Getting a great discount on Prime Day is fun, but there's nothing like getting free money on Prime Day instead. Amazon and Meta have discounted Meta Quest gift cards, quite literally giving you free money when you buy one.

Meta Quest gift cards can be used to buy anything on the Meta Quest store, including games, apps, and in-app purchases. That means these are the perfect gift for anyone you know who plays VR games on a Quest, as they can grab any game they want or expand their in-game inventory in titles like Gorilla Tag, Ug, Animal Company, Scary Baboon, and more.

✅Recommended if: You want to get great games at a discount rate, or you're looking to buy a gift for a friend or loved one who is a VR gamer.

❌Skip this deal if: You want a physical gift card. These are digital gift cards only.

My son is obsessed with the idea of glitching out games to duplicate items, and it's always fun to see when companies lean into that obsession with real rewards. In Animal Company, you can duplicate items using a special machine, but on Prime Day, Meta Quest gift cards let you do the money glitch in real life.

Since these gift cards are digital, you won't even have to wait to get them! That means you can pick up great new titles right away, or just stockpile virtual gift cards until the time is right. They also make the best gifts, whether it's for an upcoming birthday, a random summer celebration, or even just to grab some (very) early Christmas presents.

BoboVR is a legendary name in the VR space and has been making the highest-rated aftermarket Meta Quest headstraps for years. To celebrate Prime Day 2026, BoboVR is knocking $10 off its newest headstraps when you use our exclusive code. That brings the BoboVR M3 down to just $29.99, while the deluxe BoboVR M3 Pro+ gets a solid discount down to just $49.99.

To grab these deals, use coupon code JOBIWBZN at checkout for the BoboVR M3, or grab the deluxe M3 Pro+ model with coupon code NGRAS7U4. Enter those codes at checkout on Amazon any time during Prime Day 2026 week, and you'll get the extra discount.

Either model works with the Quest 3 and Quest 3S, so all you'll need to decide is whether you want to include a battery and charger in the box.

✅Recommended if: You find the Quest 3 or Quest 3S heavy or uncomfortable, or you need a hot-swappable battery to extend play time.

❌Skip this deal if: You're fine with the Quest 3 or 3S's included cloth strap, or you want the more deluxe BoboVR S3 Pro (which is not on discount today).

What makes BoboVR’s headstraps so good? The latest M3 and M3 Pro+ models are all dual-mode designs, letting you choose between halo or elite styles on a whim. With other companies, you have to choose which style you want before purchasing, and there's no way to change it once you've made the decision. Both models have dual adjustment knobs, so you can get the most comfortable fit for every member of your household (or just yourself).

Any time I have a friend over who hasn't used one of these headstraps yet, they always ask, "dude, why is your Quest 3 so much more comfortable than mine?" The answer is BoboVR.

Both models also support the incredible BM60 battery packs, which are rechargeable and magnetically hot swappable. These batteries double the battery life of your Quest 3 or Quest 3S and are ingeniously designed to make them swappable while you're playing, so you don't even need to take the headset off to get more play time!

While both models feature the same design, the BoboVR M3 Pro+ includes a BM60 battery and a charging dock, so you won't have to purchase anything else to get the best experience. BoboVR's design and construction have always been top-notch, and this year's upgrades are no exception.

What you need to know

• Qualcomm is drawing our attention toward its XR work, stating "something new" is coming to that environment.
• The company teases a "smarter and more immersive" XR system, which is likely based on its upcoming Snapdragon chip.
• It leads us to wonder if something big is being prepared for Meta Connect in September, or the new Pico XR headset.

Qualcomm is teasing what's next in the world of XR, and our minds are wondering: is Meta involved?

Qualcomm started teasing that a "new reality is coming soon" on a short X post this week. Of course, it looks like we should expect its Snapdragon chip to be a part of this major reveal—whenever that's set to be. The company has been working to create a new chip that it's positioning as a game-changer for XR.

The teaser continues, stating, "Imagine #XR that's smarter and more immersive than anything you've experienced before." While what Qualcomm's posting has users interested, that's not quite what's got everyone talking (us, included). The post is accompanied by a short teaser video showing a Snapdragon chip inside an XR headset.

It's got users wondering if Qualcomm is teasing another device from Samsung or Meta. Many users theorize that Qualcomm is using a Meta Quest Pro in its video. For us, we think the company is gearing up for a big debut at Meta Connect later this year. The headset involved certainly feels like a Quest product. Just compare it to the image at the top of this article. However, there's always a chance that it's not a major Meta teaser, but rather a Pico prelude.

XR keeps advancing

If that last sentence has you confused, don't worry. Pico is a headset brand that was acquired by ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, in 2021. In a way, you could consider this TikTok's rival to the Meta Quest. The headset that we alluded to is under Project Swan: a "high-end" XR device with custom silicon and an altered design. Pico announced earlier this year that it had plans to bring its new headset to North America this year.

That leads us right into our Meta Quest rival scenario. Circling back to Meta, the company announced its Connect event is confirmed for September 23-24, 2026. We've got AI and the Quest on our minds, and Meta confirmed as much. The company's evening keynote will involve AI, VR, wearables, and more. Meta's given us enough of a teaser to have us brainstorming for a little while. What we're most curious about is whether or not it will give us anything new about the long-rumored Ultralight Quest.

Android Central's Take

Regardless if Qualcomm is teasing something for a Quest or not, Meta Connect is shaping up to be an interesting event. Meta's been going all in on AI, and hopefully that means it's placing equal effort on its next wave of XR headsets. Details are still light, as we're only in June. We should expect to see more in the coming months leading up to the main keynote.

In a move that I never saw coming, Supernatural is coming back from the dead, and its founders and coaches are starting a completely independent company for the relaunch.

The news sideswiped me mid-morning on Wednesday when the Facebook community's post (via Good Virtual Reality) was published, and it's the biggest VR news to hit since Meta closed most of its internal studios back in January.

As you probably guessed, one of those studios was Within, the house that made Supernatural and was acquired by Meta (then Facebook) back in 2021. Despite a landmark legal battle between the FTC and Meta over the acquisition, Meta washed its hands of what it used to claim was "the future of at-home workouts." But because of a thriving, outspoken online community, Supernatural is coming back, and this time it's fully free of Meta's clutches.

What made Supernatural special

Supernatural's original April 2020 launch couldn't have been more timely. Most of the world had shut down due to COVID. People weren't leaving their homes, weren't going to work, and definitely weren't going to the gym, but Supernatural quickly paved the way for people to stay fit at home and still get that coach-led experience they'd been sorely missing. My genuine first impression is pictured above, and it tells you everything you need to know.

Supernatural isn't (or wasn't) just a realistic-looking Beat Saber clone. Each day brought a new coach-led workout, filled with popular music, gorgeous vistas, and gameplay that rewarded those who put in 100% effort. As Russell Holly put it when he wrote about it that May, "I'm dripping in sweat, every inch of me is sore, and I have a huge smile on my face."

At the time, I had never gone to a coach-led gym class and, quite frankly, had very little interest in such things. Russell's recommendation, along with the fervent recommendations from the VR community at large, convinced me to try it. I spent the next several months playing it every day, and I quickly realized the power a coach's voice had. It, along with my wife, pushed me into a substantially healthier lifestyle than I had ever had.

And I'm far, far from alone in that sentiment. The official Supernatural Facebook community has over 113,000 members, and the responses to this week's news have been overwhelmingly positive. "No! I’m not crying at work!" reads one post, and nearly all of the replies are the same. "I cried too." "Definitely crying! This app changed my life." "I’m crying at work!!!!"

It's because Supernatural wasn't just an excellent, coach-led daily workout. It was an entire community of people who found a way to make working out fun and share in those wins together. People encouraged each other. They cried with each other. They won with each other, and the unceremonious plug-pulling that Meta did in January 2026 was more than just heartbreaking to those folks. It was the end of something that changed their lives for the better.

What's the new Supernatural going to look like?

Supernatural is returning, and while most important parts of the experience will remain, plenty of things will undoubtedly change. The team isn't shying away from saying that this isn't the same old app under new management. It's OG management taking back the reins and creating something new (and hopefully better) in the process.

Per the official Supernatural website, your favorite coaches will be back "on day one," new workouts and future features will be built using feedback, and the community will be central to the entire experience. Since the coaches need to be paid for their ongoing work, Supernatural will still be a subscription-only experience, but fans can lock in a "founder's rate" by registering interest in the relaunch, which is currently slated for the fall of 2026.

The standard rate is going up to $20 per month or $200 per year, but let's be real: there's no chance you'll ever find a coach-led gym class that's just $20 a month. Even if you need financial aid to cover the cost, Supernatural Scholarships will be available to help.

While specific platforms haven't yet been announced, Supernatural will still be a "VR workout app." That almost undoubtedly means Meta Quest first, since it's a fully standalone, wireless VR console, but now that Supernatural is free of Meta's funding and influence, it may also mean it comes to other VR platforms.

"We’re returning to our roots and plan to build major parts of the technology from the ground up as a much smaller company," says the Supernatural team, and that tells me that this game will almost certainly be less reliant on Meta's proprietary development tools and, instead, built in a way that's more sustainable for future growth.

There's no chance the core gameplay loop changes, although I imagine plenty of new ideas from the community can be implemented in this rebuilt Supernatural. As licenced, popular music was one of the core facets of what made Supernatural so uniquely powerful, I also doubt that we'll see any real change in the soundtrack.

Regardless of the specifics, one thing is certain: Supernatural is back, the community is on fire for the new direction of its favorite workout app, and VR fitness is about to have a full-on renaissance this fall. The real question is whether other now-defunct Meta studios will also see this kind of revival, as well.

When Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook bought Oculus back in 2014, the company billed VR as "a strong candidate to emerge as the next social and communications platform." Seven years later, in 2021, Facebook rebranded to Meta in an effort to become the de facto metaverse leader.

In the five years since then, a lot has changed at Meta, but one thing is clear: the original vision of VR as the next social and communications platform is becoming a reality, even if the path to get there looks very different from what was expected.

Instead of an all-encompassing capital-M Metaverse controlled by a single company (à la "Ready Player One"), a swath of free-to-play games from small indie developers has taken root, serving as social hubs for millions of Meta Quest gamers every month. Gorilla Tag began the movement in February 2021, and no one at the time had any idea how it would fundamentally transform VR in just a few short years.

"When we started our studio, we were building the wrong games," said Spencer Cook, CEO of Continuum, the studio behind the uber-popular Ug VR. The line came from a 2026 GDC panel where the studio helped explain what made Ug VR the success it has become and how VR is different from what seemingly everyone thought.

It's a powerful example of how each medium has its own draws, and how the same kinds of games that work on a TV-mounted console don't work on a head-mounted VR system.

Social first is how you win

For years, Meta and many VR-first developers chased the idea of creating the next Grand Theft Auto, Mario, Uncharted, or Halo. Meta poured billions into gaming development, creating genuinely phenomenal titles worthy of 5-star reviews. It stacked up big names like Batman: Arkham Shadow, Marvel's Deadpool, The Walking Dead, Assassin's Creed Nexus, and so many more, creating a powerful library of games any gamer should have been jealous of.

But it didn't work, and no one really understands why. Instead, VR gamers by the millions are coming back day after day to play social-first games that are (by developers' own admissions) simple experiences without "polished mechanics" or "clever gameplay ideas". It would sound damning if it didn't work so well.

Ironically, all of the biggest VR games these days follow the advice Andrew Eiche laid out when I interviewed him a few years ago. Eiche is the CEO of Owlchemy Games, creator of VR classics like Job Simulator and Vacation Simulator, and those games all follow the idea of letting you roleplay without letting exposition get in the way. In other words, you're not playing in the shoes of Cal Kestis or Kay Vess to save the galaxy; you're playing in your own shoes and a character of your own creation.

In addition, the most successful VR games in 2026 are almost exclusively designed to enable players to create and share content on the world's most popular social media platforms. From YouTube Shorts to TikTok, these games' videos amass millions of views and have created real success for the people playing them and having fun making content. It's an endless wheel of fun and success, and it keeps giving birth to more games like it.

For a few years, anything that looked or moved like Gorilla Tag was hastily referred to as a Gorilla Tag clone, but players have learned that this label is simply incorrect. Titles like Yeeps, Scary Baboon, Wizherd, Digi Gods, and Ug VR all share similar movement mechanics to Gorilla Tag, but there's often a special gameplay hook that separates these titles from the rest of the pack.

Last week, I spoke with Kyle Joyce, CEO of Enver Studios and creator of Scary Baboon, one of the most popular social VR games today. As you might expect from the name, this one uses familiar Gorilla Tag mechanics and the popular PS1-era art style, but blends it with horror-lite mechanics that fans of Five Nights at Freddy's and Poppy Playtime simply love.

The studio has expanded Scary Baboon recently with new co-op experiences that let players work together to solve problems, fight monsters, and explore the world. The key here is that players aren't fighting each other; they're working together to survive, and it's this concept that has also spawned the "friendslop" genre.

To date, seven million people have installed Scary Baboon (that's unique players, not installs), and Joyce told me the retention rate is impressively high. This tracks with the Ug VR GDC video I linked earlier, where Spencer Cook outlined a 70% retention rate among the game's audience. Scary Baboon's latest update lets players fight back against the monsters regularly haunting the halls. Still, players have to be smart about weapon usage because monsters can become enraged and invincible for a while if hit too much.

Scary Baboon's latest updates have been so popular that the company has been able to ink a deal with "a large, legacy IP" that'll debut in an update this July. Joyce says their numbers have consistently been up in recent months, owing to the success of both the latest updates and the shift from "frustrating PvP" to a friendlier co-op PvE experience.

"Our audience would rather play with their friends than against them," Joyce told me. I can relate to this, as I find myself gravitating toward non-PvP experiences more and more. This is especially the case with free-to-play titles like Scary Baboon or Animal Company, both of which I regularly play with my son and have regular content updates to explore.

Joyce says his studio has been focusing on community feedback and letting players drive the game's future, while also acknowledging that they can't please everyone. Joyce said this focus is why he started creating content for the game and participates in community events, helping other players feel involved in the game's creation.

Unsurprisingly, Ug VR's creators say "our success comes from knowing what entertains our players and from engaging with the community." It's a very different model from what has made games successful in the past, particularly because of the speed and voracity at which the community consumes and shares content.

It's taken a solid decade of learning and growing, but it's become clear that VR games do best when socializing or role-playing are the core experience. Given the impressive rate of growth of these types of games along with the stagnation of more traditional games, it's clear that VR's success will look different from what many initially thought, but players who embrace this change will find a unique, engaging experience that's truly different from what's available on any other video game medium.

Typically, when a company gives its products a UI overhaul, the new design focuses on fixing problems people complained about in the old version. Meta has been working on it for two years now, but the end result isn't exactly getting the reception Meta was hoping for.

Ever since the update started rolling out to everyone a few weeks ago, I've received countless messages from friends (and the parents of my son's friends) asking how to revert to the old UI. The answer is...you can't. The follow-up questions then usually revolve around how to do all the things they used to do every day, since many of the most common tasks now require several additional clicks or menu selections to find.

Meta designed this new Navigator UI, as it's called, to make it dead simple to jump into VR experiences in record time. It absolutely achieves that goal, but as is the case any time you prioritize one specific feature, everything else suffers because of it. If you're confounded by the new Meta Quest UI and can't figure out what to do, here are a few tips and tricks to get you going.

Get those floating windows out of my face

Meta's Navigator UI launched with a brand-new two-layer window system, which has become an immediate annoyance for many people. Pressing the Meta/home button on the right controller now always brings up the app launcher, but all other system windows and apps run in floating windows. The problem is that pressing that Meta/home button again doesn't hide the windows; it only hides the app launcher.

Meta also completely redesigned the universal menu bar at the bottom, which no longer lets you pin apps, quickly close floating windows, or use the virtual camera. Instead, you'll need to double-click the Meta/home button on the right controller to hide the floating windows. It's possible that Meta explained this in one of those pop-up tutorial windows, but many people don't read them, and hiding this kind of important functionality behind a weird gesture makes users very frustrated.

Some versions of the Navigator UI now include a virtual "hide windows" button on the app launcher hot bar, which is at least a moderate improvement to this awful dual-layer design, but it's still a lot of button presses to achieve what a single home button press used to do.

How to update, pin, or uninstall an app

In the old app launcher, every app or game's icon had a three-dot menu button in the top-right corner, letting you perform additional actions on that app. Things like pinning the app to the hotbar, updating it, checking permissions, or even uninstalling were in a pretty obvious place that's similar to smartphone UIs. The Navigator app launcher just shows a series of icons with no obvious additional actions.

To find this hidden menu, hover your cursor over the app or game's icon, then press and hold the trigger button on your controller until the menu appears. From here, you can pin an app to the top of the app drawer, lock it from changes, hide it (usually used for games you own but no longer play), update, adjust settings, go to the store page (see details), or uninstall it (remove from library).

This one is yet another UI change that hides common actions, and it's quite frankly puzzling how this one was ever green-lit from testing.

