Oculus Rift
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'F1 22' launches July 1st with VR support
EA's Formula 1 sim F1 22 will be released worldwide on July 1st, 2022 with the FIA's all-new hybrid cars and updated rules unveiled this season.
'Farpoint' studio Impulse Gear will release a VR hero shooter this summer
Among the characters in 'Larcenauts' is [checks notes] a sentient, brawling mushroom.
Oculus Link for Quest headsets is moving out of beta this fall
If you have a Quest headset and a gaming PC, you can play Rift titles.
Color Space is a VR coloring book to help you relax
Let's face it: with the COVID-19 pandemic creating chaos, you're probably looking for something, anything to shut out the outside world and help you relax. Thankfully, you might have an option if you happen to have an Oculus VR headset. Lighthaus has released a Color Space coloring book app for the Quest and Rift that has you bringing a dull gray scene to life while you're inside. The more you color, the more it comes to life with animation and sound. It's very simple (you only need one button to control everything), but that's precisely the point -- Lighthaus designed the app as a distraction for patients going through stressful procedures.
Timbaland created a music pack for 'Beat Saber'
Beat Saber has its share of popular music, but her'e something new: a big-name artist making music with the VR rhythm game in mind. Rap star and producer Timbaland has created a five-song music pack for Beat Saber with collaborations tat include Common Strangers, Karra, Kaydence, Bruno Martini, Nash Overstreet, Sid Tipton and Wavezswavesz. The pack will be available for $8 ($2 per song) on March 26th, and they'll be available through Apple Music, iTunes and Spotify if you'd rather not play just to listen to them.
Looxid adapts its VR brain monitor for Oculus Rift S
Two years ago, Looxid Labs walked Engadget through a VR museum. A virtual display was pinned to the corner of the user's field of vision and contained real-time stats on his brain activity. At the time, the product seemed a little out-there, but it has matured considerably, and has some clear applications not just in the world of VR gaming, but also in business and health industries. The company revealed that the Looxid Link now works with Oculus Rift S using an EEG-equipped attachment -- and for an add-on, it looks surprisingly slick.
Check out the trailer for the final episode of Darth Vader's VR saga
LucasFilm's ILMxLAB has shared a new trailer for the upcoming final episode of its excellent Vader Immortal VR game series. While short, the minute-and-a-half long clip is dense with details.
Oculus' new Link software brings Rift content to Quest headsets
We've described the Oculus Quest as the best standalone wireless VR headset yet, but there was one feature missing from the system: the ability to plug the headset into a PC. That feature is coming, with the Oculus Link software which is launching today in beta.
Face Darth Vader himself in the final episode of his Oculus VR saga
If you're still reeling from the second episode of Vader Immortal, ILMxLAB's Star Wars VR series for the Oculus Quest and Rift, you won't have to wait long for the final entry. The studio announced today that the third episode of Vader Immortal will arrive on November 21st for $10, just in time for the long Thanksgiving weekend. Not only that, ILMxLAB revealed what many of us expected (and something I've long dreamed of): the series will culminate in a lightsaber dual with Darth Vader himself.
'Doctor Who: The Edge of Time' VR game arrives November 12th
While it might be an iconic TV franchise, Doctor Who hasn't exactly set the video game world alight over the years. BBC Studios, publisher PlayStack and developer Maze Theory are trying to remedy that with the promising Doctor Who: The Edge of Time, a VR game they'll release November 12th. It was previously scheduled for a September debut.
What do you like about the Oculus Rift S?
When senior editor Devindra Hardawar tested the Oculus Rift S, he kept asking himself: Who really needs this VR headset? With built-in tracking, sharp resolution and a comfortable headstrap, the $399 Rift S makes a convincing argument for an entry-level VR purchase. However, it still needs to be tethered to a computer, its design and build quality aren't better than the original Rift and the identically priced Oculus Quest has higher resolution displays. That all adds up to a tough recommendation. In the end, the newest Oculus system earned a fair score of 80.
Facebook lays out its vision of our communal VR future
After all the new products were announced and surprise features revealed at Oculus Connect 6 on Wednesday, Facebook Reality Lab (FRL) lead Michael Abrash took to the stage to discuss the future of VR, AR, and the company's leading role in their continuing development.
