MyOpinion

When a silver Rivian R3 prototype rolled on stage during the automaker’s R2 reveal event on March 7, the audience’s eyes sparkled and jaws dropped, followed by cheerful whistling and whooping. Few other EVs have triggered such enthusiastic reactions in recent memory.

For car nerds, the pint-sized, angular hatchback was an ode to legendary rally names like the Lancia Delta Integrale. For regular people, the message was clear: An affordable yet highly desirable Rivian is on its way.

The R2 will start at $45,000, so the R3 is estimated to fall in the $30,000-40,000 price range. At that price, the R3 would compete with the next-gen Chevrolet Bolt EV, the Kia EV3, and potentially an affordable Tesla, among others.

Google’s announcement of Android XR last month was largely met with excitement, but there was a notable undercurrent of concern about Google’s long-term commitment to the platform. The company has a storied history of launching new products and platforms, only to drop them a few years later—often leaving third-party developers in the lurch.

Google has earned a reputation among third-party developers as a company that will tout the launch of exciting new platforms, only to cancel them unless they achieve breakout success.

The site Killed by Google maintains an active list of the company’s cancelled projects, currently totaling 296. While Stadia—Google’s short-lived cloud game streaming service—is probably the most recognizable example in recent years, the XR industry already has first-hand experience with the practice.

Google Daydream, announced back in 2016, was Google’s first attempt at entering the XR space proper. The company created the Daydream View headset in which Android smartphones could be inserted for a VR experience similar to Samsung’s Gear VR headset at the time. Third-party developers could build made-for-Daydream apps and distribute them via the Play Store right alongside other Android applications.

Over the next two years Google made efforts to refine Daydream View, including adding more supported phones, releasing an improved version of the headset, and even making one of the first 6DOF standalone VR headsets in partnership with Lenovo.

But little more than three years later the company killed the platform after it failed to achieve the ambitious adoption it had hoped for.

Assetto Corsa EVO made its big Early Access launch on Steam yesterday, bringing the next iteration of the racing franchise to both flatscreen and PC VR headsets. It’s getting mixed reviews, although VR users in particular are warning that you should wait for incoming patches, which will hopefully address the game’s currently questionable optimization.

KUNOS Simulazioni, developer behind both Assetto Corsa (2014) and Assetto Corsa Competizione (2018), released their long-awaited follow-up, Assetto Corsa EVO. The Early Access version boasts five tracks, 20 vehicles, single player, support for SteamVR headsets, as well as triple screen support.

While the studio promises the full slate of content is set to arrive in successive updates, which will include a total of 100 cars, 25 tracks, open world map, career and multiplayer mode, for now it appears VR users aren’t exactly happy with the state of the game.

User reviews are pouring in, with the game now counting over 2,700 reviews, garnering it a ‘Mixed’ score. Although some complaints mention the lack of features, which KUNOS Simulazioni promises are still yet to come, many of those specifically mentioning VR support are fairly cut-and-dry. It’s simply not optimized well enough, which has left it largely unplayable in VR.

“I won’t comment on the performance issues, as this is early access, only remark is that VR is currently unplayable,” says Steam user Poloman. “I have 150 fps on 3440×1440, but can’t get more that 30 [FPS] in VR.”

“Unplayable in VR with a RTX 4090 and i9 13900k at lowest settings (only targeting 80hz too). It has constant latency spikes making the game unplayable at any setting,” reports Mattios. “Flatscreen works fine, maxed out it barely hits 80% GPU and 10% CPU usage without upscaling”

Virtual Hunter by Finnish development studio Korpi Games is available as a full release since January 15, 2025. According to the developers, the game is now feature complete.

According to the Steam description, the VR hunting simulation features a large, open hunting ground where animals such as the majestic red deer, the elusive brown hare, wild boar and fallow deer roam free in the wilderness. Players can pack their gear, master realistic weapon handling and ballistics on the shooting range, and then head out into the open wilderness. Up to six players can hunt, trek and strategize together to bag the biggest trophy.

Each hunt is a new adventure as animals appear in new locations each time. How you hunt is up to you: You can track animals, use blinds, or just follow your instincts. The weapon stabilization system allows for accurate shots from long distances.

Each species has its behavior, which makes hunting challenging and interesting. Animals use their senses to see, smell, and hear hunters. Capital trophy animals have sharper senses, which makes hunting more difficult, but also more rewarding. Virtual Hunter includes a unique trophy display system that allows you to freely place the prepared trophies in your hunting lodge.

You can purchase Virtual Hunter on Steam. To celebrate the launch, new players can pick the game up 20% off from the current price of $20, before the price will increase to $25 on January 22nd.

The Facts

What is it?: A VR sci-fi action-adventure where you defend this world against mechanical creatures. Platforms: PC VR, PlayStation VR2 (Reviewed on PS VR2 with a PS5 Pro) Release Date: Out now Developer: VitruviusVR Price: $39.99

There aren't many VR games where I'd consider haptics to be a standout feature. It's a welcome addition that complements immersion if implemented effectively, sure, but that's rarely anything exceptional on PlayStation VR2. In that regard, Arken Age surprised me during my first enemy encounter. Parrying an enemy's sword attack leaves a lingering vibration like your blade is actually recoiling, and it's that moment where I realized this is something special.

Arken Age immediately shows proficiency in VR-first design. That’s evident from the very beginning of Arken Age through its pleasingly tactile menus, giving you effectively a tablet-like device that acts as your menu. Grabbing said tablet off your body would’ve been preferable over pressing a face button to summon it, even more so when you realize your weapons and batteries to power them are conveniently holstered across your body.

