After recently playing a prototype version of Laser Dance, I’ve been trying to wrap my head around what makes it so engaging. And it finally struck me. The game is a manifestation of the kind of simple rules that could turn any ordinary day in my childhood into an exciting adventure.

Immediately I recalled the classic childhood pastime of ‘the floor is lava’, the game where everyone has to pretend that the floor is entirely covered in lava, and touching it means you’ll die (not morbid at all, I know). So you have to climb on your furniture or hop […]

Thirdverse, the Japan-based VR studio behind Swords of Gargantua, Altair Breaker, and X8, announced that its VR multiplayer JRPG SOUL COVENANT is coming to all major headsets next month.

Developed by the core team behind SOUL SACRIFICE (2013), players are thrust into a post-apocalyptic Tokyo in the franchise’s first VR expansion.

Soul Covenant is said to feature a “deeply emotional narrative,” letting players explore humanity’s last bastion against the relentless onslaught of an AI-led genocidal army known as ‘Deus Ex Machina’.

While the game can be played in single player mode, it also supports up to four players in […]

It’s time to go out and touch grass, or rather cut it, because Lawn Mowing Simulator is now available on Quest 2/3/Pro.

UK-based studios Curve Games and Skyhook Games originally released Lawn Mowing Simulator on flatscreen monitors back in 2021, which included everything from modest country homes to palatial gardens ready for the trimming—all of which are patently British.

The VR version of the game, which is precisely what it says on the tin, includes all of that in addition to the game’s roster of licensed lawn mowers and string trimmers from manufacturers such as STIGA, SCAG, and EGO.

Besides trimming the grass and […]

Bandai Namco revealed in November that it was partnering with XR studio Atlas V (Gloom Eyes, BATTLESCAR) to release a Mobile Suit Gundam game for Quest. Now the studio has released the first teaser.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Silver Phantom is being pitched as a “virtual reality interactive movie,” which is said to provide fans with the opportunity to immerse themselves in the Gundam series in a new way and brand new story.

While the studios were previously very light on the detail when the project was announced late last year, it’s now been revealed the narrative will take place in the Universal Century 0096, […]

Meta this week announced Oculus Publishing Ignition, a “multi-million dollar” fund aimed at newly formed XR studios. The company is offering money for VR and MR prototypes, with the potential for follow-on funding to turn those prototypes into full titles.

Seemingly wanting to tap into the unfortunate number of recently laid off game developers, Meta’s new Oculus Publishing Ignition fund is specifically looking for XR studios that were formed on or after April 2023. The company says it plans to fund up to 20 teams before the end of 2024.

Those teams will receive three Quest 3 headsets and cash […]

Meta is once again reducing the price of Quest 2, this time bringing the 128GB version of its 2020-era standalone VR headset to just $200.

The company has made its new pricing scheme available both from Meta directly and from its partner retailers, which includes Amazon, Walmart, Target, Best Buy, New Egg, and more. Notably, the deal on Walmart includes $50 digital credit to use on games and apps.

The price drop is also affecting a number of countries, as the 128GB version […]

Sony announced last month it was bringing PC VR support to PSVR 2 sometime this year, although the company didn’t specify how or exactly when this would happen. While we’re no closer to knowing when, all signs now point to a direct wired connection—holding a few implications for Sony’s VR strategy.

According to the latest PS5 firmware update, PSVR 2 now works without needing Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) and DisplayPort Compression (DSC), two things which were baked into the headset’s firmware for use with PS5 consoles.

Here’s hardware analyst and YouTuber Brad Lynch’s […]

Apple is adding support for Vision Pro’s unique input system to WebXR, the web standard which allows XR experiences to run right from a web browser.

One of the most unique things about Apple Vision Pro is its input system which eschews motion controllers in favor of a ‘look and pinch’ system which combines eye-tracking with a pinch gesture. On the whole it’s a really useful way to navigate the headset, but because it works so differently than motion controllers, it doesn’t play too well with  WebXR.