Closing an app

Believe it or not, I have to write a tutorial on how to close a running app. That's how bad this new UI is. While you were playing an immersive game in the previous UI, you could press the Meta/home button, then click Quit on the menu that appears. It was simple! It was easy! But Meta had to go and make it difficult.

In Navigator, pressing the Meta/home button just opens the app launcher. You could click on another immersive game or app, which will automatically close the open immersive app, but sometimes you don't want to jump from app to app.

Instead, you'll need to: press the Meta/home button on the right controller to open the app launcher, then look at the small row of icons located on the hotbar at the bottom of the app launcher. You should see the icon for the running app. Go ahead and click that, then click Quit on the menu that appears. Yet again, a common action that used to be a single click now needlessly requires additional steps.

How to take a screenshot, record a video, or cast to a TV

If you haven't figured out the theme by now, these three common Camera tasks now take several additional clicks to perform in the new Navigator UI. To save time, here are three ways you can take a screenshot, record a video, or cast to a TV:

1. Press the Meta/home button on the right controller to open the app launcher. Tap the pink/orange camera icon, then click the action you want to perform. This is the easiest way to cast to a TV.

2. If you can't find the camera in the app drawer, you can click on the Quick Settings icon, located on the hotbar at the bottom of the app launcher. Then, you'll click the camera icon in the row of icons to open the camera drawer. This is the second fastest way to cast to a TV.

3. To quickly take a screenshot in some games, press and hold the Meta/home button, then quickly press the trigger on the same controller.

4. To quickly record a video in some games, press and hold the Meta/home button, then press and hold the trigger on the same controller until you hear a "start recording" sound. Perform the same home button/trigger combo to stop the video.

I'm already exhausted, and I'm sure you are too. On the bright side, the new camera bar that appears when you follow steps 1 and 2 above offers much more functionality than the old menu. Try clicking camera settings in that menu and play around with the available options! You can default the recording camera to third-person view, make it Instagram-ready with a 9:16 aspect ratio, add image stability, and more.

Where did settings go?

Finding settings used to be a fairly simple task. You'd press the home button, then tap on quick settings, and a large, lovely Settings button would be right there. The new UI didn't change these steps much, but it made the settings button absolutely tiny and nearly impossible to see. I don't know why Meta wants to hide this so badly, but here's how to find it:

1. Press the Meta/home button on the right controller to open the app launcher.

2. Tap the quick settings icon on the hotbar below the app launcher.

3. When quick settings appears, look for the small gear icon to the left of the Wi-Fi icon, then click it to open settings.

It's just not good...

Look, I don't like to complain about updates or UI changes because, most of the time, even the most dramatic changes can be positive ones once you get used to them. But Navigator is something entirely different. While it makes launching apps quite a bit faster, it does so at the expense of nearly every other action Meta Quest gamers commonly do.

Meta received a lot of criticism for this update during the testing phase, including plenty of posts on social media, in their own forums, and feedback through the official process, but they still went through and pushed the new UI out to everyone without making fundamental changes.

Meta has had a huge problem with buggy updates in the past, and while this update isn't buggy, it's bad in a very different way. The only way to roll back the menu changes is to use Quest Games Optimizer, which you'll need to sideload, but the app also opens a ton of customization and performance options that aren't available otherwise. QGO is a truly great app that I use every time I play on my Quest, but even if you don't get it, you at least know how to get things done in the new Navigator UI.

It's the season of gaming showcases, and the Meta Quest is now on its second just in May alone. First, we got the Creature Feature showcase in early May, and now the father-son VR podcast duo just had its second-annual Ruff Talk VR Gaming Showcase, with over two dozen announcements and update trailers for Meta Quest gamers to get excited about.

And while I have plenty of favorites from the show, one announcement really struck a cord with me. The full showcase is in the video below, followed by my favorite highlights. Get ready to have some fun!

Walkabout Mini Golf: The Homestar Runner Distraction Pack

If you're a millennial like me, you'll undoubtedly remember Homestar Runner from the Macromedia Flash days. It's a hilarious cartoon that spawned a boatload of memes (everyone knows Trogdor the Burninator, right?), and now it's making its way to the Meta Quest in a special Walkabout Mini Golf pack.

But this one isn't a new course. Instead, it's called The Homestar Runner Distraction Pack and contains:

• 6 Activities to play through and conquer!
• The ultimate hang out spot: Strong Bad’s basement
• 18 collectable Lost Balls
• Custom putters to earn
• Unique avatars and a custom ball trail to channel your favorite characters
• Unlockable hole celebrations
• (Plus more)

I don't know what the "more" part entails just yet, but it's launching on June 25, so you've got a month to save up a few bucks for the DLC. Walkabout DLCs range from $2 to $5, so we're not talking much cash. Either way, I'm STOKED to see the Homestar Runner crew in VR, and this might just be my favorite update since the Wallace & Gromit one from two years ago.

Sky Legends

This one's actualy out now, which is always a blast when it's the first time you've heard of what looks like an impressively polished, immersive narrative adventure. Fix up planes, do some reconnaissance work, and make history in this 1920s-era VR title.

Survive the Night

I have no idea why there was no trailer for Survive the Night, but I don't need much convincing to get interested in The Binary Mill's next game. If you're not familiar with the developer's name, they're the ones behind Quest hits like Gun Club VR, Mini Motor Racing X, Into Black, and Resist. Survive the night is a free-to-play 4-player survival roguelike that's coming soon, and you can wishlist it now.

Cave Crave Multiplayer update

Cave Crave went viral on social media a few months back because of its ability to take players on an adventure 99.9% of them would never be able to (or even want to) in real life. Cave diving can be supremely dangerous, as the Nutty Putty cave proves in the game, and now you can join friends in the new multiplayer update to make things even more like the real thing, just without all the real perils.

Knights of Fiona

From the developers of Ruinsmagus comes a brand new VR JRPG that looks full of polish and character. A brand new trailer was shown during the showcase, giving a deeper glimpse at gameplay, characters, and the world ahead of the next previews that should be coming out next week.

If you happen to be at BitSummit in Kyoto, Japan, from May 22nd to May 24th, you can play it yourself. Otherwise, expect to see some hands-on videos on YouTube and wishlist the game now ahead of its full release.

And there's quite a bit more to see in the showcase back at the top of this article, so check it out and let us know what your favorite announcement was!

What you need to know

• Meta announced that its Connect 2026 event will take place from September 23-24.
• Its evening keynote will dive into AI, VR, wearables, and more, and Meta says it will also host developers sessions for more details.
• We've seen the company already reveal Muse Spark, its new LLM that is reportedly going to bring in a new "people first" era.

If you've been spinning with news and new reveals, this Meta announcement keeps that going with a teaser about what's next for VR and more.

Like many other companies, Meta Connect is the time for consumers and developers to see what's coming next from the company. This year will be no different, as Meta revealed that its Connect 2026 event will be held from September 23-24. Those looking to attend will have to head to Menlo Park, California, to the company's campus.

All we have right now are small teasers. Meta says users will get a good look at the company's "next computing platform" during the showcase. What's more, Meta will be holding "evening keynote and developer sessions." It's at this time that we should expect to see its VR development, wearables, metaverse details, and (of course) AI. Meta is aware of its big VR push (how could it not?), stating that we'll see how it can push that industry forward.

More details are expected to surface from Meta as the year progresses. While we wait, there are a few things we should note.

This Connect could be massive, too

Android Central's Nicholas Sutrich is typically engrossed in Meta's VR happenings and expects the company to have a slew of hardware reveals during Connect 2026. That appears to be the case, considering it's teased "wearables" and VR, potentially signaling glimpses at new smart glasses and headsets. However, it's the latter portion, the VR headsets, that Sutrich is focusing on. He expects Meta to give us something about its long-rumored Ultralight Quest during the keynote.

As far as its AI goes, we've seen—and in detail, too—where Meta is trying to position it with the Muse Spark LLM. It was giving Gemini vibes, but with Meta's flair. Meta stated during its launch that Muse Spark was designed to usher us into a "people first" era of AI. Muse Spark can reportedly leverage multiple agents to tackle given tasks with "accuracy and speed." If you saw Meta's Q1 earnings this year, you'd know that it's sparing no expense with AI (literally). The company's spending shot up by 35%, with $33 billion spent between January 1 and March 31, 2026.

Android Central's Take

If you're ever just interested in seeing what's coming from others in the industry, Meta's Connect is pretty good for that. The company's ambitions are grand, and there's no hiding that it wants to dominate that VR space. I think its VR headsets are pretty cool in what they can do. Even its glasses are nice. It's only May, so I'm interested in seeing what the company ends up teasing to truly build hype for the event.

This past weekend, I was playing Forefront with a large group of friends. The game finally made it out of beta and launched v1.0 a few days prior, so I needed to reinstall it to ensure I didn't run into any weird bugs. Oddly enough, this caused more strife; suddenly, no one in the game could hear me, and nothing I did seemed to fix it.

It wasn't until I quit the game that a friend reminded me about app permissions. Duh! The Meta Quest runs Android, which means each app has to request permission to sensitive information like location, cameras, and microphones. Sure enough, I went into Forefront's app permissions, and it had no permission to do anything other than run on my headset.

Unfortunately, this can easily happen if you accidentally click off a permissions box or click deny without realizing the importance of a permission. To make matters worse, there's nothing on the Quest that will tell you that this is the problem; you just have to figure it out all by yourself. If you find that your voice chat in a game isn't working, or something else is suddenly broken in a Meta Quest game, you might need to check the app's permissions.

Fixing permissions on a Meta Quest

Once you've realized that missing or incorrect permissions might be what's causing you strife in your Meta Quest game, you're halfway to solving the problem. Most apps on the Meta Quest will only need microphone permission to work properly, but some other apps and games, like mixed reality games, will also need spatial data and camera permissions.

No matter what permissions the game might need, you can fix them all in one convenient place. Meta's new Navigator UI makes it a little harder to find some settings, but, ironically, requires fewer steps to get to where you want than the old UI. Here's how to find them:

1. While wearing your Meta Quest, press the Meta button on the right controller to bring up the Navigator menu.

2. Find the app or game you want to change permissions for in the library.

3. Point your cursor to the app, then press and hold the trigger until a menu appears.

4. Click Settings from the pop-up menu.

5. Under the permissions tab, tap any toggle to enable permissions that are disabled.

After making the change, everything should start working normally. It's possible some apps or games might require you to quit and restart them, but permissions changes normally take effect immediately. If that still didn't fix your issue, make sure voice chat is enabled, and voice volume isn't turned all the way down in your game's settings menu.

It's annoying that the system doesn't tell you when an app is requesting permission, but you've previously denied it (or ignored it), but at least it's simple to find out if a permissions issue is what's causing the problem. Happy gaming!

This year has been a wild one for VR gamers, and while there have been plenty of ups and downs, VR-focused publishers like Creature are carrying the mantle with exciting new releases. The live chat was filled with shouts and praises in all caps throughout the show, and it seems like Creature really hit a high mark with Meta Quest gamers!

This year's Creature Feature included tons of announcements, including new games and reveals, plus big updates for existing favorites, and a few Easter eggs thrown in for good measure. Creature is even having a publisher sale for all its existing games!

You can watch the entire show in the video below, followed by my favorite picks. Here's the full list of announcements for the Meta Quest platform before we begin:

• Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades 2: The hot dog-themed shooter finally gets a sequel 10 years in the making, with brand new modes and a Meta Quest release.
• Compass: An open-world flight adventure. Fly high above the clouds, find treasure, and upgrade your ship to go further and further.
• Wordbound: Smash together letters to form words, then smash those words together to create objects, all in an effort to solve puzzles. It's an impressively creative use of interactive technology!
• Janet's Planet:. A planet terraforming adventure that tasks players with saving dying planets via unique terraforming mechanics.
• Sock Puppet Superstar: Put on your Meta Quest and slide your hand into a magical sock that sings at concerts in this new rhythm game that went viral on social media. It channels Trombone Champ in the most Pixar way possible.
• Crepe Master: A VR beat-em-up that'll put the "sweet" in "sweet punch!"
• Spymaster: An action-narrative spy game where you play as three different agents, all with different skills and gadgets.
• Updates for Laser Dance, Deadly Delivery, Crossings, Sweet Surrender, Beat the Beats, and Forefront.

H3VR2

Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades. This strange combination of words is known very well to PC VR fans as one of the original VR FPS games, and its renown is now spreading to the Meta Quest with a proper sequel. As with the original Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades 2 (also known as H3VR2) puts you in the uncomfortable skin of gun-wielding hot dogs, including impressively realistic guns and gunplay.

Like any good sequel, this one builds upon the original by introducing a new Facility mode that lets players embark on missions to collect loot and make it back home alive. That, plus the Combat mode, daily challenges, runs, leaderboards, and more, will surely have players coming back again and again, just as they have for the last decade with the original H3VR on Steam.

Meta Quest Page / Steam Page

Sock Puppet Superstar

Sock Pupper Superstar is very different from the first announcement, but that's OK, given its charm. This unique rhythm game takes cues from Trombone Champ and Maestro by using your hands in ways that only make sense in VR. Some songs require a solo, while others ensure both of your hands will be singing while wearing fancy socks.

Meta Quest Page / Steam Page

Wordbound

I've been stoked for Wordbound ever since its initial teaser, and now we're getting new gameplay footage of the uber-creative word-based puzzle game. You'll solve object-based puzzles by rearranging letters and smashing them together to create something brand new, all while completing a fun story. Mixed reality mode makes this a truly chill experience.

Meta Quest Page / Steam Page

Compass

I'm not sure I've ever played an open-world game where the main goal was to fly as far as possible (although, No Man's Sky is pretty close), but Compass is here to offer that unique gameplay hook with sweeping vistas and fully interactive ships. Ride, collect treasures, upgrade your ship, and repeat to infinity and beyond!

Meta Quest Page / Steam Page / PlayStation VR2 Page

Janet's Planets

There's something very special about holding an entire planet in your hand, but even more special when you realize you've got the tools to completely reshape how it looks. Turn unlivable wastelands into lush forests, thaw the permafrost, and save planets from the brink of destruction with your powerful, Godlike tools.

Meta Quest Page / Steam Page

Tons of updates

One of my all-time favorite Quest games, Laser Dance, is getting new levels with a new mimic laser that moves when you move. It's a unique challenge that'll make your living room feel more like the latest Tom Cruise movie.

Deadly Delivery is another fantastic title that's getting a big update with new enemies, mechanics, cosmetics, and more. And who can forget about the recent Forefront 1.0 release, which I recently called my favorite new multiplayer VR game. Watch the whole Creature Feature showcase to see the rest of the announcements, and enjoy these new games!

Given the state of the gaming industry right now, it's always surprising when a gem comes along and blows me away. It's even more surprising that this has happened more than once this year, and TMNT: Empire City is just the most recent example of developers triumphing during a particularly tribulating era.

But given Cortopia Studios' pedigree, this shouldn't be all that surprising. The developer is responsible for games like Wands Alliances, Down the Rabbit Hole, Escaping Wonderland, and GORN 2, and it's great to see the company working its magic on an IP that's so close to my heart: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

I've been a turtle fan ever since I was a kid, and the number of excellent beat-em-up games the property has spawned over the years is nothing short of legendary. This latest title puts the action in first-person via a Meta Quest headset, letting you team up with three other friends — each embodying a legendary Ninja Turtle — to take down the Footclan once and for all after the death of the Shredder, and there's more to it than you ever could have hoped for, too!

Smells like teen spirit

After a particularly fantastic intro that takes you through all four turtles to learn their abilities, you learn that the Shredder is dead, but a new villain threatens to resurrect him in an even more powerful state, putting New York City into a state of emergency. As the city fills with portals to another dimension and the Footclan moves in to take over, you wake up safely in the sewer-bound Turtles' Lair alongside Master Splinter, April O'Neil, and even Casey Jones.

From the onset to the moment you finish it, the game feels like a living comic book. The visual style plays perfectly to this feeling, with thick cel-shaded edges, heavy shadows, and gorgeous hand-drawn textures. The game is impressively interactive throughout, too, with tons of collectibles to find, lots of optional side quests and activities to complete, minigames to play with friends, and plenty of objects to pick up and goof around with.

In many ways, this feels like a TMNT version of the latest PlayStation Spider-Man games. You get a sizable New York City to explore, complete with different neighborhoods and sections, underground sewerways, buildings you can enter to complete quests, random crimes and missions that pop up around the city as you roam its streets, and tons of ways to parkour and show off your ninja skills.

Like any good modern open-world game — particularly in VR — you can climb basically anything you want. Reaching for the side of buildings, windowsills, steel beams, light poles, etc., will present you with a white highlight of where to grab. This mechanic feels accurate for a Ninja Turtle, because you still have to grab specific places to climb, not just bare rock walls, but there's no shortage of ways to parkour up a building to get a better vantage point.

TMNT: Empire City rewards players who approach situations with a stealth-first approach, but you can always just rush in and go ham if you enjoy the traditional beat-em-up mechanics. As you would expect, each Turtle has its own weapon and skillset, with plenty of attitude and jokes to fill the gaps.

