IO Interactive and UK-based studio XR Games announced they’re bringing a new version of stealth-action game Hitman 3 exclusively to Meta Quest 3 this summer.
Hitman 3 came along with VR support for the original PSVR at launch in 2021, later bringing Agent 47’s most recent exploits to PC VR headsets with the Windows version a few months later.
Now, a version called Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded is slated to arrive exclusively on Quest 3, which is described as have been “[r]ebuilt from the ground up for VR,” including a completely overhauled user interface and “enhanced movement mechanics” beyond the versions for PSVR and PC VR headsets.
It’s also set to include dual weapon-wielding (finally), enhanced interactive environments, more locomotion options, and other visual enhancements—chief of which is a new cel-shaded art style, which ought to help cut down on the extensive compute load that the game’s dense crowds and large maps were sure to cause on Quest 3.
In collaboration with IO Interactive, Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded is being overhauled for Quest 3 by XR Games, which is also known for having brought a number of titles to various VR headsets over the years, including the upcoming Zombie Army VR from Rebellion, as well as past titles Zombieland VR: Headshot Fever, Jurassic World Aftermath, Shadow Point, and Angry Birds Under Pressure VR.
“We are excited to partner with IO Interactive to bring HITMAN 3 VR: Reloaded to life on the Meta Quest 3,” said Bobby Thandi, Founder and CEO of XR Games. “Our teams have worked tirelessly to bring this huge AAA franchise to VR. We knew the HITMAN audience demanded the absolute best VR experience, and only the Meta Quest 3 could power such large environments, dense crowds and emergent sandbox gameplay. With dual-wielding, a stunning new art-style, new features and improvements, we believe HITMAN 3 VR: Reloaded will set a new standard for bringing AAA franchises to Meta Quest.”
Whatever the case, we’re hoping it does a fair bit to fix some of the porting issues we remember from the PC VR-supported version of the game, which players have ranked ‘Mostly Negative’ on Steam.
There’s no exact launch date for Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded yet, with the studios saying it should launch sometime in Summer 2024. In the meantime, you can pre-order Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded for Quest 3here.
Skydance Interactive, the studio behind The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners franchise, is getting the hype train fueled for its next big single-player VR game, Skydance’s BEHEMOTH, which promises to bring a bevy of immersive melee combat and epic adventuring to all major VR headsets later this year.
We haven’t gone hands-on yet, although we got an early look at an extended gameplay session from a vertical slice, which takes you to the first gigantic boss—your first Behemoth of many.
We also got a chance to speak to Shawn Kittelsen, Vice President of Creative for the game, where we learned a bunch of new information about Behemoth, which, as you’d imagine, borrows a solid amount of interaction stuff pioneered in the studio’s critically-acclaimed Saints & Sinners franchise.
Gameplay: just the tip of a 12-hour iceberg
The new video shows off a good deal beyond the first official gameplay video released late last week. The caveat here is the vertical slice was an abbreviated version of the game that cuts down on the initial tutorial, and removes some spaces in between areas to showcase more of what the game is all about. We learned Behemoth is going to be heavy on diegetic interfaces—the sort of in-world interactions that notably shy away from menus, screens, and laser pointer-style stuff you might see in games not originally built with VR immersion in mind. It’s an ‘immersion-first’ design concept anyone will recognize from Saints & Sinners which promises crafting things with your own two hands and experiencing the world more or less naturally.
Take a look at nine-minute video below, which we edited to include only first-person interactions. It features a ton of stuff, which we break down in more detail below, although you’ll notice we’ve left out much of the big Behemoth boss fight at the end, which was done on the studio’s request to let players figure out how to take down the hulking beast by themselves.
No spoilers here: the video’s final boss fight is filled with innovative interactions that challenge you to face an enemy that is reactive, and not a scripted environmental object in nature. Basically, it’s a big enemy the size of a skyscraper who is actively targeting you as you do your best to identify weak points and avoid the hulking beast’s world-shaking blows.
Ok, so here’s a breakdown of what you might have already gathered from the video above, supplemented with information from Kittelsen:
Stepping into the boots of voiceless protagonist Wren, we learn that we’re infected with a blight that has created a place called ‘The Forsaken Lands’, which is full of other infected foes who worship the Behemoths. Why? We don’t know, but like the curse in Princess Mononoke, the blight gives the infected (Wren included) a sort of super strength you can activate to execute powerful melee moves, and also bash through doors and other breakable barriers.