But Apple is working to fix that. This week the company announced the […]

Since the launch of Quest 3, Meta has included a free copy of its latest and greatest first-party game, Asgard’s Wrath 2. Originally with a redemption deadline in January, the company has extended the offer several times, now pushing it out to the end of June.

Asgard’s Wrath 2 is perhaps the most ambitious Quest game yet launched, and for anyone who has bought a new Quest 3, the game has been bundled for free (normally $60).

The original bundle offer was set to expire in January, but Meta extended it several times. Today the company announced it is extending the […]

Impact Reality, the VR publishing and marketing firm, announced it’s formed a studio dedicated to porting flatscreen games to VR.

Called Flat2VR Studios, the venture is aimed at merging traditional video games with immersive VR experiences, and is said to engage leading developers from the VR modding scene to create officially licensed VR adaptations of popular flatscreen games.

“The Flat2VR community has proven there is a tremendous appetite to experience cherished games in an entirely new way with virtual reality,” said Elliott Tate, partner at Impact Reality and founder of the Flat2VR community. “With […]

Industry Direct by Rein Zobel, Creative Director & Co-founder at Maru VR Productions

Industry Direct is our program for sponsors who want to speak directly to the Road to VR newsletter audience. Industry Direct posts are written by sponsors with no involvement from the Road to VR editorial team. Links to these posts appear only in our newsletter and do not intermix with our on-site editorial feed. Industry Direct sponsors help make Road to VR possible.

About three years ago, after years of doing custom-made VR projects, we decided to start working on our own VR game: Bootstrap Island. […]

Cyan Worlds announced that RIVEN (1997), the sequel to iconic adventure game MYST (1993), is also getting VR support when its bespoke remake launches later this year.

The studio today revealed it’s releasing both flatscreen and VR modes sometime in 2024 when the game releases, having just updated its store page on Steam (also available on GOG) to include mention of VR headset support.

There’s no word on whether we can expect Cyan to build a Quest-native app as well, but at least we can confirm it’s getting SteamVR support.

Meta released a new mixed reality showcase for Unreal Engine developers that ought to help kickstart some Quest projects that use your room in fresh and interesting ways.

Phanto for Unreal, an open source port of the previously released Phanto project for Unity, was recently launched for Unreal Engine 5.3.

In Phanto, players combat ghostly foes invading their surroundings with various weapons. While it presents a slice of some fun and visually interesting gameplay, regular users can’t download it through either the Quest Store or SideQuest—at least not for now.

Instead, it was built to showcase best practices […]

VRAL Games, the publisher behind the SBK superbike mobile franchise, announced it’s publishing its first VR motorcycle racing game, coming to Quest and SteamVR headsets later this year.

Called VRIDER, the multiplayer game is set to be the official title of the Superbike World Championship, bringing 12 licensed circuits, 23 official riders, and five official superbikes model: Ducati Panigale V4 R, BMW S100RR, Kawasaki Ninja ZX 10RR, Honda CBR1000RR, and Yamaha YZF R1.

Image courtesy VRAL Games

Developed by Italian indie Funny Tales, the game offers support for up to eight online players, featuring in-race voice […]

HTC is sweetening the pot for VR developers selling content on its VIVEPORT VR storefront, on both PC VR and its standalone Vive XR Elite headset.

HTC announced today that it will be increasing the revenue share of sales made on its Viveport VR platform to 90%. That means the developer keeps 90% of the revenue from apps bought on the platform while the platform keeps only 10%.

Other major XR app stores—like Meta’s Quest store and Valve’s Steam store—generally give developers a 70% revenue share, while keeping 30% for the platform.

HTC says the new revenue split will apply starting […]

Industry Direct by Skonec Entertainment

Industry Direct is our program for sponsors who want to speak directly to the Road to VR newsletter audience. Industry Direct posts are written by sponsors with no involvement from the Road to VR editorial team. Links to these posts appear only in our newsletter and do not intermix with our on-site editorial feed. Industry Direct sponsors help make Road to VR possible.

Today, we are thrilled to unveil an exhilarating trailer for our upcoming VR game, Strike Rush.

The official release of Strike Rush is scheduled for April. However, pre-orders are already available on the […]