That is important to remember, because the point of this piece isn’t to decry VR’s existence, or to claim there’s no future for it. It’s very obvious VR is here to stay, as one of a multitude of ways people engage with entertainment. However, this growth and entrenchment of VR that we’ve been talking about has come from very specific kinds of VR products and paradigms – ones that are, in fact, entirely different from the kinds of high end VR tech that was originally peddled by so many eager entrants into the arena, back when VR was going to be THE future. 

You know what I’m talking about here – the growth of VR has happened off the back of standalone VR headsets such as the Oculus Quest (Meta Quest now, technically speaking). These headsets – the ones that are extremely cheap to buy and require nothing else to run or be used. You don’t need an expensive thousand dollar PC or a separate home console (another few hundred bucks on top) to run these things. You don’t need to wrangle a few dozen wires and connections and then be tethered to be able to use these. You just put the headset on and you jump into your virtual reality. 

Meta Quest is where the growth of VR has come from. It is overwhelmingly dominant in the market right now. In contrast, tethered VR has withered on the vine and died a slow, undignified death. 

You could argue some part of this is because no company has released a new tethered VR headset in a while, whereas standalone VR sets are a much more vibrant market. But ask yourself, WHY has no company released a tethered headset in years at this point, exactly? Oculus used to do many tethered sets. In fact for the longest time that’s all they did. Why did they stop? Why did Valve never follow up on the Index? Why have companies like HTC not released follow ups to their tethered VR products? With Sony you could at least make the argument they were waiting for the PS5 to be out and be a mature platform before pushing out the PSVR2 – but what about the others? 

PSVR2 is the elephant in the room. Sony’s next generation VR headset looks et to be a very high end effort – but it’s going to be tethered to your PS5. Which means, it’s not standalone, it’s not even wireless (though the amount of wires has been reduced to just one, mercifully enough), and it needs an expensive (and still all but impossible to find) console to even function. Sony has made the market for this headset extremely limited – and this is without considering how much the market for VR has changed to disproportionately heavily favor standalone sets. We talked about Valve earlier – apparently, based on teases and leaks, their own next VR set is a standalone model using the Steam Deck chipset as its base. Even Valve, purveyors of the largest platform for PC gaming, seem to be untethering their VR set and making it standalone and self contained.

Because ultimately you must consider it from the perspective of the customer – how many people exist who will want to spend $500 on a PS5, and then $400 on a PSVR2 (assuming it costs as much as the original set did at launch, even though it’s packing far more expensive tech) to be able to play… Horizon: Call of the Mountain? How big do you think that addressable market really is? The original PSVR, with some incredible killer apps and games, including exclusives such as Astro Bot Rescue Mission, Tetris Effect, and Resident Evil 7, AND after a price drop to $200 WITH multiple games and controllers bundled, AND while needing a far cheaper and more readily available console, sold 5 million units. Does anyone really think the market for a set like that, except more expensive, tied to an even more expensive console and one that is harder to find, AND with Meta Quest preemptively poaching some of the best development talent there is, AND with the market for tethered VR demonstrably having died out, is larger than that 5 million? Why? Based on what, exactly? Why does anyone think people will buy PSVR2 in any significant numbers? Why would they, when they can get a Quest for half the price (if not less), and get some of the best and most talked about VR software there is at the moment? And in a far more convenient package to boot? 

An easy way to counter these problems would be to have many must have exclusives that induce purchases. Fair enough, that’s a proven technique. But what developer making VR games would want to make their game exclusive to a platform with such poor commercial prospects? They’re a business, not a charity, after all. What reason do they have to not put their game on Meta as well? And if that game is available on Meta, what reason do you have to get a PSVR2 for it?

Sony could of course develop its own first party software for it. But only Sony’s flagship tentpole games have system selling ability – in other words, a God of War or Naughty Dog game being exclusive to a platform could sell that platform to the masses. Do you think there is even a snowball’s chance in hell that the next mainline God of War or Uncharted game will be a PSVR2 exclusive? Not just ALSO be on PSVR2 (since the rumors currently say Sony is looking at developing hybrid games, as in games that are for PS5 and VR2 alike). They need to be exclusive, otherwise you are once more counting on dozens of millions of people caring enough about some extra immersion to want to spend literally hundreds of dollars on it. Do you think enough people like that exist? They don’t. Which means the games need to be exclusive. Do you think Sony will make their biggest games exclusive to PSVR2? Right now they won’t even make them exclusive to PS5, their flagship console, because those games are so expensive to make, cross gen is the only way to recoup costs. 