From the video, you’ll notice that locomotion is centered around stick-based walking, climbing, dashing (re: no jumping), and traversing the world with your trusty wrist-mounted grappling hook, which can be done by selecting bespoke attach points across the map. While it’s not an open world game, we’re told it will include fast travel so you can revisit bits you may have missed, making doubling back much less of a hassle.
Image courtesy Skydance Games
One of the most crucial bits to all of this is undoubtedly combat, which is where things get interesting. Kittelsen showed off some of the game’s physics-based weapons, which includes three major ‘hero’ weapons: an axe, a single-handed sword, and a two-handed sword. It’s not going to be a waggle-fest either, as weapons have weight to them, requiring you make large slicing arcs to do any appreciable damage.
Swing too fast, and the tip of your sword will lag, and your slice will be less effective. Essentially, the game appears to be forcing you into more ‘epic’ interactions, which means you’ll need to be precise and pensive in how you deal with each weapon class.
Image courtesy Skydance Games
Since you stick with those three weapons throughout the game, you’re given an opportunity to upgrade them as you go, giving each a bevy of special powers beyond their default ability to be tossed and recalled in mid-air like Thor’s hammer.
The same isn’t true for scavenged weapons, although you can collect them and dispense them from your inventory by simply selecting any one of the four holsters spots (both shoulders, both hip-sides) and ostensibly using that as your scavenged weapons dump. Yup, that includes bows too.
Image courtesy Skydance Games
The gameplay video is rightfully heavy on combat, showing off its physics-based system which is very much about parrying blows, dashing out of the way of unblockable blows, and destroying armor, and aiming for enemy weak points. Enemies telegraph those unblockable moves with a faint red glint on the end of their weapon, which means you better get the hell out of Dodge.
Kittelsen says that, thanks to the super strength ability, you can technically play the game entirely barehanded, although it will be a lot tougher and probably less fun overall. Since the keywords here are diegetic interfaces, you won’t see any floating health bars over enemy heads, so we’re keen to learn more about how enemies display health status outside of missing a limb.
In contrast to how Saints & Sinners was at its initial launch, you’ll also be able to save at progressive save points during your forward trip through the world, which are represented as totems that require you to place both palms on them to activate—which you’ll typically find before big encounters.
Image courtesy Skydance Games
Kittelsen told us that, had we been able to go hands-on with the final built, it would have taken us around two hours to go from the beginning to the main boss. There’s only so much you can say though without going hands-on ourselves, which we’re hoping to do fairly soon so we can get a better idea of whether the game really does nail melee the way we hope it has.
We’re also looking forward to seeing more of the game’s environmental puzzles, and really bite into the core gameplay loop to see if the promised 12-hour campaign is going to serve up the sort of challenging and satisfying action we loved so much in Saints & Sinners.
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Skydance’s Behemoth is slated to launch sometime in Fall 2024 on all major VR headsets, including SteamVR, Quest 2/3 and PSVR 2.
Meta announced its annual Connect developer conference is set to kick off this year on September 25th-26th, which we’re hoping comes with a few key reveals and info drops we’ve definitely been waiting for.
There’s no schedule published for now, only a sign-up portal for future updates, which the company says could include “previews of our speakers, sessions and featured tech.” There’s likely set to be an in-person element for a select few, and a bunch of livestreams for everyone else to tune in to.
Historically, Meta typically does its big hardware showcases at Connect, which gives it a chance to motivate support among developers. Whether it’s an announcement or an official release date, Connect is just as important to consumers as it is developers.
At Connect 2024, we’re hoping to hear more about the recently leaked Quest 3S, which is rumored to be the company’s next affordable headset to supplant Quest 2. We haven’t seen the headset in question, so there’s plenty to learn between now and late September.
Image courtesy Meta
Between now and then, we’re also curious to learn more about how Meta will be handling its upcoming third-party release of HorizonOS, as it plans to release its XR operating system to third-party OEMs for the first time, which will include three initial partners: ASUS, Lenovo, and an Xbox-branded Quest device. We still haven’t seen any of those devices, and it’s a good bet that Connect could be the place to do it.
Connect isn’t the only place for game and app announcements—between now and then there is typically some sort of Quest Game Showcase as well as Gamescom in August—however its developer conference represents a historical opportunity to showcase upcoming content. We may see some heavy-hitting platform exclusives there which will help direct eyeballs to its growing third-party platform.
