haptic technology, has unveiled its first new products in four years: the TactSuit Pro and TactSuit Air. The TactSuit Pro offers a premium haptic experience designed for users who seek full immersion in VR content. Meanwhile, the TactSuit Air features a lightweight and sleek design, delivering substantial feedback without the bulk for those desiring a more streamlined VR experience.

The new standout feature of TactSuit Pro is Controller Wheel, which allows users to precisely adjust the intensity of haptic sensations during use. Ring LED on the Controller serves not only as an indicator of the vest's haptic status but also adds a sleek, visually striking element to the design. Additionally, it is equipped with expandable straps, ensuring a comfortable fit for users of all body types. The vest now features 32 haptic motors, delivering optimized haptic feedback for an enhanced immersive experience at an attractive price of $499.

Welcome to the first full week of the month of November, which means colder and darker weather for the northern hemisphere, also known as a perfect time to play some games. This week things are a tad slower and this week's major release is a VR version of a famous franchise that takes place inside a metro system. This is followed by some touch typing, slugs made out of metal, roller coasters, loads of ants and finally some post-apocalyptic strategy. As always, this is just a small selection of what launches this coming week.

Metro Awakening / This week's major release / VR game / Thursday 7 November
Metro Awakening is a story-driven first person adventure built for VR that blends atmospheric exploration, stealth and combat in the most immersive Metro experience yet. Don your gas mask, brave the crippling radiation and venture into the depths of the Metro where threats haunt your every step. Steam link

Metal: Hellsinger is a first-person rhythm shooter featuring roguelike and boomer shooter elements and set to a heavy metal soundtrack with some of the metal world's biggest names. The game follows a mysterious protagonist, known simply as The Unknown, as she battles her way through the various levels of hell on a quest to regain her voice. Today, the rhythm shooter launches an additional VR version, with some interesting new VR-specific rhythm mechanics to spice things up.

Being a rhythm game, Metal: Hellsinger gives players bonuses for performing actions on-beat with the background music—which often gets quite challenging due to the fast pace and swarming enemies—but the VR version steps things up a notch, allowing you to aim the game's dual pistols individually, physically draw and release the crossbow, and actively reload the shotgun to the beat.

Microsoft has officially ended production of its HoloLens 2 mixed-reality headset, according to sources confirmed by The Register. The tech giant recently notified its partners that the HoloLens 2, introduced in 2019 as an enterprise-focused augmented reality device, is no longer available for purchase. This marks a significant shift in Microsoft's AR strategy, with the company stating, "Support for HoloLens 2, including security updates, will end on December 31, 2027." Despite aggressive marketing efforts, the HoloLens 2 struggled to gain widespread adoption, reflecting broader challenges in the AR/VR market where high-end headsets like HoloLens 2 and Apple Vision Pro retail for around $3,500, limiting their appeal. Some Microsoft employees reportedly expressed surprise that the project continued as long as it did, suggesting internal doubts about its viability.

Rather than continuing as a hardware provider, Microsoft plans to pivot its role in the mixed reality space, focusing on "first-party software solutions and services, partnering with the broader mobile phone and mixed reality hardware ecosystem." This decision aligns with the current state of the AR/VR industry, where the ecosystem is still in its early stages, and companies like Meta are heavily investing in its development. Microsoft's shift from hardware production to ecosystem investment mirrors trends in the broader tech industry and could position the company for future opportunities as the mixed-reality market matures. As the ecosystem develops and more use cases emerge, Microsoft's investment in software and services could prove valuable despite the current challenges in justifying investments in a field that's still searching for compelling widespread applications.

Today at Connect, we unveiled Meta Quest 3S, a headset with the same mixed reality capabilities and fast performance as Meta Quest 3, but at a lower price point. Starting at just $299.99 USD, Quest 3S is the best headset for those new to mixed reality and immersive experiences, or who might have been waiting for a low-cost upgrade from Quest and Quest 2.