And even if that hadn’t been the case (which it is, but in a hypothetical timeline where it wasn’t), what part of Sony’s history as a platform holder shows us that they have any interest in diverting their top games and talent to anything but their flagship console? You remember the support Sony gave the PS Vita or even the original PSVR as well as I do, I’m sure. And don’t get me wrong, there were many incredible games from Sony on both platforms. This isn’t about quality. This is about the fact that anything less than Sony’s biggest games being made exclusive to PSVR2 won’t sell the PSVR2, given all the challenges it faces. And Sony will never make its biggest tentpoles exclusive to VR. 

Which brings us back to the original point – PSVR2, launching in a difficult market with conditions stacked against it. It’s hard to see it having much of a future relative to standalone sets such as Quest 2, or the rumored Valve Deckard. 

And that’s the thing – VR absolutely has a future, and it is going to be a very bright future at that. But it’s not a future where it has to be tethered to additional expensive tech, with all the costs and hassles that entails, to even function. It’s a future where VR is going to be standalone. Its own thing. The market has spoken. The device manufacturers have spoken. Sony’s PSVR2 may end up being an admirable and premium effort – but there’s a possibility it’ll end up being a product out of time, and with not enough of a market to truly sell to. 

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Jurassic World Aftermath Part 2 is obviously enough, a continuation of the narrative that started with the first part. The Jurassic Park franchise is perfect for VR, and Universal Studios did a mostly great job with the first part. The trailer showcases a plethora of different environments that players will get to sneak through since killing humongous dinosaurs isn’t exactly an easy feat.

Jurassic World Aftermath Part 2 releases for Oculus Quest on September 30, 2021. The PC VR platform has been picking up pace lately, with titles such as Half-Life: Alyx showcasing the potential within the space. Hopefully, Jurassic World Aftermath Part 2 joins the ranks as one of the better experiences on the VR platform.

The first is Recompile which will be available for consoles, PC and the cloud on August 19th. The stylish Metroidvania-esque adventure has already garnered attention for its aesthetic and exploration. Train Sim World 2 and Twelve Minutes, the latter also being hyped for its premise and all-star cast, are also out on the same day.

On August 25th, the eagerly awaited Psychonauts 2 will be available at last with Raz embarking on a brand new adventure through all kinds of mind-scapes. Perhaps the most unexpected announcement is that Myst, a remake of the classic adventure game which first released for Oculus Quest in December 2020, will also be available for consoles, PC and the cloud on Xbox Game Pass. It will also release for PC via Steam, GOG and the Epic Games Store.

As for titles leaving the service on August 31st, they include the following:

• Blair Witch (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• Double Kick Heroes (Cloud, Console, and PC)
• NBA 2K21 (Cloud and Console)
• Stranger Things 3: The Game (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Cross-platform play also goes live on the same day and those on Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One along with PC players with the Microsoft Store version will receive an update along with PS4, Oculus Quest, Steam and Epic Games Store. Along with a skill rating reset for multiplayer, a new Spectator Mode, PAL and Slow speed modes, and new performance options for Oculus Quest 2 headsets.

For more details on Tetris Effect: Connected, check out our review here. This update may mark the end of support for the title especially since creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi confirmed in November 2020 that he was moving on to his next project. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

Other new features include Spectator Mode for matches with friends which allows 4-6 players to spectate a match and use emotes to cheer for players. PAL Speed is also being added to local and friendly matches along with Classic Score Attack which looks to replicate the European PAL feel of the original Tetris on the NES. That means a lower frame rate, faster dropping speed in the later levels and faster horizontal movement. Finally, Slow Speed is coming to Zone Battle along with friendly and local matches.

