Plenty of virtual reality (VR) fitness apps like FitXR and Supernatural have gone down the gym route of charging a monthly subscription rather than a singular one-off price like most videogames. Liteboxer VR also chose this path when it launched in March, receiving a far more negative response from the community than rivals. So Liteboxer VR has now released a free subscription model allowing access to some, but not all features.
Going that step further than the limited 7-day trials other VR fitness apps offer, Liteboxer VR’s free subscription service grants users access to a curated selection of 65 workouts and music. You can continue using that service indefinitely or pay for the premium subscription; offering over 300 workouts, new content released daily and tracks thanks to a partnership with Universal Music.
“VR fitness is what’s next for connected fitness and at-home workouts. We’re seeing sales spike since a Meta Quest is more affordable to purchase compared to a Peloton, Hydrow, Mirror – even Liteboxer,” said Jeff Morin, CEO of Liteboxer. “This was a huge driving factor for launching the free subscription model. We want to democratize working out for all and we believe working out in the Metaverse is the next big thing.”
In addition to the free subscription, Liteboxer VR has rolled out several new features. “Mitt Drills” give you a real-life trainer for the entirety of the workout, rather than voice-overs or trainer cameos. “Challenges” are head-to-head matches where other players try to beat your score. And then there are the hand tracking 2.0 improvements which Meta recently announced – Liteboxer getting to test the features early – so that players can use weights to make their workout more intense.
These additions should help Liteboxer VR because as gmw3 said in its review: “Liteboxer VR is a slick set-up, for what it is, and leads the way in hand tracked workouts. Punching away – sans controllers – to some catchy tunes was fun, no doubt about it, and I wish more VR fitness apps used hand tracking. However, it’s hard to see the value in paying that amount of money per month for what’s essentially a digital punching wall.”
Quest’s latest fitness app Liteboxer has added a new free tier to its subscription model, giving users unlimited access to a selection of workouts without committing to the premium paid tier.
Liteboxer launched two months ago as another paid fitness subscription service on Quest, following in the footsteps of similar offerings from Supernatural and FitXR, available for $18.99/month with a seven-day trial period. Two months on, the service is now offering a free tier as well. While Supernatural and FitXR both offer seven-day trials, Liteboxer is the first to offer a tier for unlimited free access. It includes unlimited access to over 65 workouts, including some with real trainers and music from “chart-topping artists.”
That being said, the service’s Universal Music partnership featuring tracks from high-profile artists like Lady Gaga, Ariane Grande and more is exclusive to the paid $18.99/month subscription. Alongside premium music, the paid subscription grants access to 300+ workouts, daily content and extra workout environments.
While most VR fitness apps feature some form of virtual boxing, the Liteboxer service is actually a virtual adaptation of a physical product. Ironically, the physical Liteboxer works similar to a VR rhythm game – you punch a circular arrangement of six targets as they light up to the beat of music tracks.
Liteboxer VR brings this full circle, allowing you to box against a virtual version of machine, set to a variety of music tracks. The app supports hand tracking as well, so you can put the controllers down and gets as close to the real thing as possible. Support for Hand Tracking 2.0 has also been implemented, so your punches should be tracked more reliably than ever.
Five years ago you couldn’t scroll through a virtual reality (VR) content store and not continually see listing after listing of wave shooters available. It kind of feels like it’s getting that way with fitness titles, as there’s been a boon thanks to the pandemic and people wanting to exercise at home whilst taking them out of their four walls for a moment. But which to choose, and do you go down the subscription route so many are now embracing? To make that decision a bit harder is the latest fitness app for Meta Quest 1 & 2, Liteboxer VR, and if you’re looking for a bare-bones boxing workout this is it.
Liteboxer VR is based on its real-world sibling, a $1695 system that includes a six-zoned punching wall and floor stand – there’s even a free Quest 2 offer running at the moment! Kind of like those reaction walls, the idea is to punch a section in time with the music, following a rolling light that heads to the centre of each section. The more accurate you are the more points you score, easy yeah?
And that’s exactly what you get in the VR version, just without the solid thump at the end of every punch. So this makes Liteboxer VR a very simple setup, choose your song from the huge selection of both chart-toppers and more golden oldies and start punching away. The thing is it’s not exactly an engrossing fitness experience, especially when you’re dropping $19 a month on it.
Initially, I quite liked Liteboxer VR’s simplicity. No distracting visuals or glorious vistas to concern me with, just me the Liteboxer shield and some tunes. The gameplay becomes almost hypnotic at points as my eye trains on the centre of the shield to equally see all six segments. I keep swapping my punches so that sometimes they cross my body, right hand hitting a left target and vice versa, then at other points swapping that around as well. All the while using the Quest controllers so I kept that sense of physicality to each punch, like hands inside a mitt.
