Google wants to help developers make experiences like Maps’ new ‘immersive’ view

Image: Google Google wants to make it easier for others to make powerful mixed reality experiences with the official release of a new Google Cloud tool, Immersive Stream for XR. The tool lets you scan a QR code or click a link to access a mixed reality ... more - theverge

Google’s head of VR is leaving to form an AI company with the former co-CEO of Salesforce

Image: Ramin Talaie / Getty Images Clay Bavor, Google’s vice president of its forward-looking Labs division, is leaving the company to found an AI startup, as announced in a post on Bavor’s LinkedIn on Wednesday. Longtime Verge readers may recognize ... more - theverge

Meta’s VR hellscape might soon be invaded by children

Image: Meta Meta’s planning to open up Horizon Worlds to users aged 13 to 17, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal . In an internal memo viewed by the outlet, Meta says it wants to make the virtual reality-based social platform available ... more - theverge

FTC won’t appeal court decision permitting Meta to buy Within

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge The Federal Trade Commission will not appeal a recent federal court order allowing Meta to purchase VR startup Within, an agency official told reporters on Monday. The FTC sued to stop Meta’s acquisition of Within, ... more - theverge

Here’s why Meta is shutting down Echo VR

Image: Meta Last week, Meta announced that it would be shutting down the widely praised VR game Echo VR in August . Since then, Meta CTO Andrew “Boz” Bosworth has shared some further details about the shutdown, and former Meta consulting CTO John Carmack ... more - theverge

Sony answers your burning PSVR2 questions in an extensive new FAQ

We’re just a couple weeks away from the launch of the new headset. | Image: Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Sony has posted an extensive FAQ about the PlayStation VR2 ahead of the imminent launch of the next-generation virtual reality headset. Though a lot ... more - theverge

EA and Meta weren’t the only companies to ax games this week

Apex Legends Mobile is one of the games shutting down. | Image: EA Over the course of this week, the developers of several major live service titles announced that their games would be shutting down. That means that players who actively enjoyed those ... more - theverge

A remastered version of Myst is coming to iOS

Indie studio Cyan is bringing its latest Myst remaster to iOS. | Image: Cyan The classic puzzle game Myst is celebrating its 30th birthday this year with a new way to play: on your iOS device. Myst Mobile is based on the remastered version of the original ... more - theverge

Meta’s Quest 3 headset will have better mixed reality tech, according to Zuckerberg

The current-gen Quest 2. | Photo by Owen Grove / The Verge A key feature from Meta’s $1,499.99 Quest Pro headset will make an appearance — in some form — in a more affordable consumer-focused headset coming later this year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in ... more - theverge

Meta reportedly wins fight to buy VR startup Within

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge A California judge is reportedly allowing Meta to close its acquisition of virtual reality fitness startup Within, despite an ongoing antitrust case by the Federal Trade Commission. Bloomberg reports that a pair ... more - theverge

Wednesday’s top tech news: happy Samsung Unpacked day to all who observe

Image: Samsung Plus we say goodbye to a VR classic, and AMD issues a prediction on when PC sales might pick up. Continue reading… ... more - theverge

Meta is inexplicably shutting down one of the best Oculus games

We’ve called it a cross between the Battle School from Ender’s Game and ultimate frisbee. We’ve called it Final Fantasy X blitzball meets VR. It made two of our Best VR Games lists — three, if you count the one I did for CNET before returning to The ... more - theverge

PlayStation VR2 sales expectations reportedly halved after disappointing preorders

Sony originally estimated that it would shift two million PSVR2 units this quarter. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Sony has reportedly reduced sales projections for the launch of the PlayStation VR2 after receiving fewer preorders than expected ... more - theverge

Meta is testing members-only worlds for its social VR platform

Some Horizon Worlds avatars hanging out around a virtual campfire. | Image: Meta Meta is starting to test members-only worlds in Horizon Worlds , its social VR platform, which will allow people to build curated worlds for a select community of users. ... more - theverge

The Meta Quest Pro is $400 off this week

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Meta has given its professional Meta Quest Pro headset a temporary $400 discount, bringing its cost down to $1,099 in the US. The deal, which, according to CNET , runs for one week in the US and two weeks in ... more - theverge