From watching your favorite TV shows on a cinema-sized screen to your own personal trainer that you can take with you anywhere you go, plus multitasking capabilities, gaming and more, there's no better mixed reality device on the market at this price.

HTC VIVE, the global leader in premium XR solutions, today launches its new cutting-edge headset VIVE Focus Vision. The new Extended Reality (XR) headset is the latest in HTC VIVE's highly popular VIVE Focus Series, with a wealth of improvements and new features to give gamers and enterprise users alike the best possible immersive experience for PCVR and standalone gaming, as well as Location-Based Experiences (LBE), industrial training, collaboration, and mixed reality applications.

"VIVE Focus Vision gives you the best of both worlds, with outstanding standalone capabilities, and DisplayPort mode support for visually lossless PCVR experiences," said Shen Ye, Global Head of Product at HTC VIVE. "Now, PC gamers can bring the same high-end headsets used in VR arcades into their homes. We're taking everything to the next level with built-in eye-tracking, stereo color passthrough cameras for depth-correct Mixed Reality, and even an infra-red sensor for enhanced hand tracking in low-light conditions."

TrendForce's latest report reveals that shipments of near-eye displays are expected to increase year-by-year over the next few years following inventory clearance. It is anticipated that OLEDoS will dominate the high-end VR/MR market, with its technological share rising to 23% by 2030, while LCD will continue to occupy the mainstream market, holding a 63% share in near-eye displays.

TrendForce defines VR/MR devices as near-eye displays that achieve an immersive experience through a single display. Devices emphasizing transparency and the integration of virtual and real-world applications are classified as AR devices.

It appears that Sony decided to sneak out a new product during the already busy Computex week of new product announcements. This is something many PC gamers have been waiting for, at least those interested in VR gaming. Although the device itself is a rather nondescript black box with a cable at one end, it delivers what many have been hoping for, PC support for Sony's PlayStation VR2 headset. The little black box has inputs for the PlayStation VR2 headset and a single DisplayPort 1.4 input which is connected to your graphics card of choice, as well as a USB port for communication with the PC and a power input of some kind. The only potential downside here is that the adapter won't work with some gaming laptops that only have HDMI display output.

Sony's system requirements are rather pedestrian, although the company is recommending a GeForce RTX 3060 or an AMD Radeon RX 6600XT or better graphics card, for best performance. Another minimum requirement which not everyone might have on their desktop systems, is support for Bluetooth 4.0 or later, but this can easily be resolved with a cheap USB dongle. Sony didn't reveal the full hardware details, which makes it unclear if an extra power source is needed, but it's clear from one of the two photos provided by the company, that there's more to it than just the DisplayPort and USB cables. The adapter doesn't work on PC without a lot of caveats though, as "HDR, headset feedback, eye tracking, adaptive triggers, and haptic feedback (other than rumble), are not available when playing on PC" according to Sony's blog post. The PlayStation VR2 PC Adapter also requires the Sony PlayStation VR2 app to be installed and for now it appears to only be working with Steam VR. The adapter will be available in retail on the 7th of August for an MSRP of $59.99 / €59.99 / £49.99.

LG Display, the world's leading innovator of display technologies, announced today the unveiling of a large number of its next-generation OLED and cutting-edge display technologies at SID Display Week 2024 in San Jose, California from May 14-16. LG Display is allowing visitors to experience new OLED technologies under the theme "A Better Future," ranging from OLEDoS for VR to large-sized OLED panels that go beyond the limits of picture quality and automotive display solutions that are optimized for Software Defined Vehicles (SDV).

The company's latest innovations include a new technology, OLEDoS for VR, which is being shown to the public for the first time and features dramatically increased screen brightness and resolution compared with the existing standard. Despite being the size of a coin at 1.3-inch, it achieves an ultra-high brightness of 10,000 nits and an ultra-high resolution of around 4,000 ppi, which is in the 4K class. In addition, its color expression accuracy is realized by meeting more than 97% of the DCI-P3 standard color area of the Digital Cinema Initiatives (DCI). All these enable more lifelike virtual reality with industry-leading picture quality.

