Meta Quest

AppWizard
November 1, 2024
Meta Platforms, Inc. generates 98.6% of its total sales from its core activities, which include social networking, messaging, and photo and video sharing. The company has 3.98 billion monthly active users across its platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Threads, and WhatsApp. Additionally, 1.4% of net sales come from virtual and augmented reality products, such as Meta Quest headsets and Facebook Portal. Advertising accounts for 97.5% of net sales, while other revenue sources contribute 2.2%. Geographically, 39.2% of net sales come from the United States and Canada, 26.8% from the Asia-Pacific region, 23.1% from Europe, and 10.9% from other regions.
BetaBeacon
October 30, 2024
Meta is actively working on bringing cloud VR gaming to Meta Quest, with a leaked app called Avalanche appearing briefly on the Quest Store. The company intends to launch cloud streaming on Quest when it's consumer-ready, enabling higher graphics than the Snapdragon XR2 on the Quest 3 and Quest 3S can natively handle. The challenges ahead include dealing with latency and high ping that comes with cloud streaming. The author dreams of a partnership between Meta and Microsoft to stream VR ports of popular first-person titles on Quest, such as Minecraft, Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Forza, and Halo.
AppWizard
October 26, 2024
Mojang has announced that official support for Minecraft VR will conclude in March 2025, including the cessation of PlayStation VR support and all other VR devices. Players can still access Minecraft through various mods on platforms like HTC Vive and Meta Quest, but PSVR users face limitations due to the closed nature of the PlayStation ecosystem. Existing worlds will remain accessible, but players will not be able to engage with them through a headset. Minecraft's VR support began in 2016, and the current discontinuation reflects challenges in the VR market. There are speculations that resources for VR support may have been redirected to fund the upcoming Minecraft movie.
AppWizard
October 25, 2024
Minecraft will discontinue virtual reality support across all platforms by March 2025, affecting devices such as Oculus Rift, Windows Mixed Reality headsets, and Meta Quest. This follows the earlier announcement of ending support for PlayStation VR headsets in March 2025. Players will retain access to their worlds and Marketplace purchases on non-VR devices, while the Java version of the game will still support VR through mods like Vivecraft and standalone ports like QuestCraft. Minecraft began supporting VR platforms in 2016 with Samsung's Gear VR and has since included Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR. The game previously closed Minecraft Earth in 2020 to focus on core gameplay experiences.
AppWizard
October 25, 2024
Mojang has confirmed that support for PlayStation VR headsets will cease in March 2025, alongside the discontinuation of support for PC VR headsets, including Meta Quest, Oculus Rift, and Windows Mixed Reality. This decision was detailed in the latest Bedrock changelog. Minecraft's VR journey began with Samsung Gear VR in 2016, followed by support for Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR. The shift away from VR and augmented reality adaptations reflects a broader trend in the gaming industry, focusing on core gameplay experiences.
AppWizard
October 25, 2024
Mojang announced that Minecraft will cease support for VR headsets starting in March. The developer stated that its ability to support VR/MR devices has ended, with a final update scheduled for that month. While PC players can still access the VR version post-update, it will lack virtual reality components. This decision follows complaints from Oculus users about performance issues and aligns with a survey indicating a decline in the VR market. Meta has closed its first-party VR developer, Ready at Dawn, while Canadian studio Archiact has also shut down. In contrast, Sony is expanding its VR presence with PC support for PSVR2 and new titles, experiencing a surge in sales after a price drop.
BetaBeacon
October 11, 2024
The game Underworld Overseer is a VR strategy game that allows players to build and manage a dungeon to attract underworld creatures. The game features hand-crafted levels, simple controls, and a completion time of around 12 hours. It offers a unique VR experience that evokes nostalgia for classic PC strategy games.
Winsage
October 9, 2024
Sightful has shifted its strategic focus from developing the ‘Spacetop’ AR laptop to creating AR software for Windows, aiming to integrate augmented reality with advanced AI capabilities like Microsoft's Copilot. The company will refund deposits for the Spacetop G1 laptop, which was priced at ,900, as development has been paused. The new software will initially support specific models of Xreal AR display glasses and will launch in early 2025, with no plans for compatibility with other AR glasses. CEO Tamir Berliner noted that the decision was influenced by Microsoft's announcements regarding AI integration in computers. Microsoft is also focusing on software solutions, having discontinued the HoloLens 2 and laid off 20 employees at Sightful as part of a strategic shift to prioritize AR software development.
Winsage
October 3, 2024
The recent 24H2 update for Windows 11 has discontinued support for Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) devices, rendering them inoperable. Users must either avoid the 24H2 update or revert to Windows 10 to retain functionality with their WMR devices. Microsoft announced the discontinuation of Windows Mixed Reality at the end of 2023, and a preview build of the 24H2 update confirmed that WMR devices would no longer function with Windows 11. The Mixed Reality Portal app and Windows Mixed Reality for SteamVR are also affected. Existing WMR devices will remain operational with Steam until November 2026 if users stay on Windows 11 version 23H2. The release notes for the 24H2 update do not mention Windows Mixed Reality, indicating a shift in focus. Microsoft has also ceased software support for Hololens headsets. WMR headsets, introduced in 2017, aimed to compete in the PC VR market but struggled with tracking volume and controller quality, resulting in only about 3.5 percent of PC VR users employing WMR devices. Microsoft is now shifting towards software solutions, partnering with Meta for initiatives like Xbox Cloud Gaming and Office web applications for the Meta Quest.
Winsage
October 2, 2024
Microsoft has halted the production of HoloLens 2 headsets, with critical security updates and software regressions continuing until the end of 2027, while support for HoloLens 2 will cease at the end of 2028. Support for the original HoloLens will end on December 10, 2024. The Mixed Reality division has faced challenges, including the departure of former HoloLens lead Alex Kipman and setbacks with the IVAS project for the U.S. military. Microsoft laid off teams associated with virtual and mixed reality in January 2023. Reports from February 2022 indicated disarray within the HoloLens strategy, and there were allegations of a toxic workplace environment under Kipman. Microsoft is partnering with Meta and Apple to integrate its software onto their platforms and is exploring future mixed reality headsets powered by Android, with potential releases as early as 2025 or 2026.
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