E3 might not be taking place this year but that isn’t stopping virtual reality (VR) developers from making a few summer announcements. The latest comes from Synth Riders developer Kluge Interactive, unveiling an arcade-style fighting title called Final Fury.
Unlike consoles where you have the likes of Street Fighter and Tekken, VR doesn’t really have many fighting videogames, with the odd exceptions being titles such as Ironlights. This is mainly due to input methods as those console fighters are renowned for combos and split-second button pressing, something that doesn’t work in VR. Final Fury looks to break ground in this field with a range of mechanics to create some epic fights.
You won’t directly punch your opponent by the look of it, instead, activating special moves and combos by quickly hitting in-game prompts – sort of like hitting buttons on a fitness reaction wall. Interestingly, Kluge states that players can view each round from first-person and third-person perspectives. How immersive this will feel switching between the two remains to be seen.
Like any fighting videogame Final Fury will have a selection of characters to choose from, with Tempest and Glitch named so far. They’ll have their own backstory, home stage environment, and music track to suit their personality.
“We grew up playing games like Street Fighter and Killer Instinct and wanted to be the first to bring this genre to VR in order to fully immerse ourselves in the fights,” says Abraham Aguero, Creative Director at Kluge.
Kluge Interactive hasn’t specified which VR headsets Final Fury will be coming to, just that it’ll be “all major VR platforms” in 2023, so that’s likely to include PlayStation VR2 and Meta Quest 2. As further updates are released, gmw3 will keep you updated.
A couple of months back nDreams and Sony Pictures Virtual Reality (SPVR) dropped a surprise announcement that work had begun on Ghostbusters VR for Meta Quest 2. Today, SPVR has revealed that the franchise is expanding even further into VR, with Ghostbusters VR also coming to PlayStation VR2 whilst a new title, Ghostbusters VR Academyis being made specifically for Hologate location-based entertainment (LBE) venues.
Ghostbuster VR (working title) is going to be a 4-player cooperative experience set in San Francisco rather than New York. It’ll be up to you and your mates to grab those proton packs and rid the city of manacing ghosts. Only a short teaser trailer has been shown so far. Considering nDreams is developing the title, its no surprise that Ghostbusters VR is coming to PlayStation VR2 as the studio has previously released the likes of Fracked for PlayStation VR.
As for Ghostbusters VR Academy, this will utilise Hologate’s unique LBE setup to offer fans a unique experience where players take on the role of ghostbusters in training. There will be two versions, one for Hologate Arena and one for Hologate Blitz. In Arena players work as a team to complete high-risk ghost encounter scenarios whilst Blitz puts them in a flying prototype ECTO vehicle.
“Ghostbusters VR Academy, the new location-based VR training experience, will continue to expand the world of Ghostbusters in a way that honours the legacy of the franchise and offers something entirely new,” says Jake Zim, Senior Vice President, Virtual Reality, Sony Pictures Entertainment. “For the first time ever, players will be able to train to be a real Ghostbuster in an amazing academy setting and race a new flying version of the ECTO using HOLOGATE’s vehicle motion simulator.”
“Sony Pictures VR is doing incredible things for virtual reality, and we’re thrilled to collaborate for this new experience,” adds Leif Petersen, CEO and HOLOGATE founder. “Ghostbusters VR Academy is a natural fit for HOLOGATE’s ARENA and BLITZ platforms. It transcends reality so players can create memorable moments while fulfilling longtime wishes to operate iconic Ghostbusters equipment. We can’t wait for players to step inside this world.”
Ghostbusters VR Academy will be coming to 400 Hologate locations by the end of 2022. The PlayStation VR2 version of Ghostbusters VR will, of course, depend on when the headset launches, currently unknown at this point. It’ll join a growing selection of titles Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) revealed during its recent State of Play event.
For continual updates on Ghostbusters VR, keep reading gmw3.
What makes giant fighting robots so cool? Whether it’s in movies like Pacific Rim or classic Japanese anime such as Evangelion, humungous war machines never seem to get old, and franchises like Transformers have literally milked that fact. But seeing mechs wage battle and being inside one offer two completely different perspectives and virtual reality (VR) is the best way to jump in the driver’s seat to unleash all hell. Vox Machinaehas ruled the roost for a while in that respect but now there’s a new challenger, one that embraces a far more arcade-like dynamic for quick-fire battles; World of Mechs.
Just like its rival, World of Mechs’ speciality is online multiplayer warfare, pitting teams against one another until one comes out victorious on points. Developer Studio 369 has kept things nice a simple when it comes to modes, you can pick your friends but you can’t pick your modes, they automatically revolve in multiplayer. And it’s purely 4v4, whether it’s Team Deathmatch, fighting to hold an area or trying to destroy the opposition’s VIP. The only caveat to that is the all-out death match where everyone is game.