A closed beta will be held for cross-platform play along with all of the new features starting today. It will be available as a separate download from today to June 23rd on PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and Microsoft Store PC. All Tetris Effect owners can try it out from June 23rd to July 5th while Steam users gain access from today till July 5th (but only through closed invite). For more details on the update, check out the video below.

After launching last year for the Oculus Quest, First Contact Entertainment’s Solaris Offworld Combat is coming to PlayStation VR. The first person shooter is out today for the platform and sees teams of four players competing in the Virtual Holofields for a chance at glory. Check out the launch trailer below to see it in action.

Solaris Offworld Combat isn’t your usual team deathmatch multiplayer shooter. It sees two teams competing to capture and hold a control point. However, the point moves every 30 seconds, which means you’ll need to think fast to capture it again. The team with the most points wins.

Along with utilizing the DualShock 4 controller, the title supports the PlayStation Aim controller, providing the sensation of recoil. Solaris Offworld Combat is available digitally for PlayStation VR today but PlayStation Plus subscribers can avail of a 50 percent discount for the first two weeks. Stay tuned for more details on updates and future content in the meantime.

Enhance’s Tetris Effect: Connected released last November for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC via the Windows Store but its colorful journey is far from over. It’s slated to release on Steam this Summer with the publisher announcing the store page to be live. Fans can wishlist the title in the meantime.

As for additional details, Enhance stated that it would have “some more exciting news” on the update soon. Tetris Effect: Connected is essentially an update to the base game that added co-op multiplayer and a new competitive mode. Though currently exclusive to Xbox platforms and Windows Store, it will also be coming to PS4, PlayStation VR, Epic Games and Oculus Quest versions as a free update this Summer.

For more details on Tetris Effect: Connected, check out our official review here. Creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi confirmed last year that he was working on a new project with Enhance being the publisher once more. Stay tuned for more details on that as well in the coming days.

https://twitter.com/enhance_exp/status/1389323340435705861

https://twitter.com/enhance_exp/status/1389323342658686976

While virtual reality has not quite caught on like many expected it to, there still is a dedicated market to the tech. Two of the biggest drivers of it so far has been Sony with their PSVR, and Facebook with their Oculus branch that has specialized in VR and have released multiple headsets on both the low and high end. Now, the latter has a showcase of what’s coming next.

The company announced on their official blog that the first ever Oculus Gaming Showcase will happen next week. Cloudhead Games, Ready At Dawn and ILMxLAB are all teased as being part of the event, as well as updates on Pistol Whip, Lone Echo 2, and Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge.

The latest Oculus headset was the Oculus Quest 2 that released last year, an update to the company’s lower end and most accessible headset that was completely wireless. We’ll keep you updated on what news comes from the event.

Enhance Games’ Tetris Effect: Connected is now available for Xbox Series X/S, coinciding with the consoles’ launch today. It’s also out for Xbox One and PC for $39.99 on the Microsoft Store. However, Xbox Game Pass subscribers on both platforms can also play it. Check out the launch trailer below.

Along with the base game – which you can read our review here for more details – Tetris Effect: Connected features new modes. There’s the Zone Battle multiplayer mode which changes up the Zone mechanic and Connected co-op mode that sees three players working together. Over 30 stages are available to play along with ranked and unranked play.

Tetris Effect: Connected will also be coming to owners of the original on PS4, PC via the Epic Games Store and Oculus Quest as a free update. However, they’ll need to wait until Summer 2021. For more details on the new features and changes, check out the gameplay overview trailer below.

It was last year when we got the surprising horror game from Bloober Team, Blair Witch. The game was set in the same canon as the horror franchise that essentially invented the found footage genre. It released originally on Xbox One and PC, and then trickled to other platforms, and was a solid enough game. Now, though, it’s coming to a new platform with some big changes.

The game will be getting a VR title just in time for Halloween, called the Oculus Quest Edition, but it seems to be more than a simple port with tacked on VR. Bloober says that the story has been rebuilt with extended interactions and that environments have been redesigned with VR in mind, which you can see a little of in the trailer below. It’s not clear as of yet the extent of these redesigns, but it could warrant a revisit even if you have played the game already.

Blair Witch, in its original non-VR form, is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch and PC. The Oculus Quest Edition will launch on October 29th.