Combat is rewarding and visceral, albeit a little easy from the onset, but things get more challenging and varied as you progress through the game. You'll also come across tons of little puzzles along the way. Locked doors might require a keycard or just a conveniently placed computer to hack, or maybe even a power junction box that you need to rewire (via a fun laser puzzle).

You'll also find lots of junk lying about. Plastic parts, electronics scraps, and other pickups can be used in Donnie's machine back in the Turtle Lair to craft items and upgrades. You can hold several items at a time in your pouch, and players can equip two upgrades from a list of unlockables that suit the mission best. There's a ton here, and it deeply rewards players who enjoy exploring, something that's great to see in a game like this.

The new hangout

When I first joined a friend of mine in TMNT: Empire City, we high-fived each other and quickly realized how much fun it is to be a Ninja Turtle. The Turtle Lair is decorated in a way that feels legit. Each of the Turtles' rooms fits their unique personalities. There's even a chessboard in the living room with pieces you have to find throughout the game, eventually culminating in a board you can use to play with friends.

Running and climbing through the city with friends is a ton of fun, and between the minigames and strategizing your next attack, there's no shortage of things to do. And if you want to roleplay, there are tons of ways to do that, too. It's equally great for kids and the kids at heart.

One of the most surprising things to me was seeing a city faction map that constantly changes. When you start the game, the Footclan has taken full control of the city, but you can liberate it by completing missions and destroying outposts. The Clan will eventually rebuild these outposts and take the territory back if you don't defend it, so keep an eye on the crime meter back in the Turtle Lair.

As you clear Footclan outposts, special NPCs will appear in those safe parts of the city to offer you bonus quests and challenges. These can be anything from parkour races to basketball, and are all a blast to play with friends. They've all got leaderboards, too, so if your friends can't join you, you can always compete on your own.

I came into this game expecting a fun beat-em-up that lasted a few hours and was just fun for that brief time, but I came away realizing this is so much more than meets the eye. It's an impressive accomplishment in every way, from the visuals to the size of the city, things to do by yourself and with friends, and even the original story itself.

This is what I'll be doing for the next few Fridays when I play with friends, and I hope to see a ton of Turtles joining the fray as the game launches on the Meta Quest and Steam on April 31 for a crazy good $24.99. Plus, it's crossplay-compatible, so you can enjoy time with friends even if they're on a different platform.

What you need to know

• DIRECTV has launched its app on Meta Quest, bringing live TV streaming to VR headsets for the first time.
• The app offers access to 150+ live channels, on-demand content, and free streaming via the MyFree service.
• Users can also subscribe to paid packages for sports, movies, and other content directly within VR.
• The app is available on Quest 2, 3, 3S, and Pro through the Meta Horizon Store.

If you're someone who prefers watching TV shows and movies on a VR headset and also wants access to live TV, you just got lucky, as DIRECTV has officially launched its app for the Meta Quest platform.

DIRECTV announced that its app is now available on Meta Quest VR headsets. You can download it through the Meta Horizon Store or Horizon TV on Quest 2, Quest 3, Quest 3S, and Quest Pro. The company claims it's the first virtual multichannel video programming distributor to bring its service to Meta Quest.

With DIRECTV on Meta Quest, you get access to over 150 live channels along with on-demand shows and movies directly in VR. This includes channels like ABC News Live, NBC News Now, Fox Weather, and even dedicated live sports channels. The company also says a lot of this content can be streamed for free through its MyFree offering for registered users.

In addition to the free content, DIRECTV also offers paid packages for sports and other programming. The company says its existing channel bundles carry over to VR as well, so you can choose specific packages based on your interests, whether that's sports, movies, or lifestyle content, or go with broader bundles.

DIRECTV isn't the first app to arrive on Meta Quest. Apps like Disney Plus and Prime Video are already available on the platform, but DIRECTV is the first live TV streaming service to make the jump to VR. It is, however, worth noting that Netflix is still missing from the Meta Quest platform.

This also comes at a time when Meta has increased the prices of the Quest 3 and Quest 3S in the U.S. due to component costs. The Quest 3S now starts at $350, while the Quest 3 has gone up to $600.

Android Central's Take

This is good news for Meta Quest users, although I'm not entirely sure how big the demand for live TV in VR really is. That said, watching live sports in VR feels like a different experience, and it's nice to see more users will be able to enjoy it now.

For two solid years, a group of friends and I played Breachers every Friday night. It was something I looked forward to all week, and thanks to the game's regular updates, it took us a solid two years to finally call it quits. Since then, we haven't found something that all of us consistently want to play, but that's all about to change with the release of Forefront.

Unsurprisingly, Forefront is made by the same developers of Breachers. Just as Breachers borrows many of the best concepts from the Rainbow Six series, Forefront borrows many concepts from games like Battlefield and PUBG, all while still feeling unique and visceral in the way only VR games can.

I recently had the opportunity to play the final release build of the game with dozens of YouTubers and gaming journalists, and when I tell you this is the next big multiplayer VR phenomenon, I'm not exaggerating. By the end of the three rounds we played, there wasn't a single person who wasn't cheering and asking for another one.

It's a feeling I haven't had since Breachers came out, and while I've played many different (and excellent) multiplayer VR games since then, this is the one that's going to bring me back to consistently playing with my friend group, and I couldn't be happier about it.

Battlefield 2035

Forefront takes place in the year 2035 and puts players in 32-player battlegrounds, vying for control of different points on the map in one of two game modes. It channels classics like Battlefield and Tribes with plenty of bespoke mechanics for VR headsets and is available on Steam VR and Meta Quest platforms, with a PSVR 2 release in the near future.

As you might expect from a game like this, you can choose from one of four classes, each of which has its own special traits and equipment. Whether you choose the Assault, Medic, Engineer, or Sniper classes, you can pilot a dozen different types of vehicles, from jet skis to helicopters, ATVs, tanks, and more.

All vehicles allow more than one player to board, and several even allow players to operate large guns or other special equipment while riding. The environments are semi-destructible, including many buildings that can have walls blown up, as well as other obstacles that can be destroyed to open up new paths of attack.

As someone who poured hundreds of hours into Tribes 2 and Battlefield 1942, it's been a while since I've truly enjoyed a game in this genre. Don't get me wrong, I've tried several similar titles over the past 20 years since those games existed, but few of them have held my attention the way Forefront was able to.

Unironically, the same thing happened with Breachers, as the last time I played a similar type of game was Rainbow Six 3 on the original Xbox. Clearly, there was a time where I enjoyed these types of team-based multiplayer games, and that ship certainly sailed for a bit, but it appears it's back in port thanks to the immersion only VR can provide.

Being able to physically steer vehicles, hide behind walls, climb towers, and slap the paddles together to revive a teammate just hits different. Physically doing something feels objectively different than watching an on-screen character do it, and it's that difference that's reinvigorated these types of games for me again.

It also helps immensely that VR games like Forefront make communication so darn easy. All the equipment needed to talk to my teammates is built into the headset, no silly keyboard menus to navigate through, and no nonsense tech support to deal with just to get a microphone working, either. Just strategize with your teammates using your voice and they hear you.

Forefront has been in early access for several months now, and the difference between this version 1.0 release and the original release is pretty monumental. The odd lag or occassional jank that was present in earlier versions is gone, replaced with an impressively smooth game that delivers Battlefield-sized levels with 32-players, all minus hitching or lag. This is why I love gaming on consoles like the Quest 3, and it's great to see something made so well!

Developer Triangle Factory also introduced a combat bow with the version 1.0 release, and I couldn't be happier about how it feels to use it. Bows are already my favorite weapon to use in VR because of the highly tactile nature of the weapon, and this one is typically an instakill so long as you pulled back far enough on the string.

There's nothing quite as thrilling as setting an arrow sailing across the ravaged town square only to down an enemy in an instant. It's far more rewarding than using a gun, even if guns are more efficient.

I also loved operating vehicles, but will understand if some people need to have others drive. If you're prone to motion sickness at all, you'll definitely want to enable some of the supporting settings to keep that at bay while operating a vehicle. It can be intense.

I'm so happy to have a game like Forefront that reinvigorates this genre for me, and I can't wait to see what Triangle Factory does with the game over the next few years. Their support of Breachers over the years was legendary. Given the community that Forefront has already developed over the past few months of early access, I know big things are coming to an already impressively big game.

This week, Meta announced the latest evolution in its Metaverse strategy, and while it's not totally unexpected, it is still a bit surprising. Horizon Worlds, Meta's Roblox-like Metaverse ecosystem for Meta Quest headsets, is officially being killed off on Meta's VR platform, with the last day of service happening on June 15, 2026. This was detailed in an email sent to Meta Quest account holders:

"Starting June 15, 2026, you will no longer be able to build, publish or update VR worlds." Meta initially said all VR access for Horizon Worlds would be suspended on that date, but Meta's CTO gave an update in an Instagram AMA, clarifying that existing worlds would continue to be playable in VR, but new worlds would be mobile only.

Meta spent much of 2024 and 2025 deeply integrating Horizon Worlds into the Meta Quest experience, going so far as to rename the Meta Quest's operating system to Horizon OS and making Horizon Worlds the first thing you see in the headset and on the companion mobile app. Meta recently announced that the Horizon feed would be sunset, and now it's fully pulling the plug on everything from the Horizon Central social hub and the Horizon Worlds app.

In other words, the Meta Quest experience is going back to the golden age of 2022 when the Meta Quest was a gaming-first platform. It's a move many (including myself) have been calling for for years, and proves Meta really is cleaning up all the junk and getting back to basics with the Quest.

What 'gaming-first' really means

Back in December, I wrote about how Meta was "cutting the fat" and getting back to basics. Based on what I knew, that meant abandoning the concept of an integrated Metaverse and going back to making big games to attract large numbers of gamers. Unfortunately, I was wrong about the latter half of that equation. Meta isn't the next Nintendo or Sony, and that's a real shame, considering the quality of the games we got from its first-party studios over the last decade.

Instead, Meta will focus solely on funding third-party games and studios, but, even then, it won't be the "gravy train" as it has been for the past few years. Meta said that Oculus Publishing shipped over 140 games in 2025 and has many more shipping this year, so while blank cheques will no longer be written, the company still appears to be serious about funding game development.

Unfortunately, the changes being made to Horizon Worlds also mean a few good projects will be tossed to the wayside. Back in November, Meta debuted social Hyperscape worlds using the updated Horizon engine, allowing users to socialize in hyper-realistic environments. This service will be sunset along with Horizon Worlds, but at least the scanning and building of Hyperscape environments in the original app will stick around.

And while it's sad to see some of these things go, the reality is that they have to die to save the rest of the ecosystem. Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth has stated many times that Meta "is a big company and can work on many things at the same time," but users only have so much time and attention, and it's clear that Meta's focus on a Metaverse-first platform is not what's been winning gamers over to the platform.

The gamers have spoken

To prove that the Quest is a gaming-first platform, Chris Pruett, Director of Games at Meta, spoke at GDC about the state of the Quest ecosystem. "Quest usage has been growing year over year, and in 2025, we hit our all-time highest numbers of unique users ever in our history." That's not a sign of a dying platform — quite the opposite.

In 2025, "over 100 titles generated $1M+ in gross revenue in 2025," and Pruett explained that "premium app sales remain the largest revenue driver for our ecosystem, but IAP grew significantly in 2025, by over 10%." That's great news for games, and what's particularly telling is that Pruett doesn't mention Horizon Worlds numbers once. Meta is no longer trying to justify funding a feature no one wants.

So instead of garbage-tier free content being thrust in your face the moment you turn on the headset, Meta looks like it's going back to promoting actual games that people are spending lots of real money on.

To back that up, Meta will continue expanding its Meta Horizon+ gaming subscription, which gives gamers access to over 100 games for only $8 per month. To make things even better, Pruett noted that Meta doled out over $20 million to developers who participated in the program in 2025, proving there's actually profit to be made for developers as part of the service.

Meta still maintains that its promotion of Horizon Worlds had a limited negative impact on game sales, but the data doesn't align with what developers have told me and other publications. Pruett noted that despite the low impact, promoting Horizon Worlds front and center "was universally unpopular with our developer community, so we've removed them from the Store shelves."

Meta is often criticized for acting "too Silicon Valley" in that it constantly tries new things and abandons them before users truly have a chance to accept them or change habits. "The cycle of experiment-learn-adjust is typical for Meta. We are cautious not to make assumptions we cannot prove, and when our assumptions are disproved, we change course."

Slow down

My advice to Meta is the same I gave last year regarding monthly software updates that were pushed out before being tested enough: slow down. The adage of the tortoise and the hare absolutely applies to gamers, who are infamously resistant to change of any kind, and Meta needs to start recognizing that.

This is going to be a weird year for VR gaming, undoubtedly, but plenty of amazing games are still on the horizon (pun intended), including the next VR Games Showcase next week (trailer above) and new hardware from several companies over the next year, including Meta itself.

While I think it's a massive mistake for Meta to abandon first-party game development, the company is still getting back to basics and focusing on gaming as the primary purpose of the Quest platform, and that's the right move at the end of the day.

As I rode my way down the elevator with my wirecutters, screwdriver, blowgun, and assorted other tools at the ready, I gleefully anticipated what my next mission would look like. Would I encounter AI-powered robots that were sure to blow my cover? Maybe take down a few fields of laser traps? Hack into the security cameras and gather my intel that way? The choices seemed infinite, and the best part was that I rarely knew what to expect next.

It was this sense of exploration and adventure that was most unexpected in Unseen Diplomacy 2, the surprising sequel to an incredibly niche VR tech demo from the original HTC Vive's 2016 release. I recall being enamored with the physical movement required to play the original title, and I showed it off to numerous people who visited. Still, that game was little more than a well-executed, unique concept that lacked any real gameplay depth.

The sequel is, quite frankly, one of the best VR games I've ever played. The visuals are not only impeccably stylistic and fit the mood very well — think back to the 2003 pseudo spy game XIII with its graphic novel style — but the concept is properly fleshed out and utilizes all of the Meta Quest 3's best and most unique hardware features. Full wireless freedom, the ability to map out your whole home and convert it into a playable virtual space, and the fantastic possibility that comes with moving your body like a real spy would, all without the potentially fatal consequences at the end of the day.

Time to suit up, agent

Like the original, Unseen Diplomacy 2 was designed around the idea that your home can become a virtual playspace that looks and feels totally different. This isn't a mixed reality game, although it does have mixed reality missions you can do if you like that sort of thing. This is still very much a VR game that transports you to new places, but the difference is that this release not only allows for the full range of physical human movement, but it also recognizes that not everyone has the space or physical ability to move around like a spy.

As you begin, I recommend two things right off the bat. First, if you're playing in full roomscale mode — which means you'll be walking around your room and relying on full physical movements — make sure the floor plan it shows you before playing is correct. My space worked best when I cleared the whole thing out and drew a long rectangle in my living room to play in.

Second, play the tutorial first. This is not the first game, which means there's a lot more going on. You'll need to familiarize yourself with all the gadgets in your inventory (and there are a lot of them). Otherwise, you'll get to a puzzle and be totally stumped in the real game.

After you've started, get ready to sink some serious time into this. You can play for as long or as little as you'd like, but I found the gameplay loop to be ridiculously addictive. Each day starts out at a sort of game board that loosely resembles a mix of Risk and Catan. Each day, pawns will move around the board, showing where spies are located throughout the world. Selecting a spy will give you a range of actions, including further movement, investigation, and mission execution.

You'll have 17 days to stop "doomsday" from occurring, so gathering intel and completing missions is paramount to this goal. Each mission takes place in a different location based on intel, and as you might expect, missions have individual goals. Sometimes you'll have to collect more intel and upload it back to HQ, while other times you'll be disarming missiles, sneaking into server farms or mansion basements, and fighting plenty of police bots along the way.

The best way to play the game is with roomscale movement, as the rooms and corridors are all fully scaled to fit within the physical confines of your home. But don't worry, these rooms don't work like "normal" rooms do. Doors take you to new areas through a clever mix of procedural generation and brilliant programming, requiring you to physically walk through them and into a new space, even though you've only walked in a circle in your living room.

It's enough to truly boggle your mind the first few hours you play the game, and it'll continue to bake your noodle throughout the entirety of the gameplay experience. That's not to mention all the physical puzzles like cutting wires and rewiring panels, ducking under and around lasers, climbing through vents, etc., that you'll come across, plus a multitude of hacking minigames, climbing up and down ropes, ladders, unmarked walls with McGuyver-style climbing gear, etc.

The campaign spans several different countries and continents, sports 3 different save slots, and half a dozen different difficulty modes, and even includes a dedicated fitness mode that gauges your level of movement and intensity with lots of follow-up stats to tie everything in. Plus, of course, the mixed reality room mode I mentioned earlier, adding yet another layer of depth to this package.

It's quite literally the full package and one of the most memorable bespoke VR games I've played in quite some time. Developer Triangular Pixels maintains a roadmap for new features, bug fixes, and general improvements, plus you can suggest new ideas on the Discord server. At $15.99 on both Steam and Meta Quest platforms, this one's a no-brainer day one buy when version 1.0 lands on March 16.