There might not be much in the way of multiplayer options but you do get a few more where the mechs are concerned. These are glorious looking machines of war, and they really do look impressive as you stand on a platform flicking through the 32 models available – once you’ve got them unlocked of course. Starting with the mid-range Trooper model which has average armour, movement and weapons – the “Mario” choice from Mario Kart if you will – to gain access to more requires cash and XP. Both of which can be earnt by winning matches as well as found on the maps as hidden icons.
There are eight classes of mech in World of Mechs, unsurprisingly from the small, lightweight walkers which can nip around the battlefield and hide, to the huge behemoths that you can see from a mile off. These do, of course, have colossal amounts of armour and the most formidable weaponry because they are the biggest walking targets. With cool names like Wraith and Cyclone, these all have their own specific loadouts rather than providing a frame which you can customise endlessly.
With no way of tailoring a specific robot to your needs World of Mechs very much relies upon players happening upon one that suits them instead. Not particularly easy or simple when you have to earn valuable cash and XP to purchase them, easily picking a mech that you might hate. What you can customise once a mech is unlocked is a hull perk and one upgrade for each weapon. These can range from increased health or faster shield regen to more damage or faster projectile speed for your guns. These can then be further upgraded to add some extra oompf.
Further ticking all those arcade gameplay boxes is the control scheme. Now this will likely divide VR fans as to whether the lack of immersive controls detracts from the whole experience or not, but for me, World of Mechs’ system works for the kind of experience it wants players to have. The cockpits are quite sparse with a notable lack of virtual buttons to push or big clunky levers to operate. Apart from several screens giving you ammo counts, radar and other info depending on the match mode, there’s a sizeable amount of glass real estate to view your teammates and opponents through.
That means everything is left to classic controller scheme operation, pressing one button to reload whilst another operates the brief flight capability. So yes, you’re not quite as involved in the whole mech operation as you are in other titles so that’s something to be very aware of before going in. However, I’m not as sad about that fact as I thought I’d be. The Quest controllers are shown inside the cockpit which is a nice touch and the whole thing allowed me to simply get on with the fun of shooting other robots. I still felt connected to the mech and its moving cabin – a feature that can be turned off – and honestly, when surrounded by a couple of opponents having quickly accessible controls is a bonus. Plus, all the aiming is gazed based which makes life super straightforward and intuitive (a thumbstick aim is an option though).
This makes matches feel fast and sometimes over before they’ve even begun. You can dive right in and cause some mayhem, coordinating with teams or going rogue if you so wish. World of Mechs is an instantly enjoyable experience. There is a massive chasm between the single-player campaign and multiplayer, however. There are only five maps available at present which the campaign reuses to the point of saturation. The 20 levels are essentially the five maps reused four times each, just with a different objective. The best is always the final one as it’s a boss battle. None of which are particularly difficult, more like one extended training mission than a campaign. Oh, and your teammates like to talk which unfortunately highlights the repetitive dialogue the single-player suffers from.
So it falls on the multiplayer to carry World of Mechs, which it does so admirably. You can invite mates in or join a group but there’s only that one quick match option. World of Mechs isn’t barebones yet there are certain features you’d expect to see in a multiplayer notably absent like lobby options. And with that controller focused gameplay approach, button mapping would’ve been nice because having the reload on the same side as locomotion was awkward. Trying to strafe and hit reload just wasn’t an option.
There’s no denying that World of Mechs has been an absolute blast to play, from unlocking new mechs to unleashing a barrage of missiles in an opponent’s face it definitely scratches that mecha itch. That exuberance comes at the price of any narrative depth or reason to care about playing against the bots, they’re just too dumb to provide any challenge. Occasional matchmaking issues did occur with a “Pending connection failure” appearing but not enough that it was game-breaking and Studio 369 has been releasing regular patches to smooth launch issues out. World of Mechs has the beginnings of a great mech brawler and with a few more maps and multiplayer options could easily stand 50 feet tall.
The rise of Web3 gaming has not been without its problems, from expensive NFT buy-ins to lacklustre titles to play. There’s also the problem of where to go and find these kinds of videogames in the first place. Ryu Games aims to solve that problem with Flame, a Web3 games store and marketplace that’s about to launch its beta.
