Google and Taito are teaming up on an AR Space Invaders game

Image: Google Google and Taito are partnering on a new augmented reality version of the arcade classic Space Invaders. The new game, Space Invaders: World Defense , will use Google tools like ARCore and newly-announced Geospatial Creator to let AR Space ... more - theverge

Meta is making life even harder for its metaverse creators

Image: Meta Meta will no longer let creators using its Horizon Worlds social VR playscape make dedicated events, the company announced as part of the platform’s v109 update notes on Tuesday. It’s a surprising shutdown of a feature that some creators ... more - theverge

Researchers hope this tiny wearable could become Smell-o-Vision for VR

These odor generators can either be stuck into a wearable mask or on a pill-shaped holder that adheres underneath the nose. | Image: Nature Communications Smells have always been hard to recreate in virtual reality, but researchers may have figured out ... more - theverge

Niantic’s adorable pet game Peridot is a next-gen Tamagotchi

Image: Niantic It’s startling when a cuddly little critter, called a dot, stares at you with its gigantic eyes — even if it’s happening through a screen. Dots are the stars of Peridot , the latest release from Pokémon Go creator Niantic Labs, and they’re ... more - theverge

Snapchat is already testing sponsored links in its My AI chatbot

Image: Snap Snap has already begun experimenting with sponsored links in its My AI chatbot. During the NewFronts advertising event on Tuesday, the company announced that the bot will start surfacing paid links that are relevant to a conversation. For ... more - theverge

Now you can post Horizon Worlds photos to your Instagram Story

Illustration: Nick Barclay / The Verge Meta’s VR social platform is getting a new feature to help you show off what a fun time you’re having in the so-called “metaverse” with all your Instagram and Facebook followers. With its v108 update, Horizon Worlds ... more - theverge

Meta is hosting its next VR gaming show in June

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Meta is hosting another gaming showcase for its Quest VR headsets on June 1st, the company announced on Monday. The event will feature “over 40 minutes of content,” according to a blog post, including game ... more - theverge

Meta’s avatars are getting new body shapes and improved hair

Image: Meta Meta is introducing new body shapes and improved textures for hair and clothing for its avatars, the company announced on Thursday. The updates seem like good steps forward in helping people better represent themselves, but while you’re roaming ... more - theverge

New bill would add mandatory age verification to social networks

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge A group of US senators has revealed a bipartisan bill that would require social media platforms to verify users’ ages, stop anyone under 13 years of age from signing up, and set up special rules for minors ... more - theverge

Humanity is a throwback to the weird, wild world of early PlayStation games

Image: Enhance Some of the most memorable games in PlayStation history have been downright strange, whether about dancing wireframe rabbits, deadly cubes, or mannequins traversing impossible architecture. These “very designer-led games,” as Mark MacDonald ... more - theverge

Can Snap snap back?

For more than a decade, Snapchat has been a fixture in the lives of young people. But the business side of the app has been much less stable. This week I flew down to LA to check in on the company — and while Snap still has plenty of big ideas, I was ... more - theverge

Snapchat is releasing its AI chatbot to everyone for free

You can now change the look of Snap’s My AI. | Image: Snap Snap is releasing its “My AI” chatbot to all of Snapchat’s 750 million monthly users for free, a move that comes less than two months after the OpenAI-powered bot was first made available to ... more - theverge

Everything we know about Apple’s mixed reality headset

Illustration: Kristen Radtke / The Verge Apple is rumored to be announcing its long-rumored virtual and augmented reality headset at WWDC 2023. Here’s a timeline of all the details that have emerged about the device over the years. Continue reading… ... more - theverge

Meta is opening up its VR social platform to teens

Image: Meta Meta is opening up its Horizon Worlds social VR platform to teens in the US and Canada in the coming weeks, the company announced on Tuesday. For teen players, which Meta defines as between the ages of 13 and 17, Meta will have some extra ... more - theverge

Apple’s VR headset might run tweaked versions of iPad apps

Illustration: The Verge Apple’s long-rumored VR / AR headset might run adapted versions of iPad apps, according to a new report from Bloomberg . The mixed reality device’s new interface will also apparently let users access “millions” of already-available ... more - theverge