Meta Quest games that primarily use hand tracking are extremely cool, there's no doubt about it. Being able to interact with a virtual world using your actual hands feels like something out of a sci-fi movie, but that sense of realism and interaction also means that inputs are a bit more restrictive than when using controllers with joysticks and buttons.

That means when playing a game like Dimensional Double Shift, you can interact with the world and other players like never before. Still, it's not as easy to perform system tasks like taking a screenshot, recording a video, or muting your microphone. Thankfully, there's a solution for that, but it's a bit hidden within the system menu.

It's called Expanded Quick Actions, and it adds five buttons to the menu on your palm, allowing you to instantly mute your microphone (huzzah!), recenter your view, record a video, open the menu, and see your surroundings without having to remove your headset. The microphone mute is particularly helpful for me, as I've got a busy family and sometimes have to carry on a conversation while playing, something I don't always care for the whole internet to hear.

How to enable Expanded Quick Actions

On your Meta Quest headset, press the home button on the right controller or perform the home action with your hands by pinching your index and thumb together while your palm is facing you (as pictured above). This will bring up the Universal Menu Bar, which includes shortcuts to the app drawer, recent and pinned apps, and settings. Next, click on the Quick Settings panel, which is a button on the left side of the menu bar that shows the time, Wi-Fi status, and battery.

After that, you're going to want to click on Settings in the top right corner, then select Movement Tracking from the left-side menu. In this section, you'll find the option for enabling hand tracking and Expanded Quick Actions. Ensure that hand tracking is enabled, then tap the Expanded Quick Actions toggle to enable it.

Now, when you face your palm toward you, pinch your index and thumb together and hold them for a second, and a more robust action menu will appear. This unlocks the aforementioned menu that contains mute, screen record, recenter, mixed reality, and home buttons. Expanded Quick Actions works on any Meta Quest headset, but it's best on a Quest 3 or Quest 3S since those headsets feature full-color mixed reality vision.

If you want to just go home, you can still quickly tap your index and thumb together to perform the home gesture. While you're in this menu, feel free to tweak a few settings as you see fit. One that's particularly useful is "double tap controllers for hand tracking," which lets you instantly swap between controller-based and hand tracking methods without having to put the controllers down and wait for them to go to sleep.

Hand tracking can't be used everywhere, but I've found myself defaulting to it when putting my Quest on before I launch anything, and I often find myself working from my headset without using controllers at all. It's genuinely impressive how far hand tracking has come along and how it's legitimately a replacement for controllers in many situations, especially now when you can pull up quick menus with handy actions with just a pinch.

The video game crash of 1983 is legendary. Even if you weren't alive at the time (which I wasn't), you likely know that a perfect storm of overinvestment and poor quality games forced the entire video game industry into a deep depression. This phenomenon has long been studied and predicted to recur, and it's entirely possible that we just witnessed history repeating itself last month.

I'm specifically speaking about the ongoing challenges in the VR market over the past two years, as free-to-play games have turned Meta Quest's app store into a wannabe Google Play Store. A mixture of mismanagement and poor market conditions led Meta to close most of its studios in January. That led many to wonder if Meta was still interested in VR gaming, or if the Quest would be dropped in a toy box like Woody from the first Toy Story movie after Buzz — in this case, AI glasses — showed up.

While the market's dynamics in 1983 were wildly different from the video game market we all know and love today, the parallels between Atari's failures and Meta's handling of the Quest over the past few years are strikingly similar. Still, a small contingent of developers is seeing success, even if the swath of Gorilla Tag clones and Horizon Worlds slop continues to bury quality titles from would-be customers.

Simulating jobs

One of VR's earliest success stories is the game Job Simulator, which is widely revered not only for its on-point humor but also for its uniquely interactive qualities and mechanics that have held up over a decade of changing VR ideals. It's since been installed over 6 million times, and its multiplayer successor, Dimensional Double Shift (DDS), just crossed over the 1-million installs mark only a year after it launched in beta.

But DDS is achieving success in a very different market than the one Job Simulator launched in. Back in 2016, the game debuted on Steam and PlayStation VR, two traditional gaming platforms that appeal to a very different set of gamers than the current Meta Quest crowd, which often defaults to mobile-style free-to-play games over larger, more ambitious offerings.

Owlchemy Labs CEO, Andrew Eiche, had quite a bit to say about the evolving market and where things are headed in an interview I conducted with him this past week. Despite some major setbacks with Meta's studio closures and strategy changes lately, Eiche had a surprisingly rosy outlook on the industry and where VR gaming is headed next.

Speaking on the success of free-to-play games like his own Dimensional Double Shift, he told me the attraction wasn't just that it was free to jump in and play, but also its style. "If you look at the broader gaming landscape, there's a push towards play as play," Eiche told me. "We had a large push for many, many years towards competitive multiplayer games, and I think you're starting to see a little bit of a backlash."

While some people certainly enjoy the high-skill nature of competitive games, lots of people simply don't have the time to get good enough to compete. In many of these games, Eiche notes that players need to "play your role, or we're going to accuse you of throwing the game, and we're going to get very mad."

The communities for cooperative and "slop" genre games, such as R.E.P.O, Lethal Company, Dimensional Double Shift, and Among Us, are often distinct. Rather than push players to win at all costs, the goal is "I guess you could play the game if you want and we'll gently push you towards our goals," which is exactly what Dimensional Double Shift does. The point is to have fun with other people and enjoy the limited time you might have to play video games. Imagine that!

The perils of free-to-play

Meta's handling of the Quest's app store has been called into question many times over by gamers and developers alike. The switch to allowing pure shovelware to release alongside big-name titles like Batman: Arkham Shadow or Skydance's Behemoth has been critiqued to kingdom come, and rightly so, as it has caused a substantial drop in sales on the platform compared to two years ago when the store was highly curated.

Meta's shift to promoting Horizon Worlds content over paid experiences has pushed lifetime gamers away from the platform, and Gen Alpha's adoption of Quest as a more fun way to play has drastically shifted the audience to one that often chooses free-to-play content first.

While this is great for games like DDS, it's very bad for many others. Meta's CTO, Andrew Bosworth, has admitted that mistakes were made and that the company is working to turn things around, but it's too little, too late for many people.

Eiche has been around the VR scene for even longer than me, so, of course, I had to ask him what he thought about what's happened this year. "My theory is that, at the worst, this is 1983, and we're in our Atari moment where a company has potentially put out too many tendrils in too many places and moved a little too fast and now has to back up. Whether Meta ends up as the Atari of VR is TBD."

Unsurprisingly, Bosworth has a more positive take on the changes at Meta. "We're still investing more in content than anyone else. We're even investing in more content than I think we were even a year ago," he told viewers in an Instagram AMA on February 3, 2026.

There's certainly plenty of truth to Meta having invested more in VR than anyone else, but the degree to which the company is actually investing is anyone's best guess. We do know that Reality Labs spending isn't changing in 2026, despite Meta's studio closures, but the company is anything but transparent about how it spends its cash.

While there's plenty of debate about what the future of VR gaming looks like, many parties remain very positive about the future of VR hardware and experiences. Eiche says he's "very excited for the Steam Frame and Project Aura," two huge 2026 releases expected to alter the XR landscape for years to come.

Meta is also working on a substantially smaller, lighter headset that's reportedly going to be released next Spring. Rumors say they look like a pair of glasses rather than a VR headset and are called Project Phoenix, as pictured above. Boz briefly teased it on the February 3rd AMA, saying "not just the next one device, but the next two devices that we're [building] are very exciting."

The real question is whether Meta can fix the Quest store in time for an exciting new hardware release. "The way the store is structured has an enormous impact on what the games look like," Eiche told me, and he's very right. The current store design is just like a mobile app store and "drives prices to free and consolidates around a few large players with smaller teams finding success in bursts." Whether this or the Steam model is the real success in the end will be anyone's best guess.

Fans of "The Twilight Zone" will remember the feeling that came with the start of every new episode. I'm not old enough to have seen the black & white TV show fresh when it aired, but I have wonderful memories watching it with my father during my middle school summers when he would come home from work during lunch time, trying to riddle out what was actually happening in each episode's strange realities while simultaneously feeling horrified at the answer.

More modern classics like "Severance" use similar tactics, setting up an environment that looks and feels normal at first, only to turn something on its head in a sinister way you didn't expect. I recently played Hotel Infinity on Meta Quest, and it evokes the same feelings I get from watching "Severance" or "The Twilight Zone," but this time, the twist is that I'm the one walking the liminal spaces of a warped, twisted universe.

Hotel Infinity is the newest game by Manifold Garden developer Studio Chyr.

The hall to nowhere and everywhere at the same time

In Hotel Infinity, you'll walk from room to room, solving puzzles that open impossible doorways, move entire floors, and even rotate gravity itself as you move from one liminal space to the next. The trick here is that you're physically moving the entire time, not just pushing on a joystick to move your character.

Hotel Infinity is one of maybe half a dozen VR games I've played that want players to traverse virtual space by physically walking (or wheeling) in real space. It's one of the most brilliant uses of what's called "roomscale VR," meaning you use an entire physical room's space to move your body and translate those movements into the virtual world.

Like Eye of the Temple, Hotel Infinity's levels are designed in such a way that you can physically walk infinitely around your room and make progress in the game. That's because the hotel's rooms are a bit of a quantum puzzle. They simultaneously both exist and don't exist, depending on how you look at them. Peer around one corner and you'll find a hallway. Peer around it the other way and you'll see a hotel room.

It's this use of impossible spaces that makes the game's movement possible, and it'll have you getting closer to hitting your 10,000-step goal in your living room every time you play it. The game also has an option for smaller spaces that swaps out physical walking for pushing a virtual thumbstick, but I would advise against this unless you absolutely have to settle. The game is still interesting without the physical movement, but it tends to ruin the immersion a bit.

The game's puzzles aren't ever particularly difficult, although most of them will have you looking at familiar objects in unfamiliar ways by the time you're done. If there's anything to expect from the game's clever, dynamic worlds, it's to expect the unexpected.

If you're a person who enjoys solving puzzles or venturing into the unknown, few games feel as perfectly crafted as this one. There are no "monsters" and no combat. This isn't a game full of gore or foul language. It's one that understands that less is more, and the power of the imagination is far more powerful than any particular thing a person can see.

What you need to know

• Meta Quest v85 is now available to public test channel (PTC) users, including a new malware scanning feature, privacy indicator, voice control for 2D windows, passkey support, and the removal of the Horizon Feed.
• An updated Navigator UI is slowly rolling out to all V85 users over the next few weeks, replacing the old navigation UI entirely.
• Meta Quest 3 users (not Quest 3S) can now test out the Surface Keyboard and Touchpad, which adds a virtual keyboard and touchpad to any flat surface.
• Meta Quest 3S users can now customize the action button with short or long-press functions.

Meta updates the Quest's system software nearly every month, and the next update is packed with new features to get excited about. That new update, v85, is now available to anyone enrolled in the public test channel (PTC).

Among the swath of changes and updates comes the removal of Horizon Feed, a 2D panel that featured Horizon Worlds content, Instagram reels, videos, and more. Meta says it's removing the panel because it "has not driven strong entitlement conversion," meaning that more users typically close the window rather than click its contents.

Instead, all home screens will slowly convert to the Navigator UI, a simplified UI (seen below) that makes it quicker to launch into apps with a single click after turning on your headset. Navigator has seen plenty of changes since Meta started testing it early last year, morphing with user feedback to usher in a more simplified experience.

Meta Quest 3 users can test out a new Surface Keyboard and Touchpad feature by navigating to the experimental section of system settings. With this new feature, the Quest 3 headset places the keyboard and a new laptop-inspired touchpad onto any flat surface, and can be seen in action in the video below.

Meta didn't specify why this feature was Quest 3-exclusive, but it's likely because that headset features a depth projector, which projects an IR grid that's invisible to human eyes but can be used by the Quest 3 cameras to measure depth.

But Quest 3S users aren't totally left out, as that headset features an Action Button on the underside that's now customizable in update v85. Meta says you can customize the long and short press actions, potentially making it more useful than its current function as a mixed reality toggle button.

All Meta Quest users will see updates to privacy and security, including a new automated malware scanning tool that runs after apps are installed, as well as new privacy indicators that follow guidelines Google delivered in Android 12. Passkeys can also now be used in the Meta Quest Browser, eliminating the need to remember passwords. The Meta Quest browser is now also pinned to the virtual wall within Meta Quest Home, giving you instant access to web browsing upon boot.

2D windows can now be controlled via voice commands and head movements, which Meta says has been added as an accessibility feature for users with limited hand mobility. You can also now hide your virtual hands when they're not in view under movement tracking in system settings. These features may also be key to further de-prioritizing controllers for the rumored upcoming headset that's said to ship without controllers in the box.

Meta is also rolling out an overhauled Ongoing Activities panel, which the company says delivers an improved design for "easier access to controls for various functions, such as taking videos, making calls, or enjoying media." Meta teases that this establishes "a foundation for future improvements and the integration of new features in upcoming releases," so it's not the last we'll be seeing of additions to this panel.

Android Central's Take

Meta has been working on many different UI updates over the years, but Navigator is by far the most elegant approach yet. However, it's not without its problems, as previous versions have included a confusing "dual-layer" window structure that separates the app drawer from the rest of the floating windows, requiring a single or double press of the Home button to toggle between different layers.

Lots of people who used my headset over the past year found this dual-layer system confusing, and I'm hoping Meta has taken that feedback and made changes to its structure. All of the other changes and features in this update are seriously wonderful, including the removal of Horizon Feed, as it signifies Meta's understanding that VR users, en masse, don't like Horizon Worlds and want Meta to stop pushing it in their faces.

As for testing out PTC v85 yourself, my recommendation is that you don't. I was on PTC for a year and a half, and regretted it every month a new update came out. The experience wasn't just buggy; it was often completely broken, making it impossible to even use my headset far too often. Just wait for the final v85 update, which is only a few weeks away.

Some gamers thrive on competitive multiplayer experiences. Battlefield, Call of Duty, Fortnite, and plenty of others have built a community of millions of players through this concept, and while I can enjoy a few rounds in these games from time to time, I've never been a competitive person by nature. Thankfully, there are a lot of people like me who would rather join forces with other players rather than compete against them.

A surge of new co-op games has appeared in recent years, with titles like Lethal Company, R.E.P.O., PEAK, and Doors (to name a few) that encourage players to work together to achieve a goal. These titles are often referred to as "friendslop" games because the real goal of the game isn't to complete the goal, per se. It's to spend time with your friends and turn funny moments into lasting memories.

It evokes that feeling of you and your childhood friends venturing into the woods to do something stupid, and everyone remembers those moments for the rest of their lives. Recently, I've come across Deadly Delivery, a Meta Quest game with friendslop vibes that I simply can't get enough of, and it's made special not just by the fact that it's in VR, but that it has a unique gameplay loop while still feeling familiar to fans of other games in this genre.

What if Amazon employed goblins?

In Deadly Delivery, your job is to deliver packages to the places no one else wants to go. After all, someone has to fulfill those orders, right? We're talking denizens of the deepest caves, the darkest caverns, and the most dangerous haunted forests. They want their packages, but they don't want you hanging around.

So what's a goblin delivery person supposed to do? Grab a few friends and take them along for security, of course! Deadly Delivery sports three save slots, so you can keep your progress separated between friend groups, or just keep a save slot free for those nights when you want to join up with random players.

Each round begins at your living quarters, a sort of hostel with chicken legs (more on that in a moment) that allows you to customize your character, buy new cosmetics, purchase items before your next run, and even upgrade your character's skill tree. Once the team is ready, you select one of a dozen different locations from a globe near the exit and hit begin.

That hostel you live in is actually the famous Baba Yaga house from Slavic folklore, which explains the chicken legs and its ability to travel to different parts of the world. When the doors open at your new location, you and your friends will grab as many packages as possible and venture forth to deliver them to any door you can find.

This is where Deadly Delivery VR differs from extraction games like Lethal Company, R.E.P.O., or even the Roblox game by the same name. Instead of scavenging levels for treasure to bring back, you're bringing packages into each labyrinth-like level. The only thing you're tasked with collecting is the delivery fee for each package. Apparently, cave-dwelling monsters don't use PayPal.

As I previously mentioned, these denizens might want their packages, but they certainly don't want you sticking around, and they don't want anyone randomly wandering into their caves, either. Because of this, you'll come across any number of traps and monsters along the way, most of which you'll need to avoid or face certain death. Even ringing the doorbell will often trigger a trap of some kind, making each delivery a hazardous affair.

Each player has a number of slots on their body where they can store packages or items, and special items like carts can be purchased for you to take more into the dungeon at a time. When a player dies, they drop a crucifix that can be picked up by any other player and dropped into a sacrificial fire to resurrect the downed player. But beware, some of these fires require a sacrifice in addition to the crucifix, and that often means you'll lose a hand in order to resurrect your friend.

Each goblin's work week consists of three days to achieve a monetary goal. Bigger packages are often worth more to deliver, but require two hands or a cart to drag them to their destination. Successfully meeting the goal will allow you to work another week, unlock new areas, and even special cosmetics that are only available after consecutive weeks of service.