Rick Ellis CPO Ryu Games
When it comes to PC gaming, Valve’s Steam platform is the de facto marketplace all PC gamers go to and that’s exactly what Ryu Games wants for Flame. And to do that its going in the right direction by hiring former Steam founder Rick Ellis as the company’s Chief Product Officer (CPO).
Bringing with him a wealth of experience across console, PC and mobile gaming development, when it comes to Web3 gaming Ellis remarked in a statement: “Games that use NFTs and crypto are in their infancy, but their potential has already drawn millions of gamers to play these sometimes very simple games. The past few years have seen incredible advances in reducing blockchain’s negative environmental impact and lowering the cost of transactions. Meanwhile, serious game developers are heads down building the first generation of AAA titles built around open economies.”
“The last missing piece before mass adoption is a user experience to launch these games, he continued. “The technical and UX challenges Flame is solving are going to bridge the gap between gamers everywhere and the next internet — one that is owned by the users and not central authorities.”
Flame will serve not only as a Web3 videogame store and marketplace, it’ll encompass a multi-chain wallet and game launcher to help simplify the whole process – which up to know has been a little fragmented.
“The fact that millions of people are fighting through the friction and pain of onboarding to play crypto games and using NFTs is a testament to how fundamental a shift in blockchain tech can be to human-technology interaction,” adds Ross Krasner, CEO of Ryu Games. “For the first time, people truly own digital assets and can interact in permissionless systems. Gaming is always first to adopt new technologies, and to me, Flame is the last missing piece before Web3 games are just ‘games.’ We’re thrilled to bring on Rick, who built Steam, which today had almost 30 million concurrent users. To put in perspective, only about 3 million people have ever interacted with an NFT.”
Flame isn’t available at the moment, with a beta launch on the way. And it hasn’t yet revealed what titles the platform will offer or some of the finer details regarding how it operates. But it’s certainly looking to benefit from Steam’s ban on blockchain games and NFTs.
However, Flame isn’t the only one looking to explore this section of the growing Web3 market. Last month saw the reveal of LootRush, a similar Steam-like platform that had just secured a $12 million seed round. And then there’s Kongregate, the browser-based, Web2 gaming platform that’s turning to Web3.
As gmw3 receives further updates regarding Flame, we’ll let you know.
As the co-creator of Hololens and the chief of Microsoft’s mixed reality division, Alex Kipman has been the face of the company’s immersive efforts for several years now. That’s all coming to an end, with reports stating that Kipman will be leaving Microsoft after allegations of verbal abuse and sexual harassment surfaced.
Insiderreported the allegations back in May and it was the same site this week that first reported on Kipman resigning his position. While Microsoft has yet to officially comment on the report, Geekwire obtained an email from Scott Guthrie, the head of Microsoft’s Cloud & AI Group, announcing a restructuring of the Hololens group.
The hardware and software teams will be split between the Windows + Devices organisation and the Experiences + Devices division respectively. This hasn’t been an overnight decision it seems, with Guthrie stating in the email that: “Over the last several months, Alex Kipman and I have been talking about the team’s path going forward. We have mutually decided that this is the right time for him to leave the company to pursue other opportunities.” Kipman won’t be leaving right away. He’ll help the team’s transitions over the next couple of months before departing Microsoft.
What this will mean for Hololens is unclear as Kipman was by far Hololens’ (and mixed reality’s) most ardent supporter within Microsoft. The news comes at a turbulent time for the device as the US Army decides whether to continue with HoloLens development – called IVAS – for its soldiers, with reports suggesting that the 10-year, $21.9 billion USD contract might be delayed or reduced in size.
Alex Kipman and John Hanke at Microsoft Ignite
A Brazilian engineer, Kipman joined Microsoft in 2001 and worked within the Windows and Xbox teams – he helped create the Xbox Kinect sensor – before heading up the mixed reality division. Insider’s report last month saw dozens of staff detail his alleged behaviour to the publication. These included one employee saying Kipman watched what was essentially VR porn in front of others whilst another spoke of an incident where he kept massaging a female employee’s shoulders even though she was trying to shrug him off.
It was this pattern of continual inappropriate behaviour and unwanted touching that created an atmosphere where managers reportedly told staff women shouldn’t be left alone with him.
At the beginning of the year, the Wall Street Journal reported on more than 70 staff from the Hololens team leaving Microsoft in 2021, with 40 of those joining Meta.
For continued Hololens updates, keep reading gmw3.
The Tribeca Festival returns for 2022 this week with a massive selection of films, shorts, XR content and more, viewable online via desktop and virtual reality (VR) as well as physical events. For the first time, however, organisers have teamed up with Meta to showcase 20 Tribeca Shorts via Horizon Worlds for Meta Quest.