Among the sessions to likely look forward to: CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s keynote outlining his vision for the near future of the platform as it grows beyond first-party hardware, CTO Andrew ‘Boz’ Bosworth’s updates on the company’s social platform Horizon, and a prescient roadmap from Reality Labs chief scientist Michael Abrash, and possibly a good slate of developer talks that will dive into flushing out the platform’s mixed reality capabilities.
Whatever the case, we’ll be keeping an eye out for leaks, rumors, and of course the upcoming talk schedule Meta is set to release in the coming months, so check back soon.
What are you hoping to see at Connect 2024? Let us know in the comments below!
Somnium Space, makers of the upcoming Somnium VR1 PC VR headset, announced it’s partnering with TG0, the team behind the unique finger-tracking motion ‘etee controller’ that launched out of Kickstarter in 2020.
The companies announced they’re are releasing a hardware bundle deal featuring both the Somnium VR1 headset and the etee controllers from TG0.
Customers who reserve a Somnium VR1 headset, starting at €1,900 (~$2,060 USD), will receive a 20% discount code for a pair of SteamVR-tracked etee controllers, which are typically priced at $492.
The controllers feature full finger-tracking and an open-hand design that allows you to pinch, point, and swipe while doing stuff in 6DOF, which is thanks to the modular SteamVR-compatible tracking arm that snaps onto the controller body. Take a look at the unboxing below to see it in action:
As you’d imagine, etee controllers aren’t really targeting hardcore gamers who need reliable binary button input, like you might find on Meta Touch or PSVR 2 Sense controller, but rather things like training, art, therapy, social XR, and more. Check out our Q&A with the company’s interface product design specialist Mick Lin to learn more.
While it’s still not certain exactly when Somnium VR1 is set to ship, it seems we’re getting fairly close, as the company announced its first slate of headsets have left the factory floor and will be used as R&D devices as the company dials in assembly and manufacturing tolerances.
Somnium VR1 | Image courtesy Somnium Space
Featuring a 2,880 × 2,880 QD-LCD with Mini LED panels, a wide 130-degree horizontal field of view, and SteamVR tracking, Somnium VR1 is primarily targeting high-end gaming and professional applications.
Thanks to its modular design, users can customize their headset with a number of components, which includes high-resolution passthrough cameras, eye-tracking unit, and hand-tracking add-ons.
You can check out more specs and reserve a base VR1 headset, or ones kitted with the components mentioned above exclusively through Somnium’s website, while you’ll find all versions of the etee controllers over on TG0’s etee contoller website.
It was revealed in early 2023 that Meta was internally cooking up a new Quest headset to ship 2024, which the company mentioned it hoped would make the platform more accessible to consumers. Now, the naming scheme ‘Quest 3S’ has appeared in a recent app listing, seemingly confirming previous rumors of Meta’s next headset.
As seen in the Quest Store listing for XR fitness app Alo Moves XR, the name ‘Quest 3S’ has appeared, which ostensibly points to the company’s next headset.
Whether this is supposed to be that ‘more accessible’ (re: cheaper) headset in question remains to be seen, but it’s a good bet.
Image captured by Road to VR
While you might think it could simply be a mistake made by any studio, Alo Moves XR is notably being published by Meta and developed by Magnopus, the same studio that worked with Meta to create an open source Unity demo built to showcase some of the most compelling things you can do in MR.
It’s not clear when Meta hopes to announce the supposed Quest 3S, also referred to in prior rumors as ‘Quest 3 Lite’. Its next big opportunity will be Connect 2024, which typically happens in October. The company tends to announce headsets there, so we’ll just have to wait and see.
Meanwhile, Meta has slashed the price of Quest 2, bringing the 128GB version of its 2020-era standalone VR headset to just $200. This comes as the company has repositioned itself more as a platform holder and not a sole manufacturer as such, evidenced by the announcement it will be releasing its XR operating system to third-party OEMs for the first time. That’s set to include XR devices running Meta’s HorizonOS from a three initial partners ASUS, Lenovo, and Xbox—promising to bring a number of Quest-like standalones to the forefront in the near future.
Saber Interactive, the studio behind hit off-roading simulator MudRunner (2017), released a VR take on the game that brings a more immersive slice of the original’s action to Quest for the first time.