Fail to achieve your goal each week, and the corporation will remove you from service. Permanently. Once you and your team all fail this weekly task, your money and level progress will be reset, but you get to keep the skills you've unlocked and any cosmetics you've been awarded. Now you have the opportunity to do it all again, but this time, in style.

Of course, Deadly Delivery wouldn't be a proper friendslop game without crazy hijinx or wacky physics-based nonsense. Huge packages are unwieldy and make navigating through caverns difficult (or extra easy to step on land mines, depending on your perspective). Carts don't always behave like you think they might in real life. You can even climb up your friends as they climb up you, making an infinite ladder to the stars.

It's all good, silly fun with a bit of terrifying horror to keep players in check. I enjoy that there's nothing overly violent, no foul language, and nothing really inappropriate for younger players, all while still delivering a unique art style that doesn't look like low-budget trash. Too many games fall into that last category these days.

I've been obsessed with this game since Christmas and can't wait to jump back in with friends tonight. Ideally, you'll want a total of four players so you have the best chance of hitting your goal, but I've played with two or three players and it scales just fine. Good luck out there, especially when you hit your first blood moon.

What you need to know

• Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth explained that Meta is changing focus from first-party development to focus mainly on third-party games for Meta Quest headsets.
• Horizon Worlds is now taking a mobile-only approach and will be scaled back from the Meta Quest's Horizon OS.
• Oculus Founder Luckey Palmer says, "the narrative that Meta is abandoning VR is obviously false."

In a move that will have lots of Meta Quest gamers screaming "HALLELUJAH," Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth announced that the company would be paring back its investments into the VR version of Horizon Worlds, a Roblox-like metaverse, and focusing its efforts on smartphone gamers, instead. Meta is even removing Horizon Feed from headsets starting with the next Meta Quest software update, v85.

Bosworth went on several interviews this week at Davos, a World Economic Forum summit, detailing Meta's next steps for its Reality Labs division. Last week, Meta laid off 1,500 Reality Labs staff and announced the closure of most of its first-party development studios without any official announcement, causing speculation that the company was done with VR.

Bosworth told Axios, "we had this integrated concept of where Horizon and VR were the same thing....That is a real challenging piece of work to land. There's lots of people who put this headset on for different reasons. You want to support all those different use cases. The lack of focus comes at the expense of user experience and a great expense at development cost."

Nearly two years ago, Meta made moves to more deeply integrate Meta Quest headsets with the company's Horizon Worlds metaverse. The Meta Quest store became the Meta Horizon store, and free-to-play Horizon Worlds content was prominently placed in front of users instead of more traditional gaming content. The result was a substantial decline in game sales on the Quest, backed up by tons of developer data to prove it.

Many on social media are saying the changes are too little, too late. Several development studios have announced closures lately, some citing broader challenges across the video game market, while others have attributed them specifically to the VR market. Even developers of games that regularly stay in the top-20 best-sellers have announced layoffs. Allegedly, more are also on the way.

"We're going to let VR be what it is and what it does great," Bosworth continued. "We're going to focus a lot more on the third-party content library and ecosystem that has developed there."

But according to several interviews I conducted after Meta's studio closures on January 13, 2026, Meta let go of several staff who worked with third-party developers and reduced funding to programs like Oculus Publishing. Bosworth wasn't asked about this topic in either of the Davos interviews, but has so far failed to comment publicly when asked on social media.

Heath's interview with Bosworth revealed that Meta is "still continuing to invest heavily in this space, but obviously, VR is growing less quickly than we (Meta) hoped." We saw this trend begin in mid-2025, although the Christmas holiday period saw the Meta Quest outsell even the Nintendo Switch 2 on Amazon. Even with that success and the success of several new games, Meta looks to be shifting priorities away from first-party development.

As Palmer Luckey, founder of Oculus, said on social media, "Oculus had a strong internal mandate to NOT be Nintendo and instead build things that build the ecosystem. Returning to that is good." "This is not a disaster," Palmer followed up with. Meta "still employs the largest team working on VR by about an order of magnitude. Nobody else is even close." Time will tell if that continues to be a good thing.

The XR market is a strange beast. I distinctly remember walking into the HTC Vive booth at MWC 2015 in Berlin and walking out as I'd just seen magic for the first time. We've seen the market make some pretty seismic shifts since then, and while 2020 was the last fundamental shift with the release of the Oculus Quest 2, 2026 may just be the most pivotal year yet for the industry.

That's because 2026 will be the year we see the first true XR glasses make their debut. Sure, we've seen plenty of cool face computers from Meta, RayNeo, and even Snapchat make impressive strides in smart glasses design, but I think it's the partnership between Xreal and Google that's going to really showcase the next evolution in XR we've been craving.

In short, I think Xreal's Project Aura will be the holy grail people have been asking for, bridging the gap between immersive (but bulky) VR headsets and lightweight (but limiting) smart glasses. Android Central editor Michael Hicks got to try them in early December, and his impressions offered me the hope I've been longing to see.

Aura farming

Xreal Project Aura is going to totally revolutionize XR headsets as we know them when it launches in 2026. We don't have a price or a specific release date yet, but I'm pretty confident they'll launch at a lower price than Samsung's Galaxy XR, and I fully expect to see them on shelves before summertime.

Project Aura is special because it's truly the perfect combination of XR tech into one device. If you've used a pair of Xreal One glasses before, you'll understand how well they work and how comfortable they are to wear for long periods. Now, imagine those glasses with a substantially wider field of view and Android XR built in, and you'll understand why this is such a big deal.

There's been a lot of upselling of smart glasses by many outlets over the years, claiming that the latest pair "replaces the Apple Vision Pro" or some such similar nonsense. That's simply not been the case until now because smart glasses, no matter how good they have been, do not normally come with a proper operating system. Even ones that do are usually rudimentary and clunky.

But Aura is powered by Android XR, the same operating system that powers the $1800 Galaxy XR. No compromises, no silly limitations. This is the smart glasses dream that's been promised for so long, and it's coming in a form factor that won't feel weird or embarrassing to wear in public.

And I can already see the massive shift Aura is causing in the industry. Meta has already hired two of Apple's lead designers and restructured its Reality Labs division to focus on making the Quest 4 as light and agile as possible. Meta isn't even trying to compete with Android XR's vision right now because it wants to focus on making the best first-party hardware possible, and to me, that means making a Quest 4 that's more like a pair of smart glasses than what we currently think of as a VR headset.

We won't be seeing a Quest 4 in 2026, but the competition Meta will face from Google and its Android XR partners will ripple through the industry, as we saw when the Quest 2 launched in late 2020.

Letting off some Steam

So where does that leave current VR headsets? Trucking right along, really. VR headsets will remain the best way to play VR games until the Quest 4 rolls around and potentially changes that paradigm, but until then, two options will be the best choice for VR gamers.

The Quest 3 and 3S have solidified themselves as the best way to play VR games today, and the upcoming Steam Frame headset from Valve is about to evolve the industry in yet another direction. Steam Frame, like the Meta Quest, is a fully functioning VR console that's meant to be played anywhere. It's a Steam Deck for your face, and it'll likely mark the first time we can officially play Half-Life: Alyx without a PC.

That's all made possible by Valve's brilliant engineering, which translates software and hardware architectures to make it possible to play Windows VR games on a Snapdragon-powered headset. It's the evolution of the technology that enabled the Steam Deck's Linux-based OS to play Windows games, and I fully expect it to blow people's minds when it lands in early 2026.

That, of course, leaves Meta in another very weird position. While the Quest is the de facto standalone VR headset and will remain with the largest library of bespoke and exclusive VR games for years to come, Valve's new entry will be the first viable alternative since the original Oculus Quest launched in 2019.

Sure, HTC and Pico have offered some level of competition, but those companies faced significant hurdles in delivering a Quest-grade VR console that Valve won't. The biggest stumbling block for future Steam Frame owners is that Valve isn't making any new VR games. They're fully focused on making it easy for developers to make games for the Frame, and that seems to be taking up all of the company's attention for the time being.

It's going to be an extremely exciting year, with two massive shifts happening at once, and it's going to set the stage for years to come!

Ever since the PS1 classic Metal Gear Solid came out, I've been a huge fan of the stealth genre. While stealth's golden age is squarely in the mid-2000s with releases like Metal Gear Solid 3, several banger Splinter Cell games, and the Thief series (I would even argue Deus Ex fits in there too), a crop of new releases on the Meta Quest platform have given the genre the reinvigoration I've been hoping for.

Thief VR needs little introduction. It's the first mainline Thief entry in over a decade, and it's created by a pair of veteran VR developers in collaboration with the original developers and voice crew at Eidos Montreal. This time around, you play a new protagonist with the familiar voice of Garrett guiding your way.

Meanwhile, Espire MR Missions is the mixed reality follow-up to Espire 2, one of the best Meta Quest games. This Metal Gear Solid-inspired game distills that classic formula to its core and uses the power of mixed reality to transform it into something wholly unique.

The return of the Thief

Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow is my single-player VR game of the year. I had high hopes for it, given that Maze Theory and Vertigo Games were behind its development — two names you'll be familiar with if you play VR games — and the final product is basically what I'd hoped for.

Like Assassin's Creed Nexus VR, Thief VR feels like a proper return to the series' roots while still maintaining the fresh feeling that a change of perspective can deliver. It's not trying to add a massive world to immerse players in, change up the gameplay, or turn it into a roguelike or some mixed-reality playground. It's just Thief, in first-person, with a new playable character, and with the immersive nature of physically moving around rather than sitting on a couch. You can even set your mic to "immersive mode," and the guards can hear you talk or make noise!

You can, of course, play while seated, but it still requires some movement and interactivity not afforded by a controller. Take, for instance, one of the many times I found myself behind a door with guards on the other side. I'd slightly open the door to get a quick peek, then plan my attack by using the door, effectively making it a moving wall.

This feeling never got old, and the game doesn't drag on for 60 hours or somesuch nonsense. Most players will finish it in around 8 hours, which, for me, is the perfect game length. I'm 40, have a family and a full-time job, plus plenty of other activities, friend circles, and the like. I don't have time for 900-hour games anymore, and even when I do play them, I often stop between the 20 and 40-hour marks because I get bored.

Because it's this length, the mechanics never wear out their welcome. Opening a window to crawl through feels brilliant every time. Bopping a guard on the head and dragging his body into the shadows is always harrowing and fun, especially when you play on hard difficulty. It's even fun to use the Mechanical Eye to mark guards or see how the gates are wired up to sabotage them, Deus Ex or Batman Arkham style.

Shooting one of the half dozen arrow types to knock out a guard, put out a fire, or even grapple to a specific shortcut is generally a lot of fun. I say generally because there's an unnecessary learning curve to the bow's mechanics. It just feels weird to aim, but it's something you adjust to by the end of the third level.

I found myself dreaming about Thief's levels more than once. Because of their immersive nature, VR games tend to cause this effect more often than traditional games, and it's always fascinating to experience. The game is even quite nice visually on the Quest 3, and I found that the gamma and environments were nicely tweaked to work best on the Quest 3's LCD, while the SteamVR version was just too dark.

If you're a fan of classic stealth games, Thief VR may just be the revival you've been looking for. I certainly know it was for me, and I count myself fortunate for having been able to finally experience another proper Thief series game again after such a long, long wait.

There's a Solid Snake in my house

Once I finished Thief VR, I was craving more stealth. Laser Dance certainly fulfilled the Mission Impossible laser-dodging aspect of that, but I was still looking for a game that let me sneak around and take out bad guys, Metal Gear Solid style. That's where Espire MR Missions came in.

The Espire series is pure Metal Gear Solid through and through. I'd say it fits almost perfectly within Metal Gear Solid 2's mechanics, including multiple playable characters. But the MR missions are a little bit different. It still follows the same stealth concepts, but the difference is that the level is now your home.

That probably sounds boring to some of you, particularly if you don't have a spacious place. My home is on the small side, but I found Espire MR Mission's mixed-reality gameplay was enough to keep me from feeling confined to my living and dining rooms the entire time.

Espire MR Missions uses the home scan your Meta Quest headset performs before entering mixed reality space. This scan takes only a minute and automatically identifies furniture, walls, doors, and windows, making them all usable with Espire's mixed reality engine.

The game then takes all those features of your room and turns them into objects that belong in the Espire universe, depending on the mission requirements. Walls often become bay doors to the Espire universe, with enemies lurking just outside your walls, ready to burst in if you alert them to your presence.

Like Laser Dance, you'll dodge plenty of lasers and have to solve several puzzles to complete missions or make progress in one. These all require you to physically move around your room, giving the game a physicality that most simply lack. There's no virtual movement here, and that changes everything.

Since the game shifts and morphs to fit your play space, you can take your Meta Quest 3 anywhere you want, and it'll feel like a brand new game every time. That doesn't have to mean a park or someone else's house, either. It can just be moving to a different set of rooms in your house.

Twenty-one of the game's 29 missions can be played in any size space, while the remaining eight require a specific size to complete. The game is just $8.99 for new players, and Espire 2 owners receive it totally free. Plus, since it's early access, development is still ongoing, which means you'll get more content over the next few months and years. Now that's a real win!

This fitness tech guide isn't for the natural athletes, responsible dieters, and 10,000-steps-a-day streakers who make good habits a lifestyle. It's for the exhausted parents, disordered eaters, and indoor types who want to get healthier but struggle with it.

I'm not a natural athlete. I was a chubby kid with asthma who got healthier with high school sports, then spent years slowly regressing despite trying to stay active. It's only in the last couple of years that I've shed a few dozen pounds and become as fast as I was a decade ago.

I fully credit this to two things: Following the advice of my fitness smartwatch and sticking religiously to my New Year's resolutions. I set achievable goals at the start of the year and make myself stick to them.

This Fitness 101 guide is designed to help my fellow strugglers who need to grit and claw their way to success. I've collected Starter Kits that'll help motivate you to hit your fitness goals, as well as our best fitness guides for the technology you can trust to be accurate (and affordable).

More personally, I've gathered some of my favorite testing articles from my weekly fitness column for hitting my goals, like when I walked 10,000 steps every day or stood up every hour.

By the time Quitter's Day arrives in mid-January, I think more people can stick to their New Year's fitness resolutions if they have the right tech, plan, and mindset. I hope this guide helps you with that!

- Michael Hicks, Senior Editor, Wearables

Your New Year's Resolution Starter Kit

Fitness tips and more from the AC staff

Picking the right tech to hit your fitness goals

This past week, a frenzy of news posts and analyst critiques focused on Meta's "deep cuts" across its Metaverse division. This new division of Reality Labs, launched just one month ago, was created to cleanly split Reality Labs into more tangible business goals, and it was clearly put in place ahead of the big moves we saw in the past two weeks.

According to a Bloomberg report, Meta may be making 30% cuts to the division starting in January. That was enough for plenty of outlets to circle the wagons and cry that "VR is dead" once again, a mantra that far too many tech-forward publications love to scream year in and out. But the reality doesn't fit that narrative at all. In fact, reality is exactly the opposite of what these places purport.

Meta just hired two top-tier designers from Apple right before this news broke, and that news came just days after fresh leaks pointed toward a gaming-focused, high-end Meta Quest 4 in the works. Unironically, this is all happening as CTO Andrew Bosworth's promise that 2025 will be “the work of visionaries or a legendary misadventure" is about to expire, signaling that the company's focus on Horizon Worlds as the go-to "metaverse" was the problem all along.

Getting back to basics

The main Reality Labs division was formed on August 25, 2020, just ahead of the Meta Quest 2's launch. Since then, this division has been responsible for developing VR headsets, smart glasses, Horizon Worlds, sEMG gesture bands, the Horizon operating system, next-generation realistic avatars, and more.

Meta spends billions on Reality Labs technology investments each quarter, with spending growing from about $2 billion in Q4 2020 to a whopping $6.05 billion in Q4 2024. Since 2022, over 50% of Reality Labs' budget has been spent developing true AR glasses like Meta Orion, though the closest Meta has come to releasing a consumer product is the Ray-Ban Display Glasses.

Since the end of 2022, Meta has been cutting spending in most divisions by around 10% per year to get costs under control. Because of Reality Labs' unbridled spending growth, Zuckerberg reportedly requested a 20% spending cut by the end of 2025. That apparently never happened.

Now, the division needs to cut spending by 30% to match the 10% annual cut plus the 20% 2025 cut that didn't happen. That's not a deep cut; that's an alignment with every other division within Meta.

Meta isn't abandoning VR at all, far from it. But I do believe the company is making important shifts away from failed projects like Horizon Worlds and toward the development of a new pair of mixed-reality glasses. The December 4 report from Business Insider aligns with this view, and new leaks about a gaming-focused, ultralight Meta Quest 4 further complete the picture of what's happening at Meta.

Now, does that mean Horizon Worlds is going away tomorrow? Absolutely not. Meta has significantly redesigned the operating system that powers the Meta Quest (called Horizon OS) to revolve around using Horizon Worlds as a central social platform. Some elements of this transition have proven to be a boon to the Quest's OS, such as easier ways to connect and chat with friends and less friction for new users.