Amanda Seyfried in Skin & Bone. Image credit: Tribeca Festival
First reported by Variety, the selection of 20 short films will be shown in the new Venues section of the Horizon Worlds metaverse beginning this Friday, 10th June. Running for five days, each day will have a new selection so you’ll have to pop back to watch them all. Notable additions include Skin & Bone, a 17-minute horror starring Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia!, Chloe), directed and written by Eli Powers (Holy Moses).
“At Tribeca we always explore new ways of storytelling, so we are thrilled to partner with Meta and create our first shorts program to play in VR,” said Ben Thompson, head shorts programmer for Tribeca. “We have curated a range of Tribeca Festival films including out-of-this-world science fiction and impactful documentaries that will excite and inspire audiences in this new storytelling frontier.”
Oculus Venues used to be a separate app but last month Meta announced it would be merged with Horizon Worlds as the company builds its metaverse vision. Venues shuttered yesterday which means the only way to watch the Tribeca Shorts in VR is in North America, as Horizon Worlds is region locked currently. For everyone else, the shorts can be viewed via Tribeca’s Facebook page.
As you may have spotted, the festival has now dropped the “Film” part of its name because over the years it’s become so much more. Alongside the staple film selection, there are immersive experiences, videogames, and podcasts to enjoy. Tribeca Festival is both online and in-person in New York City, running from 8th-19th June 2022. For further updates keep reading gmw3.
Meta (formerly Facebook) has never officially released any sales figures for any of its virtual reality (VR) headsets but with the Meta Quest 2 dominating the industry maybe it will someday. For the time being, it falls to market intelligence firms like International Data Corporation (IDC) to fill in some of the blanks when it comes to how many units are actually out there. And according to IDC’s latest figures that’s almost 15 million.
.@MetaQuestVR OculusQuest2 is the most successful #VR headset to date. With nearly 15mn units sold since its announcement at @facebook Connect 7 in Sep 2020, the Quest2 has contributed to massive growth in VR sales & consumer adoption
— Francisco Jeronimo (He/Him) (@fjeronimo) June 6, 2022
That’s according to a Twitter post this week from IDC Associate VP of Devices EMEA Francisco Jeronimo, suggesting that 14.8 million Meta Quest 2 units – he does use the old Oculus Quest 2 name – have been sold since its launch in October 2020.
While this will never be confirmed by Meta, it’s probably fair to say that Quest 2 has breached the 10 million marker, an important milestone CEO Mark Zuckerberg has previously spoken of. During Facebook’s Q4 2020 earnings call he mentioned that 10 million VR users were needed for a sustainable ecosystem, ensuring VR developers could actually make money.
And a small selection has. Meta has been more open about the revenue generated by content, with the most recent figures coming from earlier this year where 8 games hit the $20 million barrier whilst 14 managed over $10 million. Over 120 titles successfully generated revenue in the millions, which could only be achieved with a headset selling in the millions.
Home VR has certainly benefitted from the pandemic as everyone has been stuck indoors looking for new things to do. As Jeronimo notes in his post, “VR Sales grew 97% in 2021 & 242% in 1Q22” indicating demand continues to increase. With lockdowns now ending for many countries, these figures may drastically change over the next 12 months.
Meta Quest 2 might be dominating VR sales at the moment but Meta isn’t stopping there with a recent report suggesting four more are planned between now and 2024. One, Project Cambria has already been confirmed for this year yet it won’t be a consumer product. The rest? Well, they could be next-gen Quest’s.
There are a bunch of virtual reality (VR) headsets due for release later this year, with the Lynx R1 expected to arrive first for early backers. When that’ll happen though remains fluid, with Lynx founder Stan Larroque recently confirming the launch is a “moving target” due to external factors. On the plus side, he revealed new details regarding the headsets’ controllers.
Larroque holds a live, unscripted, update/Q&A stream on YouTube each month where he’s open and honest about the headsets’ progress and issues the team is currently facing. It makes for a far different approach than most other VR hardware manufacturers but also highlights the problems a smaller startup can face. That includes having to adjust a launch window which has been stencilled in for June/July.
When asked about the shipping date during the Q&A portion, he said: “It’s a moving target. As I told you, sometime during the summer. I know that’s not a good answer but that’s all I can tell you. We still need answers for some of the components. We’ve secured all of the components on the main board which was a pain but we still have some things to figure between Taiwan and China; which is a complicated matter.”
So for the time being, backers will still need to be patient for one of the most interesting mixed reality (MR) headsets coming to market.