MudRunner VR isn’t a 1:1 port as such, instead bringing a brand new adventure which includes new vehicles, missions, maps, and game physics too, letting you play completely in first-person, replete with knobs, steering wheel, and a tablet which you can use for navigation.
The single-player VR game includes all of the muck-inducing weather and boggy terrain too, challenging you to traverse treacherous mud, fierce rivers, rocky paths, and more on your way to your end goal—playable in either story or free-play mode.
While the flatscreen original includes 19 vehicles, the VR spin-off only has eight for now, although it looks to include a good selection of flatbeds, repair modules, log carriers and other backwoods work vehicles.
Also, you won’t be strapped into the cockpit the entire time either, as you’ll get the opportunity to step outside to attach the winch, refuel and more. You can grab the game today on Quest 2/3/Pro on the Quest Store, priced at $20.
Indie studio ManaBrigade and publisher Fast Travel Games today announced that BlackForge: A Smithing Adventure, a fantasy VR blacksmithing game, is now available on Quest and PC VR headsets.
Update (June 13th, 2024): BlackForge: A Smithing Adventure is now available on Quest 2/3/Pro and PC VR headsets via Steam. On Steam, it will be discounted for the next two weeks by 20% from its normal $20 price.
The studio also included a fresh launch trailer, showing off more of the game’s cozy smithing action:
Original Article (May 30th, 2024): The game, which is described as a “cosy, fantasy crafting experience” is set to launch on Quest 2/3/Pro and SteamVR headsets on June 13th, priced at $20.
Here’s how ManaBrigade describes the game:
BlackForge: A Smithing Adventure is a wholesome and deceptively skillful VR smithing game in which players have the chance to run their very own forge. Using realistic VR interactions, they’ll sculpt and shape metal, weld materials, chop wood and more as they strive to create fine tools and epic weapons. Before sending them off, players can even test their creations on a combat dummy. The game includes a full campaign in which players will learn new skills as they complete requests from townsfolk and adventurers, handed down by a trusty merchant.
At launch, BlackForge: A Smithing Adventure will include a full smithing campaign and story, the ability to heat and shape metals as well as sculpt and shape wood to make versatile tools, your very own forge spirit pet, and a handy combat dummy so you can test out your weapons and see if they’re up to snuff.
You can now pre-order the game on Quest, which includes a 20% discount. You’ll also have a chance to nab it on Steam for a 20% discount, which will be active for two weeks following launch.
VirtualAge and Fast Travel Games today launched a new update for sci-fi shooter Guardians Frontline (2023), which brings a gigantic new enemy type to the co-op and single-player game alongside a number of new features.
Called ‘The Queen Update’, starting today players on Quest and SteamVR will get a chance to go face-to-face with a supersize enemy, simply called ‘the Queen’.
We’re told her weak points should be targeted for a quick death (head and tail). Anything else, and it will take “considerably longer” to dispatch the massive foe, VirtualAge says.
The update, which is free across all supported platforms, also brings new tactics to standard enemies in what the studios call ‘Nydus Tunnels’, or portals that allow baddies to quickly jump between points on a map. Destroy both the entrance and exit to shut them down for good.
Other items in the update include new weapon skins and a few improvements, bug fixes, and mode tweaks too. New to the game is a Conquer Mode Time Limit and Squad only maps, letting map makers now set a time limit for their Conquer maps, and configure the missions to be Squad mode only.
Developed by VirtualAge and published by Fast Travel Games, the studios are also offering Quest players the option to support continued work on the game with an in-game purchase package, which includes a research point, minerals, and exclusive avatars.
Fresh out of stealth last year, AR workstation startup Sightful today unveiled Spacetop G1, which promises to let you work in AR for up to seven hours before needing a recharge.
Initially revealed last year alongside the announcement the company had secured $61 million in funding, Sightful’s ‘headless AR laptop’ concept is pretty straightforward: headsets like Meta Quest 3 or Apple Vision Pro only have two to three hours of battery life, and need a keyboard anyway for reliable text input, so why not optimize a dedicated laptop to use a lightweight pair of AR glasses?
Enter Spacetop G1, which is the company’s first commercially available product following the early access version the company released in limited quantities last year. The new Spacetop G1 promises up to seven hours of battery life, a new, 70% faster Qualcomm chipset over the early access version, 90hz optics refresh rate, and onboard AI functionality.