Instead, I think Meta will now begin to focus more on game developers again as it attempts to rekindle relationships it tanked when it went all-in on Horizon Worlds integration. VR games have been obscenely difficult to find on the official Meta Quest store because Horizon Worlds content has been front and center for the past 15 months or so, causing real problems for developers and Meta Quest game sales.

With all of that now in focus, it paints a much clearer picture of what Reality Labs is doing and what Meta's future products are going to look like. For now, Meta Quest headsets, along with smart glasses like Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 and Oakley Meta HSTN, are going to continue pulling in around a billion in revenue each quarter, with Meta hoping for more growth in these segments as it starts to significantly trim spending.

That's not Meta giving up on VR or "the Metaverse," as many like to purport. That's the company ensuring that the products and services people care about are here for the long term and continue to evolve as customers use them. Services like Horizon Worlds are on the way out, and ultralight hardware with the same capabilities we know and love today (like Android XR's Project Aura) is the new hotness.

In the meantime, Quest gamers can still expect to enjoy blockbuster games like Batman: Arkham Shadow, Deadpool VR, Assassin's Creed Nexus VR, Metro Awakening, Asgard's Wrath 2, and many more as the company continues to pour money into VR development through its Oculus Publishing group. And hey, who knows, maybe we'll even get lucky enough to see beloved classics like Echo VR return if the company aligns with the goals of its hardcore base.

What you need to know

• TMNT: Empire City is a 4-player co-op beat-em-up for the Meta Quest, SteamVR, and Pico headsets.
• Players can embody any of the four Ninja Turtles, battling Footclan soldiers in the streets of NYC, utilizing each Turtle's special weapon and full freedom of movement.
• The game is expected to launch in early 2026 and we got to play through the intro section early.

As a kid, one of my favorite games was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the NES. It felt like the perfect gameplay adaptation of one of my favorite TV shows, and it helped that I could tag along with friends and beat the heck out of the bad guys plaguing NYC.

Fast forward several decades, and now I'm actually embodying those same Ninja Turtles in a new VR game for the Meta Quest and Steam VR, and Pico headsets. You can wishlist the game via those links, which is scheduled to come out sometime early in 2026. TMNT: Empire City has been teased since August, and now we finally have the gameplay to understand what you'll be doing in the game.

In a nutshell (halfshell?), this one's a near-perfect translation of the classic 2D gameplay into a 3D space, giving you full autonomy over your Turtle of choice via freedom of movement offered by a VR headset. Slicing Footclan members with Leo's swords, smacking them on the head with Michaelangelo's nunchucks, wacking them with Donatello's staff, or stabbing them with Raphael's Sai felt as authentic as a comic book come to life could be. It was cathartic in every way.

My gameplay session was about 30 minutes long and followed through the tutorial section you'll play in the final game. The storyline in this portion of the game involves all four turtles "gaining ingress" into a building, as Leonardo so eloquently put it, only to have three of them get captured by a heinous villain who works for The Shredder.

The Turtles apparently think the Footclan and Shredder were supposed to be defeated, but it turns out some dark art is keeping Shredder and his minions from properly entering the afterlife. That's where the turtles come in, although the demo cuts off right as the boss's plans are thwarted.

You play as each turtle in the tutorial, learning movement tricks, how each weapon works, and how to utterly kick the butts of every Footclan member you come across. You'll climb pipes and walls, jump higher than any human could, and unleash kicks and a fury of weaponry that make you feel exactly like the arcade beat-em-up, just translated into 3D movement.

The final game supports 4-player co-op gameplay just like the classics, too, so you can properly roleplay your way through the streets and sewers of NYC. All the classic moves are here, including the flying jump kick that sees you hopping into the air and pressing the dash button to unleash a devastating thwack to the bad guys.

The remaining 10 minutes or so of the demo was spent in the Turtle's lair, which acts as the central hub for this pseudo-open-world game. The lair is unmistakable in its design, meticulously crafted and fun to roam around. You can check out all four Turtle's rooms, chat with Master Splinter, plan the next mission with April O'Neal, and head upstairs to craft unlockables throughout your adventures.

While none of the levels were open for this demo, heading out into the sewers takes you to different parts of the city for butt-kicking mayhem. Based on the previous parkour video, it looks like a notable amount of space is traversable, with climbable buildings and fun parkour everywhere. I'm super stoked to play this one with friends and couldn't be more excited to finally get the chance to embody a Ninja Turtle next year!

If you were one of the lucky folks to score a Meta Quest 3 Cyber Monday deal, congrats! I'm willing to bet you're all spent out at this point, BUT, if you've still got $17 left, hear me out. AMVR makes these nifty little controller grips that replace the battery cover, adding much-needed grip and a comfortable wrist strap, all for (you guessed it), $17 on Cyber Monday.

Why do you need this? For me, at least, the Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S controllers are very easy to drop. I find them to be slightly slippery and just a tad uncomfortable for some games. Adding a hand strap quite literally fixes everything I dislike about the design, and not only significantly enhances comfort by balancing the weight across your whole hand, but it also makes throwing things in VR much easier.

That last part might sound silly until you realize just how often you have to toss things in VR games....

✅Recommended if: You find the Meta Quest's controllers to be a bit on the small side, easy to drop, or just slightly unbalanced. These help all of that, and they make things easier to toss in VR, too!

❌Skip this deal if: You're looking for a full controller cover to guard against bumps and scratches, or you use a charging dock to charge your controllers up. Docks aren't compatible with controller grips.

Of all the grips available for Quest controllers, these are my favorite because they're so dang minimalist. It simply replaces the battery door. There's no awkward installation like a full coverage controller grip usually needs, and the only time you have to pop these off is when you want to change the battery. In that case, there's no difference in procedure from the standard kit, making this a huge win.

If you want a full coverage controller grip, I'd recommend these Kiwi Design G4 Max grips, although the extra material will cost you a bit more.

Cyber Monday 2025 - quick links

• Best Buy: up to 60% off Chromebooks, Android phones, and more
• Amazon: discounts on headphones, smart home tech
• Walmart: price drops on ASUS laptops, locked phones
• Samsung: new Galaxy XR headset, trade-in opportunities
• Verizon: free phones with new line, trade-in
• T-Mobile: free Galaxy phones, $300 back w/ 5G Home Internet
• Mint Mobile: 50% off Pixel 10, BOGO Unlimited plans
• AT&T: get a free Z Flip 7 with trade-in, new line
  
  More Cyber Monday coverage
• The best Google Pixel deals of Cyber Monday
• The best Samsung deals of Cyber Monday
• The best Motorola deals of Cyber Monday

I've used a ton of Meta Quest accessories over the years, from golf clubs to charging docks, facial interface and head strap replacements, controller straps, gun attachments, and more. While most of these accessories provide improvements in comfort or immersion, a charging dock is pretty much useless.

That's because most docks don't support controller charging when using wrist straps or cases, and I don't know about you, but I don't use my Quest controllers without those things. So, instead of wasting your money on a charging dock that doesn't actually make charging more convenient, spend your money on these excellent accessories I've personally tested, all on sale for Cyber Monday.

I've organized these according to upgrade priority, so if you're just grabbing one item from this list, make it one of the headstrap replacements. Thank me later.

Every one of these accessories will enhance your Quest 3 and Quest 3S experience, and I can personally vouch for each and every one of them. If you want the best from your Quest 3 or 3S, start from the top and pick the one you think will be your best fit. You can't go wrong with any of them, especially with such great sales!

Cyber Monday 2025 - quick links

• Best Buy: up to 60% off Chromebooks, Android phones, and more
• Amazon: discounts on headphones, smart home tech
• Walmart: price drops on ASUS laptops, locked phones
• Samsung: new Galaxy XR headset, trade-in opportunities
• Verizon: free phones with new line, trade-in
• T-Mobile: free Galaxy phones, $300 back w/ 5G Home Internet
• Mint Mobile: 50% off Pixel 10, BOGO Unlimited plans
• AT&T: get a free Z Flip 7 with trade-in, new line
  
  More Cyber Monday coverage
• The best Google Pixel deals of Cyber Monday
• The best Samsung deals of Cyber Monday
• The best Motorola deals of Cyber Monday

Does anyone remember when the N64 rumble pack was new? That technology is advanced so much now that it can work on anything that produces sound thanks to Woojer's impressive technology, and now the latest-generation Woojer Vest 4 is $100 off ahead of Cyber Monday!

The Vest 4 just came out a few weeks ago and upgrades the Woojer Vest 3 experience with lighter, slimmer and more breathable construction that makes wearing the vest while gaming much more comfortable.

Not only that, but it debuted at just $349, a huge improvement over the $499 price of the Vest 3. That's made even better by this sale, which brings it down to $249.

So what in the world is a haptic vest, you ask? It's a way to experience full body rumble from your games, music, movies, or anything else in your life that makes sound. Woojer's patented technology intelligently turns sound into haptic feedback, and it does so without mixing in the noises you don't want.

Assume you're playing an online game like Call of Duty or even a VR game like Forefront and want to feel the shooting and explosions, but not the voices of the other players. Woojer already automatically cancels out things like voices and music while gaming because it understands that gamers want to feel effects, not ambient music or other players' voices.

Conversely, if you're playing a game like Lumines Arise on your Steam Deck, the pumping bass of the music will perfectly vibrate into your inner soul thanks to the Woojer Vest 4. It's impressively immersive and brings a whole new dimension to all your entertainment. I use it every time I play a VR multiplayer game like Breachers or Forefront, but it's also excellent for non-VR games when you really want to get in on the action.

How does a haptic vest work?

Whether you're using a Woojer Vest 4, Woojer Body Strap, or one of Woojer's older products, they all work the same way. You load the Woojer app onto your smartphone and then turn on your Woojer vest. The app automatically connects to your Vest or Body Strap and gives you full control over the volume, haptic intensity, mode, and more.

From here, you'll either plug a pair of wired headphones into the Woojer unit or pair Bluetooth headphones to the Woojer via the app, matching the vibration perfectly in sync with the sound. Lastly, you'll plug your source into the Woojer unit — I most commonly connect my Meta Quest 3 or Steam Deck via the included 3.5mm audio cable — to feed sound into the Vest or Body Strap. You can also use Bluetooth to wirelessly stream your music to the vest.

And that's it! There's no other configuration needed unless you want to select a specific mode or change settings in the Woojer app. It's impressively simple and is far easier than how older haptic vests and straps used to work. I enjoy this most for gaming, but they're also great for really feeling the beat in your music or turning an average at-home movie into a theater-like experience with full body rumble.

If a full vest is too much for you, the Woojer Body Strap 4 is also available for $30 off (pictured above next to the Steam Deck) and offers a single point of rumble that can be placed on your chest, stomach, back, or even your leg, if you prefer.

More Cyber Monday 2025 - quick links

• Best Buy: up to 60% off Chromebooks, Android phones, and more
• Amazon: early discounts on headphones, smart home tech
• Walmart: early price drops on ASUS laptops, locked phones
• Samsung: new Galaxy XR headset, trade-in opportunities
• Verizon: free phones with new line, trade-in
• T-Mobile: free Galaxy phones, $300 back w/ 5G Home Internet
• Mint Mobile: 50% off Pixel 10, BOGO Unlimited plans
• AT&T: get a free Z Flip 7 with trade-in, new line
  
  More Cyber Monday coverage
• The best Google Pixel deals of Cyber Monday (so far)
• The best Samsung deals of Cyber Monday (so far)
• The best Motorola deals of Cyber Monday (so far)

The PlayStation VR2's launch price of $550 shocked the gaming world, and the Horizon Call of the Mountain bundle brought that up to $599. Just two and a half years later, that same brilliant bundle is now down to $299, making it an irresistible addition to any PS5 gamer's setup.

This bundle includes the PSVR 2 headset, two controllers, and a copy of Horizon Call of the Mountain. It's easily my favorite game in the Horizon Zero Dawn series, and it's one of the most beautiful VR games ever created. That's particularly excellent since it's included free in the box.

PSVR 2 requires a PS5 to play, but since nearly 100 million people already own one, you're likely set to enjoy one of the finest VR headsets to date without much fuss. So long as you've got that PS5, everything else you'll need is in this box. The PSVR 2 has hundreds of games to play, including big names like Resident Evil 7 and 8, Gran Turismo, Hitman World of Assassination, and many more titles you're going to love.

✅Recommended if: You're a PlayStation 5 gamer who is all about immersive graphics, wants a VR headset with a great OLED display, and is ready to play some of the biggest-name VR games on the market.

❌Skip this deal if: You don't have a PS5, don't like using headsets that require a wire, or are more interested in some of the Meta-exclusive games like Batman or Deadpool.

If you're choosing between the PSVR 2 and Meta Quest 3 this holiday season, there are some pretty substantial differences between the two experiences. Sony's edge is in its top-tier components, which include an OLED display, eye tracking, and advanced haptic feedback in both the controllers and headset.

Plus, there are a handful of exclusive games you can only get on the PSVR 2. Aside from the Sony-related IPs you might expect (like Horizon and Gran Turismo), the PSVR 2 features games with better graphics than the Meta Quest 3 can offer since it's powered by the PS5. Some exclusive titles, like Synapse, even use the PSVR 2's eye tracking to great effect, giving you kinetic powers that you can aim with just your eyes. It's unreal!

But there's no denying how good the Meta Quest 3S is, all at an even cheaper $199. To make that deal even sweeter, you don't need another console or PC to power a Meta Quest: it's a completely standalone VR console that doesn't use wires or limit your play space, and it has even more exclusive games than the PSVR 2.

Meta has made a name for itself in the VR space with a massive library of exclusive games. The recently released Deadpool VR can only be played on the Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest 3S, and the same goes for last year's Batman Arkham Shadow.

And because of the Meta Quest's popularity, you'll find tons of people to play with online. Games like Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons are perfect in VR, and with color mixed reality vision, you can even put the board on a real table and play with your headset on. The PSVR 2 only has black & white passthrough vision, which means no mixed reality content to be had.

Either route you choose, though, VR gamers are eating good this year, and with steep $100 off discounts for each of these headsets, it's the perfect year to finally jump into next-generation immersive gaming!

Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025 - quick links

• Best Buy: up to 60% off Chromebooks, Android phones, and more
• Amazon: discounts on headphones, smart home tech
• Walmart: price drops on ASUS laptops, locked phones
• Samsung: new Galaxy XR headset, trade-in opportunities
• Verizon: free phones with new line, trade-in
• T-Mobile: free Galaxy phones, $300 back w/ 5G Home Internet
• Mint Mobile: 50% off Pixel 10, BOGO Unlimited plans
• AT&T: get a free Z Flip 7 with trade-in, new line
  
  More post-Black Friday coverage
• The best Google Pixel deals of Black Friday
• The best Samsung deals of Black Friday
• The best Motorola deals of Black Friday

This year's Black Friday was the first time we'd ever seen the Meta Quest 3 go on sale, and while Best Buy and Amazon both offered gift cards with every purchase for a while, it appears that all stores have sold out of their allotted stock. But never fear, because Costco is here! The membership-driven company is offering 12 months of Meta Horizon Plus for free with every headset, giving you access to 40 games for free every month for the next year.

While that's not a discount on the headset, it does mean you won't have to buy any games for a year, and that library swaps out regularly, meaning you won't be getting bored for a good long time. Several of the best Meta Quest games are on Horizon Plus, so you're not getting some bottom-of-the-barrel junk with this subscription.

And remember, this is a VR console. That means you don't need to plug it in or hook it up to anything to play. It's fully standalone, like a Nintendo Switch for your face, and gives you access to amazing mixed reality games as well as immersive virtual reality games. Take it anywhere and play whenever you want.

✅Recommended if: You're looking for the overall best VR headset available, want an upgrade from an old VR headset, want to experience mixed reality gaming, or want to play hundreds of Meta-exclusive games.

❌Skip this deal if: You're a graphics hound and only the best will do. The Meta Quest 3 features the clearest lenses of any major VR headset but its mobile chipset can be somewhat limiting on visual quality. In that case, grab a PSVR 2 for $100 off instead, so long as you have a PS5, of course.

While there are several other VR headsets to choose from, none offer a better overall experience than the Meta Quest 3. Here's what you can expect from the Meta Quest 3 experience:

• Thousands of available games, including hundreds of exclusives like Batman Arkham Shadow, and Deadpool VR.
• Top-notch visual quality thanks to high-end Pancake lenses.
• No wires needed: just put it on your head and play games.
• Unique mixed reality games that transform your room into a virtual playspace.
• Freedom to walk anywhere and be more immersed in virtual worlds because of natural movement.

After you pick the headset up, I recommend checking out our ultimate Meta Quest 3 starter kit guide, which will set you up with the best accessories you can outfit your Quest with. Everything you need to get started is in the Meta Quest 3 box, but these accessories will help you get the most out of the experience, including improved headset and controller comfort, longer battery life, unique accessories like haptic vests, and more.

If that deal is still a bit expensive for your budget this year, take a look at the more budget-friendly Meta Quest 3S, instead.