As for the controller news, Larroque said he had “very good news”. In collaboration with Finch, the Lynx R1 will get optically tracked controllers much like the Meta Quest, with a ring the headset can see. This will mean the Lynx R1 will be able to support a far wider array of VR games on platforms like Steam. Out the box, the headset will still be focused on hand tracking as the primary input method as there’s no release timing or pricing for the controller at the moment.
Fitness has become a huge part of the Meta Quest experience, whether that’s a casual rhythm videogame or a far more serious, workout-focused app. Keeping track of everything since 2020 is Oculus Move, giving you basic in-headset stats such as Move minutes and estimated calories burnt. Now the Move app is getting an upgrade, adding new features such as phone and Apple Heath integration.
With Apple hosting its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) yesterday, announcing new health features for its watch and iPhone platforms, Meta’s has got in on the action by giving users the option to sync their stats with Apple Health. Whether you’re working out in virtual reality (VR) or not, you’ll be able to sync everything together, automatically tracking those fitness routines on your iPhone or Apple Watch.
How to set up Move with Apple Health
“Connect Move with the Oculus mobile app,” (see below).
“Tap on the “Connected Apps” tab at the top.”
“Tap on the toggle next to “Apple Health” to enable syncing. You need to provide permissions for both “Active Energy” and “Workouts” to fully enable this feature.”
For non-Apple users, the Oculus Move app has become easier to use as it now integrates with the mobile app, a feature Meta previously revealed back in March 2022. So you can now see all your stats without having to jump into VR all the time.
How to set up Move on the Oculus App
“From the Move app in VR, tap on Settings in the bottom right corner.”
“Scroll down to “Connect Move to Oculus Mobile App” and toggle the switch on.”
“Your Move stats, including information like Move minutes, calories burned, and goals, will be encrypted and stored on our servers so you can track your fitness progress from the Oculus mobile app.”
“You can disconnect your Move stats from the Oculus mobile app at any time by going to your Move settings, and toggling the switch off for “Connect Move to Oculus Mobile App” while in-headset.”
When it comes to fitness on Meta Quest you’ve got plenty of software and hardware accessory options to pick from. Join up with monthly subscription workout apps like Supernatural and FitXR, or grab controller grips and new silicone facial interface covers to wipe the sweat away.
All these features have now begun to roll out, so you may not see them appear right away. For continued updates for Meta Quest, keep reading gmw3.
With its focus on virtual reality (VR) fitness, FitXR for Meta Quest not only offers energetic workouts but also the chance to exercise with professional athletes. Having seen Guinness World Record Holder Zion Clark join earlier in the year, for June FitXR welcomes two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and WBO World Champion, Nicola Adams.
Celebrating Pride month, Adams is a professional boxer and LGBTQ+ advocate and spokesperson, supporting the community by making fitness universally accessible and inclusive. Nicola kicks off FitXR’s Pride celebration with her first Box class, Boxing Gold, running through June. Additionally, Nicola will lead Box and Warm Up Cool Down classes to be released on a monthly basis.
“I’m delighted to call myself a FitXR trainer,” said Adams in a statement. “I’m a big gamer and I obviously love to work out so FitXR brings together two of my personal passions. My hope is that I can inspire people to get more active to build and maintain a healthy lifestyle. I’d also like to help grow confidence and show that fitness can indeed be fun.”
Away from her boxing career, Adams appeared on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing breaking new ground for the show with the first-ever same sex pairing. Whilst her documentary Lioness: The Nicola Adams Story premiered on Amazon Prime late last year.
“Our mission at FitXR is to offer inclusive fitness for all so we’re proud to support and educate via Pride-themed class content during this important month of acknowledgement and celebration,” said Kelly Cosentino, Director of Fitness at FitXR. “We’re also thrilled to add the amazing and inspirational Nicola Adams to our roster of talented trainers. And it’s wonderful to have Garret back with us, as he was always a FitXR member-favourite. It’s shaping up to be an exciting month and the team at FitXR is here for it!”
In addition to Nicola’s involvement, FitXR will be adding further Pride-themed content. There’s a new Rooftop Pride environment for the Box, HIIT and Dance studios this month, music from LGBTQ+ unsigned artists; FitXR trainers Karma and Frida will host two vogue-inspired dance classes, House of Stylz and House of Passion, and previous FitXR trainer Garret Caillouet returns with HIIT class Powered by Pride.
FitXR is a subscription-based fitness app exclusive to the Meta Quest platform with a 7-day free trial to test it out. After that, it’ll cost you $9.99 USD a month to continue the membership. For continued updates, keep reading gmw3.
VR Sales grew 97% in 2021 & 242% in 1Q22 