After a while, though these fitness games make you sweat so it was time for a quick brow mop and to put those controllers to one side. Hand tracking time. This is almost my favourite feature in Liteboxer VR purely because so few fitness apps actually use it (this might actually be the first?). Meta Quest’s hand tracking has greatly improved over the years but even so, you can’t help think that it’ll struggle to handle the speed at which you need to punch. In reality, hand tracking works really well, just don’t look at your virtual hands is my only advice. When purely focusing on punching Liteboxer VR would record each hit but the visual rendering would take a slight moment to catch up. That delay would screw up my timing if I watched my hands so focusing on the shield proved to be a better option.
It was also nice to see the rich roster of music thanks to Liteboxer’s partnership with Universal Music Group, from Nicki Minaj and Lil Wayne, through to Lady Gaga, Papa Roach, The Beach Boys and The Weeknd. In the Punch Tracks mode, you can go through the entire music roster, star your favourite tracks or filter them into different genres. Further depth to the experience can be found by way of a couple of other modes such as the Trainer Classes and Sparring Sessions. The Trainer Classes feature nine Liteboxer trainers who’ll talk you through various workouts and they are nice to have around as the environment does get a bit dingy after a while. Sparring Sessions combine the Trainer and Punch Tracks together so you get multi-track workouts for a longer session.
Something was amiss however, boxing isn’t just about jabs and crosses which was all I’d been doing. It was in the Trainer Classes that Liteboxer VR thankfully added extras like an uppercut and duck option. Seems a bit weird that boxing fundamentals such as these didn’t regularly appear, and then I found out why; the slipping was just awful. Having gotten so used to slipping or ducking under a fist or rapidly approaching object, the fact that both of these motions are activated by a briefly illuminating light was such an anti-climax.
The Liteboxer VR experience dissolves even further when comparing it to all the other fitness apps out there. Liteboxer isn’t offering you loads of interactive content for that price, you’re getting less. And it all comes down to that Liteboxer Shield system, staring at those same six illuminated points hour after hour. When it comes to subscription-based apps two instantly come to mind, Supernaturaland FitXR. Both offer far more variety when it comes to working out, Supernatural has more of a Beat Saber vibe going for it, enhanced physical gameplay thanks to ducking and dodging obstacles as well as some beautiful visuals. Its major drawback, subscriptions are only for North American customers. FitXR, on the other hand, is cheaper and has HIIT/Dance and Box studios. Again, providing that full-body workout. Or there’s always Les Mills Bodycombatif you really don’t like subscription-based models.
Liteboxer VR is a slick set-up, for what it is, and leads the way in hand tracked workouts. Punching away – sans controllers – to some catchy tunes was fun, no doubt about it, and I wish more VR fitness apps used hand tracking. However, it’s hard to see the value in paying that amount of money per month for what’s essentially a digital punching wall; no hooks required. With the VR fitness genre as competitive as the sports they’re emulating, newbies have to bring their A-game and Liteboxer VR doesn’t quite hit the mark.
There’s yet another fitness-focused VR boxing subscription service on the way to Quest. This time it’s Liteboxer.
Set to release on March 3, Liteboxer has you punching targets to the beat. You’ll get tips and tricks from trainers, and the game tracks the power, accuracy, and timing of your punch.
Liteboxer Coming To Quest
Unlike other rhythm-based games, Liteboxer sees you working with a terminal that lights up where you need to hit rather than a constant stream of notes coming towards you like in Beat Saber. Music, meanwhile, promises tracks from Justin Bieber, Bon Jovi, The Weeknd, and Imagine Dragons amongst others.
Liteboxer hopes to compete with Supernatural and FitXR, joining the list of VR apps with a monthly subscription service. We recently updated our list of the best apps to get you moving in VR and published a guide on how to get started. As for Liteboxer, membership costs $18.99 a month, though there’s a free seven-day trial for anyone that wants to take a look.
Fitness has become a big part of the VR landscape since the launch of the original Quest a few years ago. If you’re looking for something that lets you experience what VR fitness has to offer with a one-time fee, we quite enjoyed the recently-released Les Mills Bodycombat.
Will you be trying out Liteboxer? Let us know in the comments below!
Every weekend gmw3 gathers together vacancies from across the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) industries, in locations around the globe to help make finding that ideal job easier. Below is a selection of roles that are currently accepting applications across a number of disciplines, all within departments and companies that focus on immersive entertainment.
Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hubto check as well.
If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).
We’ll see you next week on gmw3 at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.