Arken Age Review - Final Verdict

Arken Age delivers clever VR-first gameplay design for a great sci-fi adventure. The intense motion makes this unsuitable for VR newcomers and the narrative isn't especially compelling, yet the vibrant presentation and rewarding combat makes this easier to overlook.

Between combat's great integration of haptic feedback, strong enemy variety and satisfying kills, Arken Age is an easy recommendation.

Play For Dream MR's hardware and software design is definitely heavily inspired by Apple Vision Pro, and a representative admitted as much to me. But unlike the cheap Chinese knockoff we saw at last year's CES, Play For Dream MR actually has high-end specs, including the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset and 4K micro-OLED displays. And after trying it, I found Play For Dream MR to be the most impressive XR hardware of any kind at CES 2025.

Play For Dream MR is a kind of crossover between a Vision Pro and Quest Pro, with an Apple-inspired plastic outer shell sporting a glossy black exterior and a Quest Pro style rear battery for a balanced weight distribution.

Putting on the headset for the first time, I was presented with a comfortable and well-balanced piece of wearable tech that I suspect could be used for several hours without much discomfort. The built-in eye tracking scanned and set my IPD automatically, and afterwards I immediately saw a clear and sharp image from edge to edge. While streaming up my favorite game to test VR headsets with from a gaming PC, Half Life: Alyx, I strained as I looked for any sort of distortion or edge-blurring in the periphery, but I just couldn't see any, if it was there at all. Textures popped and appeared crisp with colors that were vibrant, giving me a visual experience that was better than any headset I currently own.

Team 21 Studio announced that the Public Test Realm for the "largest update ever" will go live on Wednesday, 15 January 2025 at 11am PT / 2pm ET / 7pm GMT.

The content of the update will be revealed on the game's Discord server one hour prior to the update. At this time, the team will discuss what they have been working on and explain to the testers what areas need feedback. During the event, you will be able to preload the latest PTR version of the game. The conversation will be made available on YouTube later.

Ilysia was born from a Kickstarter campaign in 2020, in which the team raised over $150,000. It was released in Early Access in October 2023. Since then, a number of updates have been released.

MIXED has not tested Ilysia and cannot judge the state of the game. In terms of style and gameplay, it seems to be inspired by titles like World of Warcraft. There is a long list of features on the official website. However, in parts this seems to describe the aspirations rather than what has actually been implemented.

Developed by one-person team Spoonfed Interactive with support from Combat Waffle Studios (Ghosts of Tabor, Silent North), GRIM promises a focus on realism with a sci-fi twist. Set in a post-apocalyptic world featuring PvP and PvE elements, you try to survive following failed Martian colonization efforts.

Pirates VR Jolly Roger is a game alluding to old stories of the all-time most famous Pirates. The journey into the pirate world begins on a deserted island. Despite its extraordinary charm, the land hides a number of secrets and mysteries to be solved as well as obstacles and traps.

As we step into the new year, it's that familiar time when we all start thinking about what we'd like to see happen in the months ahead. Today, I want to share my hopes and wishes for the virtual reality industry in 2025. But this isn't just about my wishlist – I'd love to hear what's on your mind too.

More asynchronous multiplayer games

During the holidays, I discovered something interesting while showing friends my Quest 3S. While VR players had fun, everyone else just sat around watching. That changed when I found Acron: Attack of the Squirrels, a game that gets everyone involved.

Better value for Playstation VR 2 subscribers in PS Plus

Meta's Quest+ subscription has evolved nicely since its launch. What started as a simple two-games-per-month service now includes 27 major titles like Asgard's Wrath 2, Walkabout Mini Golf, Demeo, Red Matter and Tetris Effect: Connected. New Quest 3 owners even get three months free, giving them instant access to plenty of content.

Buy once, play anywhere

I was already a big fan of cross-buy back in my PS3 and PS Vita days. You buy a game for a Sony platform and can then automatically use it on the manufacturer's handheld device. What a great idea!

Cross-buy options have improved within individual platforms — buy a game for Meta Quest, get it free for Rift, for example. However, this is far from enough for me to advance VR gaming as a whole and grow the user base. I envision something bigger: true cross-platform ownership.

CES 2025 is history! Here are all of this years XR highlights in one video AND we crown the BEST XR Product Of CES 2025 as well as our Biggest Surprise Product Of CES 2025!

Three things are no secret: 1) Elon Musk benefits more than any other individual from Tesla’s success, 2) Elon Musk has gotten extremely involved in political matters (emphasis on “extremely”), and 3) many people won’t buy Tesla products because of those first two facts.

New research from JW Surety Bonds finds that 1 out of 4 Americans “avoid Tesla’s technology due to their opinions on Elon Musk.” That’s a full quarter of the US public that won’t consider great electric vehicles, including the best selling vehicle in the world, because of Musk’s highly abnormal involvement in US politics.

Before we get to more of the research, it should also be noted that Musk has been getting more and more involved, including in highly abnormal and extremely right-wing ways, in European politics — in the UK, Italy, Germany, and other major auto markets. Without a doubt, this is starting to impact consumer behavior in Europe as well.

I can’t think of anything else as significant in consumer product sales. Yes, there are some other highly politically engaged business people, but they aren’t so directly involved or tied to significant mass-market products. (I’m not counting the MyPillow guy, for example.) There are founders and CEOs of major corporations who are known political actors, but not so openly and loudly that they draw widely significant scrutiny or tarnish the brand they represent.