Pokémon Go developer Niantic is making a real-world Monster Hunter game

Image: Niantic Niantic is working with a different kind of monster for its next release. The studio, best-known for Pokémon Go , announced a partnership with Capcom to make a title based on the Monster Hunter franchise. The new game is called Monster ... more - theverge

Microsoft Teams now has Snapchat’s Lenses for video calls

Snapchat Lenses inside Microsoft Teams | Image: Microsoft Microsoft has teamed up with Snap to add Snapchat Lenses to Microsoft Teams. More than 20 Snapchat Lenses are now part of the Microsoft Teams app, including ones that will place a cat on your ... more - theverge

Apple might be getting into VR at the worst possible time

Illustration: The Verge Apple is heavily rumored to reveal its long-awaited mixed reality headset in just a couple of months, but that reveal seems to be arriving at a time when demand for high-end VR is actually quite low. According to a new blog post ... more - theverge

My bad VR trip

Image: Mengxin Li / The Verge I ripped off the headset, afraid I was going to throw up. I shouted for help. My partner found me in the fetal position in a cold sweat on the bathroom floor. I had spent just an hour in the metaverse dressing my avatar, ... more - theverge

You, me, and UI

Image: Mengxin Li / The Verge There’s a funny conflict to the idea of user interfaces: a good one tends to go unnoticed, the thoughtful design decisions too subtle to notice; a bad UX or UI is one that makes you want to scream. It’s a tension that designers ... more - theverge

Apple’s Tim Cook says AR and VR are for ‘connection’ and ‘communication’

Image: Laura Normand / The Verge At some point in the near future, Apple’s going to launch a mixed reality headset. That seems all but certain. The exact when and what and how much? All very up in the air. But one thing hasn’t changed: Tim Cook’s vision ... more - theverge

Apple’s WWDC 2023 kicks off on June 5th

Image: Apple Apple has announced that its Worldwide Developers Conference, or WWDC, will begin on June 5th. The full event will run from June 5th through June 9th in an online format, but like last year, there will be an in-person experience at Apple ... more - theverge

Meta’s new hand tracking feature almost feels like touching the future

Meta’s promotional art for Direct Touch. | Image: Meta Meta is testing what could become a foundational upgrade to its Quest VR headsets: a way to tap and scroll on virtual elements with only your hands, no controllers required. The idea is that you’ll ... more - theverge

Snap launches a new business to help retailers with AR shopping

Example of the ARES footwear try-on feature. | Image: Snap For years, Snapchat has allowed you to try on new lipstick shades, hats, and outfits from major retailers. But starting today, you’ll be able to apply these Snapchat-powered capabilities in other ... more - theverge

Meta’s new quests could give you something to do in its VR social network

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Meta’s Horizon Worlds VR social network is getting quests. No, not Quest headsets, but in-game missions with rewards that might make its experiences more entertaining to visit and more interesting to return ... more - theverge

Comedians are trying to make the metaverse cool, but it won’t let them

Illustration by Vincent Kilbride / The Verge Dedicated creators have built their own communities and spaces in Meta’s Horizon Worlds. But they feel the company isn’t supporting them as well as it could. Continue reading… ... more - theverge

Google Glass Enterprise Edition is no more

Image: Google Google Glass largely went off sale to consumers in 2015, and Google has since been focusing on how the headset could be useful for businesses and developers. But even those efforts have come to an end. The company is no longer selling Google ... more - theverge

These parts could be the first leak of Apple’s mixed-reality headset

Image: Mr. White via 9to5Mac There’s a chance we just got a look at some cables and sensors for Apple’s upcoming and much-rumored virtual / augmented reality headset. Photos from MrWhite128, a protected Twitter account, which were reposted by MacRumors ... more - theverge

Before Your Eyes is a beautiful showcase of what VR storytelling can be

Blink while looking at the eye icon to make something happen. | Image: Skybound Games Before Your Eyes made me cry inside a VR headset. Originally released on PC in 2021 and on mobile last year, Before Your Eyes asks you to relive the memories of a child ... more - theverge

Can Xerox reinvent itself for another 100 years?

Illustration: Alex Parkin / The Verge CEO Steve Bandrowczak thinks the office printer is where the workplace revolution begins. Continue reading… ... more - theverge