If you're not familiar with the models, the Meta Quest 3S is powered by the same processor and includes the same color mixed reality capabilities of the Quest 3. It's cheaper because it includes less storage and uses the same lenses from the Quest 2, which aren't as clear as the mainline Quest 3. They play the same games and have all the same capabilities, though, making this an incredible pick if you're not nitpicky about the visuals.

Cyber Monday 2025 - quick links

• Best Buy: up to 60% off Chromebooks, Android phones, and more
• Amazon: discounts on headphones, smart home tech
• Walmart: price drops on ASUS laptops, locked phones
• Samsung: new Galaxy XR headset, trade-in opportunities
• Verizon: free phones with new line, trade-in
• T-Mobile: free Galaxy phones, $300 back w/ 5G Home Internet
• Mint Mobile: 50% off Pixel 10, BOGO Unlimited plans
• AT&T: get a free Z Flip 7 with trade-in, new line
  
  More Cyber Monday coverage
• The best Google Pixel deals of Cyber Monday
• The best Samsung deals of Cyber Monday
• The best Motorola deals of Cyber Monday

Black Friday 2025 is the best year for VR headsets to date, offering deep discounts on all the best headsets you can buy today. But the most impressive discount might be the $100 off PSVR2 bundle with Horizon Call of the Mountain included. At $299, this is a stellar deal that includes one of the best PSVR 2 games available, giving you a AAA VR gaming experience from the moment you unbox it.

PSVR 2 requires a PS5 to play, but since nearly 100 million people already own one, you're likely set to enjoy one of the finest VR headsets to date without much fuss. So long as you've got that PS5, everything else you'll need is in this box. The PSVR 2 has hundreds of games to play, including big names like Resident Evil 7 and 8, Gran Turismo, Hitman World of Assassination, and many more titles you're going to love.

✅Recommended if: You're a PlayStation 5 gamer who is all about immersive graphics, wants a VR headset with a great OLED display, and is ready to play some of the biggest-name VR games on the market.

❌Skip this deal if: You don't have a PS5, don't like using headsets that require a wire, or are more interested in some of the Meta-exclusive games like Batman or Deadpool.

If you're choosing between the PSVR 2 and Meta Quest 3 this holiday season, there are some pretty substantial differences between the two experiences. Sony's edge is in its top-tier components, which include an OLED display, eye tracking, and advanced haptic feedback in both the controllers and headset.

Plus, there are a handful of exclusive games you can only get on the PSVR 2. Aside from the Sony-related IPs you might expect (like Horizon and Gran Turismo), the PSVR 2 features games with better graphics than the Meta Quest 3 can offer since it's powered by the PS5. Some exclusive titles, like Synapse, even use the PSVR 2's eye tracking to great effect, giving you kinetic powers that you can aim with just your eyes. It's unreal!

But there's no denying how good the Meta Quest 3S is, all at an even cheaper $199. To make that deal even sweeter, you don't need another console or PC to power a Meta Quest: it's a completely standalone VR console that doesn't use wires or limit your play space, and it has even more exclusive games than the PSVR 2.

Meta has made a name for itself in the VR space with a massive library of exclusive games. The recently released Deadpool VR can only be played on the Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest 3S, and the same goes for last year's Batman Arkham Shadow.

And because of the Meta Quest's popularity, you'll find tons of people to play with online. Games like Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons are perfect in VR, and with color mixed reality vision, you can even put the board on a real table and play with your headset on. The PSVR 2 only has black & white passthrough vision, which means no mixed reality content to be had.

Either route you choose, though, VR gamers are eating good this year, and with steep $100 off discounts for each of these headsets, it's the perfect year to finally jump into next-generation immersive gaming!

Black Friday 2025 - quick links

• Best Buy: up to 60% off Chromebooks, Android phones, and more
• Amazon: early discounts on headphones, smart home tech
• Walmart: early price drops on ASUS laptops, locked phones
• Samsung: new Galaxy XR headset, trade-in opportunities
• Verizon: free phones with new line, trade-in
• T-Mobile: free Galaxy phones, $300 back w/ 5G Home Internet
• Mint Mobile: 50% off Pixel 10, BOGO Unlimited plans
• AT&T: get a free Z Flip 7 with trade-in, new line
  
  More Black Friday coverage
• The best Google Pixel deals of Black Friday
• The best Samsung deals of Black Friday
• The best Motorola deals of Black Friday

Back in the day, Meta used to require all users to log in with a Facebook account when they wanted to use their Oculus Quest 2 headsets. That silly policy has been long dead for many years, but it still remains as easy as ever to log in to your Quest with your Facebook account. But before you hit the easy button, don't.

While it might sound nice and tidy to link all your Meta experiences together — that includes Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Quest, Ray-Ban, and more — putting all your eggs in one proverbial basket means that all of them crack when the basket is dropped.

To use more straightforward language, if someone happens to steal one of your Meta accounts this holiday season, or you get banned for some silly reason because of Meta's famously dumb moderation tools, you'll lose access to everything you own from the company. Yes, that even means your precious Meta Quest headset. Here's what you need to do.

Keep it separate, keep it safe

The best way to go about this process is for new owners to create a Meta account specifically for Quest use. You can do this through the Meta Horizon app (Android, iOS) that's used when setting up a new Meta Quest, or go to Meta's login page and create a new account from there. Only use this account on your Meta Quest and don't follow the tantalizingly easy prompts to log in with one of your other Meta accounts.

Existing users should head on over to the Meta accounts center page, tap Accounts under Accounts settings on the left menu, then remove any accounts that are linked to the Meta account you use on your Quest. This will ensure that anything that happens to your Instagram, WhatsApp, or Facebook account doesn't negatively affect your use of your Meta Quest headset.

What's the deal with linked accounts, anyway?

Many times when you log into an online service, you can choose to make an account by logging into your Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, or other major service instead of creating yet another account and password to keep track of. This is a wonderful service that's also a useful way to ward off account breaches since someone would have to have access to your "master" account in order to access linked accounts.

But because of the way Meta handles linked accounts through its many products and services, one banned account means you lose all access forever. Yes, that even means you'll lose access to games you've purchased since those digital licenses are tied to that account.

It's heinously stupid and unfairly punishes too many people, since there are plenty of known instances of people's Facebook accounts being erroneously banned. Things are made worse by the fact that companies like Meta, Google, and others don't normally have a way to talk to a human being without jumping through tons of hoops.

I wish Meta handled things differently or, at the very least, gave Meta Quest users a way to offload their purchases onto another account if something happened with a linked account. While some people certainly deserve to be banned from using Facebook forever because of bad behavior, it doesn't make sense to take away all their purchases from an unrelated gaming console like a Meta Quest in one fell swoop.

Unfortunately, too many Meta Quest users have faced this terrible reality and, more often than not, it causes them to swear off the Quest forever. I certainly can't say I blame them, but you can learn from their unfortunate circumstances.

Trying to get a trillion-dollar company to change things like this is difficult, if not impossible. Thankfully, you can take just a few small steps to protect yourself and your gaming investment by unlinking your Facebook and other related Meta accounts from the account you use on your Quest.

What you need to know

• New Meta Quest 4 rumors point to a higher resolution display upgrade, eye and face tracking, and a smaller/lighter design, thanks to an external "puck."
• The rumor notes that the headset may ship without controllers and could cost as much as $800.
• Lastly, Meta may ship this new headset with a new name, suggesting that it's part of an entirely different product category rather than a traditional Meta Quest release.

A new set of rumors and conjecture around Meta's next XR headset backs up previous leaks and even gives us new information surrounding details of the upgraded hardware set to release sometime in late 2026.

But don't call it a Meta Quest 4, because VR veteran Nima Zeighami left a post on X noting that the next Meta headset "won't be called Quest." Zeighami has been a part of the VR industry for a long time, working as the Technical Product Manager at Within, the company behind the ever-popular workout app Supernatural, back in 2017, and later going on to work for several other VR companies to this day.

In addition to this revelation of Meta's purported new naming convention, Zeighami backed up previous rumors about the headset's specs and revealed several new ones. That upgraded display is said to feature more pixels per degree (PPD) than the Quest 3, but not quite as high-res as Galaxy XR or Apple Vision Pro.

PPD is a measurement of how many pixels are displayed within one degree of a viewer's field of view (FOV). This is an important measurement because a higher resolution panel may not necessarily equate to better visuals if the "wrong" lenses are used. The Holocake 2 prototype, pictured above, featured an ultra-high 55 PPD (60 PPD is considered "retina resolution") as well as a super slim profile.

• The Ultimate Meta Quest 3 and 3S Starter Kit: 12 high-tech accessories for a peak VR experience

Additionally, Zeighami backs up the idea that this next Meta headset will feature a separated "puck" that may contain both the compute and battery components of the headset. For comparison, the compute portion of the Valve Steam Frame weighs just 190g, while a Meta Quest 3 (with no detachable compute components) weighs 515g. Other minimalist premium VR headsets like the Bigscreen Beyond 2 weigh just 107g by offsetting tracking and compute to a connected PC, something Meta could hope to replicate with a separate puck.

Zeighami also notes that eye and face tracking will come standard on Meta's next headset, mirroring that of the Galaxy XR, Apple Vision Pro, and the Meta Quest Pro. The kicker is that this new headset will reportedly only cost $800, a massive differentiator from the $1500 Quest Pro, $1800 Galaxy XR, and $3500 Apple Vision Pro.

A recent Instagram AMA from Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth (via Luna on X) seems to back up the idea that Meta is looking to launch a new lighter headset by "taking the wins from each generation...and pour it into lightness and smallness." James Cameron also made similar comments back at Meta Connect in September this year, furthering the idea that we should expect a new supremely small and light standalone XR headset from Meta in 2026.

Any Meta Quest 3 or Quest 3S owner will tell you that although these headsets are amazing in their own right, they lack two things out of the box: long-term comfort and battery life. Thankfully, the Yoges battery headstrap fixes both of those problems in one fell swoop, and now discounted to $36.09, making it $100 less than the official Meta Elite battery headstrap.

If you've only used the default cloth headstrap this entire time, you have no idea what you're missing. Not only does this Elite-style strap add a substantial amount of comfort due to its rigid construction and supple padding around the top and back of your head, but it's also unbelievably easy to adjust thanks to an ergonomic wheel at the back that loosens and tightens the strap with just a turn.

To make things even better, a rechargeable, magnetically attachable battery pack comes with the headset and can be popped on to triple the battery life of your Meta Quest headset. It charges via USB-C, so any charger you've got on hand should do the trick. It's the best of both worlds, and it's dirt cheap right now thanks to this Black Friday deal.

✅Recommended if: You find the Meta Quest to be uncomfortable to wear for any amount of time, or you regularly find your headset running out of battery before you're done playing.

❌Skip this deal if: You prefer halo-style straps that move the weight to your forehead rather than your face. This Elite-style strap is a compression strap that's best for active gaming and tends to run tighter than halo-style straps.

Elite-style straps like this are the kind that distribute weight evenly on the top of your head, as well as your face and the back of the skull. Since this is a compression-style fit, it's best for active games like Beat Saber or Forefront, where you might be whipping your head around at high speeds to keep track of the action.

If you'd rather have a halo-style strap — the kind that distributes all the weight evenly across your forehead and the back of your head — grab this BoboVR M3 Pro strap for a discount of $39.99 instead.

I'm a huge fan of VR golf games, and while they're good on their own, it feels so much more authentic when you add a golf club accessory to the mix. The Yoges adjustable golf club is the best option on the market today, and this excellent sale drops it to the lowest price I've ever seen.

If you haven't used a club like this before, you'll be immediately impressed with how it feels. The rubber grip looks and feels exactly like a real club, and the metal shaft continues the authenticity right down to the end where the controller attaches. This particular club connects to the built-in controller wrist straps to keep the controller from flying away when you swing, giving you confidence that you can hit without worry.

I recommend pairing it with an open facial interface (Quest 3 version or Quest 3S version) when you play, as these face pads give you an open periphery to see the room around you, helping prevent accidental collisions with furniture or other objects in your room.

Black Friday 2025 - quick links

• Best Buy: up to 60% off Chromebooks, Android phones, and more
• Amazon: early discounts on headphones, smart home tech
• Walmart: early price drops on ASUS laptops, locked phones
• Samsung: new Galaxy XR headset, trade-in opportunities
• Verizon: free phones with new line, trade-in
• T-Mobile: free Galaxy phones, $300 back w/ 5G Home Internet
• Mint Mobile: 50% off Pixel 10, BOGO Unlimited plans
• AT&T: get a free Z Flip 7 with trade-in, new line
  
  More Black Friday coverage
• The best Google Pixel deals of Black Friday
• The best Samsung deals of Black Friday
• The best Motorola deals of Black Friday

Today, I opened the Meta Ray-Ban app to download some videos I recorded on my glasses over the weekend, only to be greeted by an AI-generated video of President Trump getting arrested at the White House. Some might celebrate this kind of video. Others might be so pissed off that they immediately uninstall the app.

Regardless of your political stance here, one thing is true: this kind of content doesn't belong in the app I'm required to use in order to interface with my Oakley Meta or Ray-Ban Meta glasses.

To a different degree, the same kind of sloppy app design has been plaguing Meta Quest users for the last year. Last year, Meta started pushing its Horizon Worlds metaverse apps to more platforms, culminating with a mobile-first approach when the company rebranded the Meta Quest app to Meta Horizon.

The obvious problem here is that I don't use this app to play sloppy Roblox-style social games with friends on my phone. I use it to connect to my Meta Quest and, hopefully, to browse for new VR games and apps.

This ridiculous scope creep has been ruining Meta's two best hardware products, and it's high time Meta gets a clue. Meta Quest gamers don't want to play lousy free-to-play games on their phones through the Meta Quest app. Likewise, Ray-Ban or Oakley Meta users have no desire to browse AI slop Instagram reels when they're just trying to connect to their smart glasses.

Meta needs to return to its roots and provide users with what they want, rather than continuing to inject its unwanted content into unrelated apps. If users really want to browse AI-generated social media, make it a new tab in the Instagram app. If some mobile gamers want to join Horizon Worlds on their phones, make it a separate app.

Heck, dropping that in the Facebook app makes a lot more sense than it being in the Meta Quest app, especially when putting this content front and center is contributing to lower sales on your own video game platform. Get it together, Meta, or users will find a better alternative.

What you need to know

• Meta Hyperscape is a Meta Quest app that lets you scan real-world locations using the headset's sensors and turn them into ultra-realistic virtual environments.
• Players using a Meta Quest or a smartphone can visit worlds scanned by other players and can move freely around each environment.
• A new update allows players to invite up to seven other gamers in each world no matter what supported gaming platform you're on.

In September at Meta Connect this year, the company launched its new Hyperscape world-mapping tool in beta. I tried it out as soon as it was available and was blown away by the quality captured by my Meta Quest 3 headset. Locations I visited and scanned were fully walkable while wearing my headset, making me feel like I was right there.

Despite the ultra-realistic graphics, Meta has been able to port Hyperspace environments into its fledgling Horizon Worlds Engine, allowing players to share and visit locations together. Better yet, you don't even need a headset to try this out, just the Meta Horizon app from the Google Play Store or Apple Appstore.

In a blog post, Meta explains that all you need to do is visit a Hyperscape world — it can be one of your own or one of the existing Meta-created ones, like Gordon Ramsay's kitchen — then just tap the share link and send it to anyone you want to have join you in the world.

In the above GIF, you can see me looking around Gordon Ramsay's kitchen and exploring its ultra-realistic visuals. Previously, everything was rendered via Meta's cloud and streamed live to your headset, but now things are rendered in realtime on the hardware you're using. That means your Quest headset or smartphone is doing all the work, and it ensures that you and your friends get a smooth experience when playing together.

Meta suggests inviting friends or family who can't visit for the holidays and using that to spend a little quality hangout time with them. Certainly not a terrible idea, if I do say so myself. Meta says it will continue improving this feature and hopes to allow even more than eight people in a future update. If you don't see the share option right away, check back later as Meta is rolling the update out to players in waves.

November is always full of tentpole releases for any gaming system. From heavy-hitters like the recently released Deadpool VR to the return of classics like Thief VR, there's no shortage of games to play on your Meta Quest this holiday season. But one stands out from the rest for me because of its polish and near-perfect gameplay execution: Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked.

This long title, which I'll just shorten to Demeo x D&D from here on out, builds upon the successful turn-based strategy card battler Demeo with the expansive universe of Dungeons & Dragons. While I played it on the Meta Quest 3 the entire time, the game is also available on Steam and PlayStation in both VR and non-VR versions, so you can play with all of your friends, no matter their platform of choice. Yes, that means VR players can play with non-VR players just as Demeo allowed.

Demeo is out now on Steam, PlayStation, and Meta Quest for $29.99 USD, an unbelievable value when you consider that the substantially shorter Demeo was $39.99 for the longest time.

Demeo x D&D: the basics

In Demeo x D&D, players can join up to three others to scale massive turn-based D&D campaigns that take place in familiar locations like Neverwinter, Icewind Dale, and more. Each battle takes place on a "board" composed of movement squares, but each board is lavishly decorated to look like a convincing location rather than a simple board game.

