The XR Weekly Recap (December 23, 2024): Meta Gears Up for Competition, Niantic Develops Spatial Intelligence, and Other Updates!

As the festive season approaches, I’ve got something special for you. Although I’ll save my holiday greetings for tomorrow, today I’m stepping into the shoes of Santa Claus with not just one, but two giveaways featuring exciting XR games! Make sure to go through the entire roundup to find out how to get involved in this awesome opportunity.

Highlights of the Week’s News

Meta’s 2024 Success and 2025 Challenges

Andrew “Boz” Bosworth, Meta’s CTO, recently shared an extensive blog post highlighting Meta’s accomplishments this year and offering a glimpse into what 2025 brings. VP of MR/VR Mark Rabkin and Janko Roettgers of the Lowpass newsletter have weighed in, offering insights beyond the typical PR speak. While Meta’s cost-effective Quest 3S continues to perform well, thanks in part to robust Black Friday sales, it’ll be interesting to see how holiday numbers stack up against those from the Quest 2 era.

Interestingly, not everyone purchasing the Quest 3S is upgrading from the Quest 2; many are new to the XR scene, either experiencing VR/MR for the first time or switching from other brands. This surge of interest points to the accessibility of Quest 3S as a gateway to XR.

The XR ecosystem is also seeing a demographic shift, with a noticeable increase in younger users gravitating towards social and co-op multiplayer games and free-to-play experiences—titles like Gorilla Tag being prime examples. Meanwhile, adults are leaning towards more entertainment-centric experiences.

To align with these user trends, Meta focuses on developing a broader range of applications, emphasizing social gaming, free-to-play, and MR-first experiences. Developers looking to tap into Meta’s support should consider these genres.

The three leading immersive apps on the Quest 3S are Gorilla Tag, Youtube VR, and Horizon Worlds. The popularity of Youtube VR underscores the ongoing interest in media consumption via VR/MR headsets. Horizon Worlds’ rise suggests it appeals to younger audiences compared to platforms like VRChat.

Meanwhile, the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses have been a big hit. The recent integration of AI assistants, which go beyond simple prompts to serve as proactive day-to-day helpers, marks Meta’s ambitions to enhance user interactivity. Though this is intriguing, it does raise privacy concerns.

While Meta currently leads the XR field, new entries from Apple and Google promise fierce competition, especially as these giants begin to capitalize on the groundwork laid by Meta. Bosworth stresses the importance of maintaining their lead, as competition can quickly capitalize on established advancements. This scenario, although challenging for Meta, promises positive outcomes for us as consumers and developers.

[More on Boz’s post and other insights]

Other Noteworthy News

The Power of Spatial Intelligence

The fusion of AI and XR is paving the way for advancements in spatial intelligence, a burgeoning field enhancing location understanding through artificial intelligence. Recent explorations from Niantic manifest this by using AI for reconstructing geospatial environments. Meanwhile, New York University’s efforts in enhancing AI’s spatial comprehension highlight the potential for improved 3D environmental interactions using LLMs.

[More on these exciting developments]

Developments in Technology

The high-end filmmaking scene sees a new tool with Blackmagic Design’s 8K camera tailored for Apple Immersive Video, now open for pre-orders. Though priced at $30,000, it aims at professional studios ready to produce top-notch VR180 content.

Meta also introduces an innovative audio-to-expression feature in its SDK, allowing avatars to exhibit full facial animations driven by audio input, available for developers free of charge.

For those facing performance issues with the Quest on Steam VR, a potential solution involves disabling the Motion Smoothing feature, which Reddit users have reported as a success.

Experiencing Tokyo digitally has become easier now that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government released a free point cloud dataset of the city, offering a fantastic base for various digital projects.

Lastly, don’t miss out on the Meta Winter Sale, which brings hefty discounts on popular VR titles like Demeo and Asgard’s Wrath 2, or check out Upload VR’s roundup of top 2024 games.

New Game Releases and Content Updates

Among new releases, Alien Rogue Incursion has made its debut, though it hasn’t hit the heights anticipated. It joins a list of games contributing to VR’s growth, each accompanied by unique strengths and drawbacks. Meanwhile, Grimlord, Cold VR, and other new titles continue enriching the gaming landscape, each offering distinct narratives and gameplay experiences.

[More on current and upcoming VR content]

Community and Fun Tidbits

From humorous memes about VR antics to exciting events like DeoVR’s CES afterparty, the XR community remains vibrant and interactive. Also, don’t miss out on participating in giveaways for games like Home Sports and Party Versus, bringing new levels of fun to mixed reality.

Supporting Causes

In these closing thoughts, I urge you to consider contributing to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. The Red Cross continues its vital work, and your support can make a significant difference. Many thanks to my generous Patreon supporters and the XR community for their ongoing encouragement and backing.

[Support The Red Cross]

(Header image by Meta)