Looking for more VR updates? Here's what you may have missed:
It's been a busy week across the board as 2024 settles in. Right as CES 2024 got underway, Apple told the world to "get ready" after confirming the Apple Vision Pro release date. Elsewhere, HTC released the Vive XR Elite face tracker, Sony announced a new enterprise headset and we learned more about the Xreal Air 2 Ultra. We even found a cheap Vision Pro knockoff at CES.
Though it's been a relatively quiet month so far with January's VR games, several announcements have come trickling in. UNDERDOGS, Crumbling, Retropolis 2: Never Say Goodbye and Vampire: The Masquerade - Justice (for PC VR) all secured release dates, we discovered Zenith: The Last City is running at a loss, while Eye of the Temple finally turned a profit.
We've discussed a lot but just like last week, we're rounding up a few stories that we weren't previously able to cover. Here's a few more updates:
D.I.C.E. Awards Announce Finalists For XR Technical Achievement
For the 27th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, five VR games have been nominated for the "Immersive Reality Technical Achievement" award. The following contenders are Asgard's Wrath 2, Assassin's Creed Nexus VR, Vertigo 2 and We Are One. The winners will be announced on February 15, 2024.
Population: One Launches Event Series 1
Population: One, the free-to-play battle royale shooter, just received its first content update in 2024. Calling this Event Series 1, that includes three unique events with their own rewards that earn up to 10 series stars, unlocking rewards like five star red weapons.
Unity Lays Off 25% Workforce, 1800 Staff Facing Redundancy
Unity, the leading game engine for VR developers, has announced a fresh round of layoffs affecting 1800 employees. "Unity has made the difficult decision to implement a workforce reduction, targeting approximately 25% of our total workforce across all teams," said Kelly Ekins, Unity's PR director to The Verge. However, it's currently unclear how widely this has affected any XR staff.
Budget Cuts Ultimate Hits Rift Store With Crossbuy Support For Quest
It's not often you see PC VR games appearing on the Rift store these days but that hasn't stopped Neat Corporation releasing Budget Cuts Ultimate once more. Though Ultimate and the individual games - Budget Cuts and Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency - were already available on Steam, the studio confirmed that the Rift version supports cross-buy with Quest.
Doja Cat: The Scarlet Tour Reaches Meta Horizon Worlds Next Week
Doja Cat is making her VR debut in Doja Cat: The Scarlet Tour in VR, the latest free VR concert reaching Meta Horizon Worlds’ Music Valley. Featuring songs like Paint The Town Red, Agora Hills, Woman and more, that goes live on January 20 at 5pm PT.
Other Updates
These updates never end with just five stories and while it's impossible to spot every announcement going, there's always plenty more to watch out for. Here's what else we've seen:
- Heartshot released on Steam Early Access.
- Real VR Fishing kicked off its new year event.
- Genotype briefly teased an upcoming patch.
- Rogue Stargun, a VR Spacefighter with a demo currently available, is entering beta testing soon.
- Twistex is now available on Steam.
- Alchem It launched on Quest App Lab with a Steam version planned later this year.
- SPGP - Super Polygon Grand Prix is aiming for a Steam early access launch next month.
- Following a launch for Quest, Steam and PSVR 2 last year, Cowboy Cactus - Desert Warfare is now available on Pico.
- VION VR revealed 'The Red Planet' – a new VR map for the location-based entertainment game that promises the "most challenging boss" yet.
- Novelab released a new Demeter: The Asklepios Chronicles sneak peak.
- The Escape Artist, a web XR experience playable through the Quest browser, received an optimization halving the initial download.
- Laser Limbo, an AR laser tag experience, is aiming to release a home version in February.
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