Darth Vader’s ‘Immortal’ saga continues on Oculus headsets
Darth Vader is back. In a surprise announcement on Wednesday at Facebook's annual Oculus Connect conference, LucasFilm's ILMxLAB shared new details on Vader Immortal: Episode II. The new game picks up exactly where Episode I left off, with you, a Force-sensitive smuggler, learning how to use the Force from Vader himself. From a gameplay perspective, this means you'll have new abilities to use in combat. Like any good Sith apprentice, you'll be able to pick up and toss both objects and individuals, as well as throw your lightsabre at enemies. The Force will also come into play when you need to solve puzzles.
Watch the Oculus Connect 6 keynote at 1PM ET
Where can Oculus go next? We'll find out later today during the Oculus Connect 6 keynote, which kicks off at 1PM Eastern. We've already seen the astounding Quest VR headset and the so-so Rift S this year, so that leaves the door wide open for the company to wow us with something truly new. It might be asking too much to see another consumer headset so soon, but we wouldn't be surprised if Oculus is ready to talk more about the content side of things. Killer hardware needs killer software to succeed, right? And maybe, just maybe, we'll get a preview of how Oculus intends to tackle augmented reality.
Amazon Prime Video comes to Oculus VR headsets
You now have yet another major video service to watch on your Oculus VR headset. Amazon has released a Prime Video VR app that allows Oculus Quest, Go, and Gear VR owners to stream the internet behemoth's shows in a virtual space. There will even be 360-degree videos to watch, although there are just 10 "handpicked" titles that include the climate change documentary Greenland Melting and the animated short Invasion.
Play 'Doctor Who: The Edge of Time' in VR this September
While you can't warp time to see the twelfth season of Doctor Who any sooner, this September, you'll be able to dive into the show in a new way. BBC Studios is bringing the series to life as a VR video game, Doctor Who: The Edge of Time. This is the second recent VR interpretation of the classic -- earlier this month BBC released The Runaway, a short animated VR film. And it could be yet another consolation for fans who are eagerly awaiting the next season, set to air in early 2020.
BBC releases free ‘Doctor Who’ VR short
Doctor Who fans who can't bear the long wait for the twelfth season are in for a treat. The BBC has released Doctor Who: The Runaway, an animated short VR film based on the classic British sci-fi series and voiced by its own Jodie Whittaker, who reprises her role as the show's time-traveling protagonist. Based on the BBC's description, The Runaway throws you into the topsy-turvy universe of Doctor Who right away. You wake up inside the TARDIS after being in a collision with a teenage space bomb named the Volta. In a race against time, you and Doctor Who must get Volta home to his parents before he falls prey to some dangerous distractions.
'Star Wars' VR game 'Vader Immortal' teases story details in trailer
One of the launch titles you'll get to check out on Oculus Quest when it arrives this spring is Vader Immortal, a virtual reality series set in the Star Wars universe. Rift and Rift S owners won't miss out, though -- the game is coming to those headsets too, as revealed at Star Wars Celebration alongside a trailer for the first episode.
This week in tech history: Three years of Oculus figuring out VR
At Engadget, we spend every day looking at how technology will shape the future. But it's also important to look back at how far we've come. That's what This Week in Tech History does. Join us every weekend for a recap of historical tech news, anniversaries and advances from the recent and not-so-recent past. This week, we're looking back at a number of key events in the history of Oculus VR. Late March has historically been a huge time for Oculus VR, a company that you can credit for ushering in the modern virtual reality era. Just last week at GDC, Oculus unveiled its second-generation VR headset, the Rift S. But that new product is mostly just an iteration on the original Oculus Rift, which was released just over three years ago, on March 25th, 2016.
'Dance Central' arrives on Oculus this spring
You might have felt like you had cutting-edge moves when you boogied through Dance Central -- thanks to the Kinect -- on Xbox 360, or when you downloaded it on your Kinect-less Xbox One. But soon, you'll be able to tear it up in virtual reality. Harmonix is bringing Dance Central to VR this spring. It'll be available on Oculus Rift and Oculus Rift S, and it's set to be a launch title on the forthcoming Oculus Quest.