Apple is reportedly working on a way to make AR apps that’s as simple as talking to Siri

“Hey Siri, make an AR version of the Apple logo.” | Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Apple is apparently working on a way to let you make apps for its long-rumored mixed reality headset using Siri, according to a new report from The Information ... more - theverge

Meta’s flagship VR app is catching up to the NES by making A the jump button

I, too, am throwing my hands in the air for this change. | Image: Meta Meta is making a big improvement to controls in its social VR platform Horizon Worlds : jump is being remapped to the A button, according to a blog post about the app’s new v94 update. ... more - theverge

Tuesday’s top tech news: Lightyear’s buzz fizzles

The Lightyear 0 at its unveiling last year. | Image: Lightyear Plus more details about Apple’s long-rumored VR / AR headset. Continue reading… ... more - theverge

The Meta Quest’s improved hand tracking is now the default

Hand tracking could become a big battleground for virtual reality headsets. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge In April 2022, Meta released Hand Tracking 2.0, its upgraded system that can detect things like high fives and clapping, but the ... more - theverge

Apple’s ‘Reality Pro’ VR headset sure sounds like a monster device

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Apple’s long-rumored VR / AR headset could be packed with ambitious technologies, including advanced hand tracking, the ability to see your Mac’s display, and even recreating digital versions of users in one-on-one ... more - theverge

AltspaceVR is shutting down as Microsoft’s mixed reality division shrinks

Image: Microsoft Microsoft will shut down AltspaceVR, the social virtual reality (VR) platform it acquired in 2017 (via VentureBeat ), on March 10th, 2023. The company shared the news in a blog post just days after it announced job cuts affecting 10,000 ... more - theverge

PSVR2 adds Tetris Effect and Rez Infinite ports to its ‘launch window’ games list

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge A post on the PlayStation blog lists “over 30” titles for the PlayStation VR2’s monthlong launch window (you can scroll down to see the full list here) that starts when the hardware ships starting February 22nd. While ... more - theverge

Wednesday’s top tech news: layoffs come for Microsoft

Illustration: The Verge Plus good news if you want to repair a Galaxy S22, but bad news if you’re counting down the days to Apple’s AR glasses. Continue reading… ... more - theverge

Apple reportedly shelved its plans to release AR glasses any time soon

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Another Apple rumor from Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman focuses on the company’s efforts to create game-changing augmented reality glasses that could make picking up your iPhone obsolete — if they’re ever built. ... more - theverge

Republican lawmakers push for crypto regulation with new panel

House Financial Services chair Patrick McHenry (R-NC) announced the new subcommittee on Thursday. | Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Republican lawmakers announced a new panel on Thursday that will oversee the cryptocurrency industry, ... more - theverge

Apple’s Music and TV apps for Windows are now available in preview

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple’s Music and TV apps for Windows have made an appearance, with preview versions of the apps being spotted on the Microsoft Store by The Verifier (via MacRumors ). LAst October, Microsoft announced they were ... more - theverge

Meta Quest users can now track their heart rate in VR workouts

Both heart rate and Android workout tracking integrations are necessary for VR fitness to become popular. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Meta is adding two new fitness-related features to the Meta Quest. The first is Health Connect integration, ... more - theverge

Intel’s new Wi-Fi chip promises a better way to tether your Meta Quest VR headset

Why yes, that is a Frankenquest, adding a Vive Deluxe Audio Strap. | Photo by Owen Grove / The Verge Intel and Meta have teamed up on a new way to directly connect your Oculus Quest headset to a gaming PC. If you buy or build a computer with its AX1690 ... more - theverge

Meta’s done making new features for the Quest 1 — all updates will end next year

Image: Oculus Meta is planning to stop supporting the original Quest VR headset with new software updates, and soon anyone using the older hardware will be locked out of some social features. Several users on Reddit and Twitter, along with journalist ... more - theverge

Meta is still adding basic moderation features to its VR playscape

Meta will show you a notification when you violate the rules. | Image: Meta Meta is adding some new moderation features to Horizon Worlds , the company’s VR social platform, as part of version 91, according to a blog post published Friday. While the ... more - theverge