Image courtesy Sightful
There are a few caveats to being the company’s first widely-available product. While Spacetop G1 can be reserved for $100 at sightful.com, the device is said to ship in October this year for $1,900, which—not to split hairs—is basically the price of the supplied XREAL Air 2 Ultra glasses ($700) that drives Spacetop G1 visual interactions and a new, low-spec MacBook Air.
Also, unlike a conventional laptop, Spacetop G1 uses its own SpaceOS. Much like a Chromebook, SpaceOS is an Android-based operating system that puts a heavy focus on web apps, which, at the time of this writing, doesn’t have access to the Google Play store.
Image courtesy Sightful
Still, the company is hoping it will strike a chord with users who value privacy—since it’s technically headless, nobody can see what you’re seeing—as well as productivity-minded people who want multi-monitors on the go, and a comparatively long battery life. And yes, there’s even a webcam. You can check out the specs below, and also get a fuller picture on the company’s website.
Founded in 2020 by ex-Magic Leap executives Tamir Berliner (CEO) and Tomer Kahan (COO) and headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sightful now boasts 60+ employees working across product management, UX/UI, core software, cloud, applications, marketing, computer vision, systems, and design.
Specs
XREAL Air 2 Ultra Glasses
Type: 2X OLED display panels
Resolution: 1920×1080 pixels per eye
Refreshrate: 90Hz
Field of view (diagonal): 50°
Pixels per degree (PPD): 42 pixels
Custom prescription lenses: -8.00D to +6.00D
Computer
Chip: Qualcomm Snapdragon QCS8550
CPU: KRYO
GPU: Adreno 740
AI: Dual eNPU V3, 48 INT8, 12 FP16 TOPs
Memory: 16 GB LPDDR5
Storage: 128 GB UFS3.1 (102 GB available)
Battery: 60W
Peripheral ports: 2x USB-C up to 10 Gb/s
Connectivity: Wi‑Fi 7 (802.11abgn/ac/ax/be), Bluetooth 5.3, 5G/LTE NR Sub-6 through eSIM, Nano-SIM card slot
Sony announced it’s slated to release its long-awaited PC VR adapter for PSVR 2, which will finally let users play PC VR content like Half-Life: Alyx (2020), Fallout 4 VR (2017), and more. Besides requiring a VR-ready PC, you’ll also need to shell out $60 bucks for the adapter itself, and need to watch out for a few caveats too.
Update (June 3rd, 2024): Sony announced in a blog post that it’s finally releasing its official PlayStation VR2 PC adapter starting on August 7th, priced at $59.99 / €59.99 / £49.99. The adapter will be available through select retailers and direct.playstation.com.
While a welcome sight, Sony does list a few notable cavets. In addition to needing a Steam account and a PC that meets the minimum requirements—check here to see if your PC is ready for VR—players will need to bring their own DisplayPort cable that is compatible with DisplayPort 1.4.
Also, Sony says when playing on PC, the adapter won’t serve up HDR, headset feedback, eye tracking, adaptive triggers, and haptic feedback other than rumble. It will however benefit from a number of obvious hardware features, such as its 2,000 × 2,040 per eye resolution, 110-degree field of view, finger touch detection, and see-through view, as well as foveated rendering (without eye tracking) and 3D Audio in supported games.
The original article reporting on the adapter’s recent certification in South Korea follows below:
Original Article (May 29th, 2024): Sony said earlier this year it was bringing PC VR support to PSVR 2, and while we still don’t know when that’s set to arrive, it appears the company is nearing the final steps thanks to a certification with the competent certifying authority in South Korea
As reported by tech analyst and YouTuber Brad ‘SadlyItsBradley’ Lynch, Sony has certified the ‘PlayStation VR2 PC Adapter’ with South Korea’s National Radio Research Agency, which is tasked with certifying and controlling all things radio-related in that country.
Sony has been very sparse with info following the initial annonce in February that it was going to support PC VR gameplay on PSVR 2 somehow, however now it’s clear the company will be providing/selling its own first-party adapter to do the job.
When this will happen is still a mystery, as the certification itself was completed in late March, which is typically one of the last steps a product needs to achieve before official launch.
Freeing PSVR 2 from its PS5-exclusive tether could be interpreted as somewhat of a white flag from Sony, as the company hasn’t tipped its hand on what sort of exclusive content to expect on the headset beyond its smattering of launch window content, including its biggest exclusive to date, Horizon Call of the Mountain (2023).