As we enter the last full week of April, we're finally back to a busy release schedule again. This week's AAA title apparently had some last minute bugs squashed just this week, so let's hope the released game delivers on its promise. As for the rest of this week you can look forward to a VR horror shooter, a side scrolling action-adventure medtroidvania game, a Robin Hood wannabe game, a dungeon crawler you can play with friends online, a game about a hermit crab, a JRPG and finally a very sandy action RPG.

Manor Lords / This week's AAA release / Friday 26 April / Early Access
Manor Lords is a strategy game that allows you to experience the life of a medieval lord. Grow your starting village into a bustling city, manage resources and production chains, and expand your lands through conquest. Inspired by the art and architecture of late 14th century Franconia, Manor Lords prioritizes historical accuracy wherever possible, using it to inform gameplay mechanics and visuals alike. Common medieval tropes are avoided in favor of historical accuracy, in order to make the world feel more authentic, colorful, and believable. Steam Link

Pimax, a leading innovator in the Virtual Reality industry, announced two new high-end VR headsets at its Frontier 2024 event, held on YouTube this Monday. The Crystal Super is an ultra-high-end headset, packing 29.5 million pixels and the world's first changeable optical engine, allowing users to swap between QLED and micro-OLED panels. The Crystal Light offers the same 16.6 million pixels as the Pimax Crystal, but is much more budget-friendly, starting from 699 USD. Additionally, Pimax unveiled the 60G Airlink module, which leverages WiGig technology to enable true high-fidelity wireless PCVR.

The Crystal Super represents a substantial leap forward from the highly successful Crystal, with its greatly increased number of pixels, enabling a much larger field of view (FOV) and higher pixels per degree (PPD) simultaneously.

FarBridge, Inc., a leading game development studio, in partnership with Gearbox Entertainment, is excited to announce Homeworld: Vast Reaches, a bold new story in the beloved Homeworld saga that reimagines strategic space battles for Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality. This new game in the Homeworld universe is launching on the Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest 3 headsets later this year. Players can now wishlist the game at HomeworldVastReaches.com.

In the award-winning Homeworld games for PC, you play as Fleet Command, a human commander who controls a fleet of spaceships. Players will take on the same role in Homeworld: Vast Reaches in vicious combat against a mysterious new foe.

PNY Technologies, a global leader in memory and storage solutions, has expanded its enterprise portfolio through a strategic partnership with PICO, a VR solutions company with independent innovation and R&D capabilities. This partnership highlights PNY's dedication to providing state-of-the-art solutions across a spectrum of applications, from enhancing sports, entertainment, and video consumption to revolutionizing industries such as education, healthcare, and corporate training.

This partnership leverages PICO's XR platform solutions, enhancing PNY's enterprise offerings with unparalleled performance, scalability, and cost efficiency. This move reinforces PNY's position as a key player in the enterprise market.

Hellsingers! Did you think the music had stopped? Hells, no! We're proud to announce Metal: Hellsinger VR, coming to Meta Quest 2 & 3, Meta Quest Pro, PS VR 2, and Steam in 2024! Get ready to be fully immersed in metal and mayhem. Step into the body of the Unknown in full VR and become a true demon of vengeance. Wield her full wicked arsenal in your very hands and unleash its power straight into the snarling hordes' ugly faces. The original acclaimed rhythm shooter, developed by The Outsiders and rated 96% positive on Steam, has been developed for VR from the ground up in collaboration with Lab42 Games, to take full advantage of the potential of VR.

Metal: Hellsinger VR includes everything you've come to know and love in Metal: Hellsinger. That means the full award-winning soundtrack performed by your favorite metal legends, and the entire campaign to wreak vengeance upon the Red Judge all in glorious VR. The game has been rebuilt to take full advantage of the strengths of VR, creating accurate and meaty gunplay, a world that pulsates to the beat, and doing away with most menus for an immersive hub area. Aim dual pistols independently, cock your shotgun, and make them fear the beat.