During a battle, players can choose to carry out two actions per turn. Each player has a hand of cards that contains attacks or items to use, or an action point can be spent moving on the board. If you've played D&D, you'll be immediately familiar with some of the mechanics, although the card-based abilities shake up gameplay in a meaningful way from standard D&D.

Like D&D, you may randomly come across an encounter or trap that requires you to roll a die to either pass or fail the test. Each of the eight playable classes can specialize in a number of different traits, and each of these traits plays a role in combat, traps, and even dialogue.

The game features two main campaigns at launch, each of which spans dozens of hours and locations to complete. Players can save and stop at any time, resuming their saved campaign with or without other players. Developer Resolution Games recommends always starting with four characters when playing a campaign, and these characters can be controlled by you or other human players.

Combat isn't the only thing players can do here, either. During each campaign, players will visit locations like taverns that allow them to chat with NPCs, investigate locations and objects, accept side quests, and more.

Three "one-shot" campaigns are also included in the launch game, adding even more variety and replayability to the game. The game can be played in VR or on a traditional TV/monitor system setup, giving you freedom to choose how you prefer to play this epic strategy title.

What's different from regular Demeo?

The base battle gameplay is similar to Demeo in that each character on the board takes turns moving and attacking, with players utilizing abilities from a deck of cards in their hand. But the basic structure of the rest of these games is quite different.

In Demeo, players choose from a half-dozen campaigns to play through. Each campaign is made up of three "floors." The first floor is usually a medium-sized area, the second floor is typically a much larger area with more challenging groups of enemies, and the third floor is a boss battle. Players stop at "Cleepto's Bazaar" between each floor to shop and trade cards with the merchant NPC.

In Demeo x D&D, players always begin at a map of the campaign's world and choose areas to visit from there. Each area is bespoke and has no set size. Some sidequests may be made up of a single forested area with a handful of enemies, while other sidequests may be multi-floor dungeons with dozens of enemies. You'll also come across plenty of areas where fighting is not an option, allowing you to move freely around to investigate areas or talk to NPCs.

Demeo x D&D has a much more traditional RPG structure in this respect. You can follow the main campaign or get sidetracked as often as you'd like, exploring each of the game's diorama-sized areas to your heart's content. Cleepto's Bazaar still exists in Demeo X D&D, but now it's a dedicated part of the world that you can visit any time you head back to the world map.

The game saves very often, making it easy to pick up and play. One of the best additions to the original Demeo was a later update that added save slots, allowing you to stop and save, then pick up the action at a later time. Demeo x D&D supercharges this mechanic by dropping a save slot on each player's system, allowing them to continue the campaign you were playing together on their own or with completely different people.

It's a brilliant mechanic that gives you the freedom to play when you want instead of having to perform a miracle and get all four players' adult schedules lined up. Public multiplayer lobbies are available just as they were in the original Demeo, and I'm hoping the crowd is just as friendly.

And unlike Demeo, the characters in Demeo x D&D are customizable. You can paint colors on them in a basic way, and each character has a skill tree that you'll build out as you progress through the campaigns. As you might hope, those skills transfer between campaigns and can make things much easier as you go. One-shot campaigns use new characters each time, which is typical of D&D.

How about a local Demeo x D&D night?

One of the very coolest features of Demeo x D&D is the ability to play the game together with other people in the same room. Using the built-in co-location feature, Meta Quest players can place the board on a real table as if it were a real board game. Everyone sees the same board in the same exact location, so this works as you'd expect (or even just hope to expect).

I recommend players use only a Meta Quest 3 or Quest 3S for this, as the color passthrough is a significant upgrade over the nasty, low-res, black-and-white passthrough of the Quest 2. This will make it feel like a "proper" D&D night with friends, albeit with no one having to take the helm of dungeon master.

And that's another area where Demeo x D&D shines. It features several of the stat-based random encounters of D&D, including environmental hazards and enemies alike, plus lots of dialog choices that players can all vote on. It's an incredible way to get that D&D feel without having to put in all the dungeon master work (and that crap is a lot of work).

All of these new additions and the fact that there are two full campaigns, plus three "one-shot" campaigns, add significant variety to an already impressive game. I also love that this still uses the tried-and-true Demeo style of combat and movement, which helps it feel different from traditional D&D, all while still maintaining enough of that property's soul to feel like the branding belongs here.

The polish on the visuals, dialogue, voice acting, and gameplay all combine to make this my favorite VR game of the year. Of course, if you're not a VR gamer or have friends who might be interested in playing the game (but don't have a VR headset), don't worry, as Resolution Games ensured cross-platform play works perfectly. I played with some friends using the non-VR Steam client, and things were as smooth as I had hoped. It's a must-have title on the Meta Quest, for sure, and a must-buy game for D&D and strategy gamers, as a whole.

FAQ

What you need to know

• AMVR's latest Meta Quest golf club accessory features force feedback for games like Golf+.
• The club sports a magnetic mechanism that adds realistic weight and physical feedback when hitting virtual golf balls.
• It's designed specifically for the Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S and is available now on Amazon.

I play a pretty healthy amount of VR golf on my Meta Quest 3. While my favorite is Walkabout Mini Golf, the platform has plenty of options, from other fun mini golf games to titles like Golf+ which put you on real PGA fairways so you can golf even when the weather in real life kinda sucks.

But VR golf has always been missing one thing, until today: tactile feedback. Sure, the controller vibrates when you hit a ball, but that doesn't feel like the real thing. A new putter from popular accessories maker AMVR solves that problem in an expected way.

Inside the club shaft is a two-piece mechanism that moves when you swing the club, creating a satisfying thwack the moment the ball comes into contact with the club. The ball, of course, is virtual and therefore imaginary, but the feeling of hitting the ball still remains.

I particularly admire that AMVR was able to create a tension component to the mechanism that can be easily adjusted via a dial on the end of the grip. Turn it left to decrease the force necessary to activate the mechanism inside, or crank it all the way right if you tend to swing with a lot of force. This still won't make it work for mini golf, but it's a great way to adjust for players of differing strength levels and heights.

I've been using this club for about two weeks now and can attest to it's convincing nature. The only problem for me, at least, is that it *only* works consistently when making a full swing. Mini golf swings and putts simply don't provide enough force to trigger the mechanism inside. AMVR tells me a future version could change this but, for now, this club is best suited to VR golf fans who hit long drives.

Some players might also find the club a little too long for comfort. There's no height adjustment for this one, and it's noticeably longer than any other VR golf club accessory I've got.

The Quest 3 or Quest 3S controller fits snuggly in the cradle at the end of the club, held in place by a rubber latch that firmly clicks in place. You can also loop the wrist strap around the shaft, creating a knot that'll keep it from flying if you didn't attach the rubber latch tightly enough.

Despite using around a dozen different VR golf accessories in the last decade, I've never used one that provides tactile feedback like this AMVR club does. You can even add an extra weight to the end to make it feel like a heavier club, something that'll help golf enthusiasts with as they practice their swings.

I recommend pairing it with an open facial interface (Quest 3 version or Quest 3S version) when you play, though, as the long club can very easily smack into something if you're too close to furniture, walls, or something else. Big thumbs up to AMVR for great innovation on this one, and I'm looking forward to seeing what else the company puts together using this novel new concept!

The Meta Quest 3S was already the best deal in VR when it launched, and this year's Meta Quest 3S Black Friday deals are doubling down on that fact. The best deal I've seen so far is this $199 deal at Costco, which is not only $100 off the normal price but comes with one full year of Meta Horizon Plus, Meta's Game Pass-like subscription service. The last time I remember seeing a major console for $199 was back in the GameCube days!

Normally, all Meta Quest headsets come with 3 months of Horizon Plus for free, giving immediate access to nearly 30 games, including a rotating catalog of titles that swap out each month. That makes gaming impressively affordable and only adds to the fact that the Meta Quest 3S is the best gaming purchase this holiday.

If you're not a Costco member, don't worry, it's just $215 to get that deal. If Costco isn't your thing, Amazon's deal on the headset is almost as good and can be had with two bundles: 128GB of storage for $249 with the ever-popular Gorilla Tag, or 256GB of storage with the award winning Batman Arkham Shadow packed in for free.

What is it:

The Meta Quest 3S is a portable VR gaming console. Essentially, it's a Nintendo Switch that you wear. You can cast your feed to any TV, smartphone, or tablet so everyone in the room can see what you're doing, and it doesn't need another console, PC, or wires to work. You download games from the Meta Horizon store directly onto the headset and everything runs on the headset.

The Meta Quest 3S is a more affordable version of the Meta Quest 3, offering the same powerful processing power as that more expensive headset and giving you full access to Quest 3-exclusive VR and mixed reality games. It features full-color passthrough vision, so you see the room around you even when wearing the headset, helping to avoid the "isolating" feel some VR headsets have.

Why do you need it:

This particular deal is the lowest price we've ever seen for the Meta Quest 3S, a full $50 less than the next-best price. Not only that, but Costco's inclusion of one year of Meta Horizon Plus — normally $60 a year — means you get full access to nearly 30 games from the moment you power the headset on for the first time. Plus, since that catalog of games swaps out regularly, you'll always have something new to play without having to spend any money for the next year.

Why it's better than other products:

The Meta Quest 3S offers unique types of games when compared to traditional consoles like a Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, or Xbox. While there are plenty of AAA games that core gamers will enjoy — Batman Arkham Shadow, Metro Awakening, the Arizona Sunshine series, and Assassin's Creed Nexus VR are a few examples — lots of fresh new brands have cropped up that help definine the VR experience in unique ways.

Since this is a portable gaming console, you don't need anything else to play games on it. Just charge the battery up like a smartphone, pop it on your head, and enjoy impressively immersive games that'll get your body moving in new ways.

More Black Friday 2025 - quick links

• Best Buy: up to 60% off Chromebooks, Android phones, and more
• Amazon: early discounts on headphones, smart home tech
• Walmart: early price drops on ASUS laptops, locked phones
• Samsung: new Galaxy XR headset, trade-in opportunities
• Verizon: free phones with new line, trade-in
• T-Mobile: free Galaxy phones, $300 back w/ 5G Home Internet
• Mint Mobile: 50% off Pixel 10, BOGO Unlimited plans
• AT&T: get a free Z Flip 7 with trade-in, new line
  
  More Black Friday coverage
• The best Google Pixel deals of Black Friday (so far)
• The best Samsung deals of Black Friday (so far)
• The best Motorola deals of Black Friday (so far)

What you need to know

• Meta sent out $100 off codes for Quest and Meta smart glasses to existing customers, but many found they were invalid.
• The company quietly confirmed they were sent out to certain users in error, and Meta isn't honoring the promo for those users.
• Read below to learn alternative ways to save on Quest headsets and Meta smart glasses.

The holidays are approaching, and that means your favorite tech gadgets are about to see major sales and discounts. Quite a few of Meta's products are set to be holiday favorites, from Meta Quest headsets to Ray-Ban and Oakley Meta smart glasses. Ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Meta sent a $100 off promotion code to existing customers, allowing them to save on "select Meta devices."

The emails went out on Thursday, Nov. 13, and seemed to be widespread. Multiple Meta device owners at Android Central received the promotion, only to find that the promo codes were "no longer valid" after clicking the Meta Store link in the email. A Reddit thread on the Ray-Ban Meta subreddit with nearly 200 comments revealed the invalid promo codes were sent out to many Meta customers.

Complicating matters was the fact that some Meta customers were able to redeem the $100 off promo code successfully. The vast majority of recipients weren't able to use the code, though. As it turns out, Meta quietly explained what went wrong with the $100 off promotion in an update to its promotion terms webpage.

Near the bottom of the page, Meta addressed the situation in the Exclusive Temporary Price Drop section. "An email offering $100 off Meta.com was sent to certain users in error," the page explains. "Thank you for being a valued member of the Meta community."

The notice ends a few days of confusion regarding whether the email offers weren't working as the result of a bug, store error, or general mistake. In reality, it was a bit of both — the $100 off coupon is valid for some users, but was sent to many more users in error. The promotion originally slated to last through Dec. 31, 2025 was thus invalidated for the users who weren't supposed to receive discount codes.

Anyone else get this? from r/RaybanMeta

Those who were eligible for the offer can save $100 when purchasing a Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 3S, Ray-Ban Meta (Gen 2), Oakley Meta HTSN, or Oakley Meta Vanguard using the code. Unfortunately, Reddit users are reporting that Meta won't honor the promotion that was sent to users in error, even after contacting support.

How else can I save on Meta products?

If you're searching for Meta deals, keep an eye out for Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers. We'll be tracking all the best discounts here at Android Central, and some are already live — check out our Black Friday deals hub for more information.

Need to buy now? There are a few ways to save a few bucks on Meta smart glasses in the meantime. Meta is currently running a "Give 30, Get 30" promo where users can save $30 on Ray-Ban Meta glasses, Meta Quest hardware, and more by using a referral link. The person that referred you will also get $30 in credits to use for themselves at the Meta Store. This promo was sent out to existing Meta customers via email in November, and you can technically use it for yourself by making a purchase signed out or by using another account.

Another way to save big on Meta glasses is by purchasing them at Backcountry. The retailer will give you 20% off any full-price item when you sign up for email/text communications, and shockingly, Ray-Ban and Oakley Meta glasses are included. For example, you can save $100 on brand-new Oakley Meta Vanguard glasses using the Backcountry offer.

If you're my age, you're old enough to remember the first time you popped a rumble pack into your N64 controller and played Star Fox 64. The experience was something I'll never forget, and even though practically every modern piece of electronics today has some sort of haptic response in it, the joy of feeling the action in a game hasn't waned.

That's why you need to pick up the next-generation Woojer Vest 4, which is $50 off right now on an early Black Friday special. The Vest 4 just came out a few weeks ago (it's not even a month old!) and upgrades the Woojer Vest 3 experience with a new lighter, slimmer and more breathable construction that makes wearing the vest while gaming much more comfortable.

Not only that, but it debuted at just $349, a huge improvement over the $499 price of the Vest 3. That's made even better by this sale, which brings it down to $299.

So what in the world is a haptic vest, you ask? It's a way to experience full body rumble from your games, music, movies, or anything else in your life that makes sound. Woojer's patented technology intelligently turns sound into haptic feedback, and it does so without mixing in the noises you don't want.

Assume you're playing an online game like Call of Duty or even a VR game like Forefront and want to feel the shooting and explosions, but not the voices of the other players. Woojer already automatically cancels out things like voices and music while gaming because it understands that gamers want to feel effects, not ambient music or other players' voices.

Conversely, if you're playing a game like Lumines Arise on your Steam Deck, the pumping bass of the music will perfectly vibrate into your inner soul thanks to the Woojer Vest 4. It's impressively immersive and brings a whole new dimension to all your entertainment. I use it every time I play a VR multiplayer game like Breachers or Forefront, but it's also excellent for non-VR games when you really want to get in on the action.

How does a haptic vest work?

Whether you're using a Woojer Vest 4, Woojer Body Strap, or one of Woojer's older products, they all work the same way. You load the Woojer app onto your smartphone and then turn on your Woojer vest. The app automatically connects to your Vest or Body Strap and gives you full control over the volume, haptic intensity, mode, and more.

From here, you'll either plug a pair of wired headphones into the Woojer unit or pair Bluetooth headphones to the Woojer via the app, matching the vibration perfectly in sync with the sound. Lastly, you'll plug your source into the Woojer unit — I most commonly connect my Meta Quest 3 or Steam Deck via the included 3.5mm audio cable — to feed sound into the Vest or Body Strap. You can also use Bluetooth to wirelessly stream your music to the vest.

And that's it! There's no other configuration needed unless you want to select a specific mode or change settings in the Woojer app. It's impressively simple and is far easier than how older haptic vests and straps used to work. I enjoy this most for gaming, but they're also great for really feeling the beat in your music or turning an average at-home movie into a theater-like experience with full body rumble.

If a full vest is too much for you, the Woojer Body Strap 4 is also available (pictured above next to the Steam Deck) and offers a single point of rumble that can be placed on your chest, stomach, back, or even your leg, if you prefer.

More Black Friday 2025 - quick links

• Best Buy: up to 60% off Chromebooks, Android phones, and more
• Amazon: early discounts on headphones, smart home tech
• Walmart: early price drops on ASUS laptops, locked phones
• Samsung: new Galaxy XR headset, trade-in opportunities
• Verizon: free phones with new line, trade-in
• T-Mobile: free Galaxy phones, $300 back w/ 5G Home Internet
• Mint Mobile: 50% off Pixel 10, BOGO Unlimited plans
• AT&T: get a free Z Flip 7 with trade-in, new line
  
  More Black Friday coverage
• The best Google Pixel deals of Black Friday (so far)
• The best Samsung deals of Black Friday (so far)
• The best Motorola deals of Black Friday (so far)

The holidays are here, and that means tons of new games ready and waiting for folks opening new consoles stuffed under the tree, plus plenty to play for those of us who already have one.

The Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest 3S are seeing a huge surge in new games, and the latest VR Games Showcase just brought 20 more announcements that'll flood your headset with joy.

But the VRGS isn't the only game in town, and several developers also stealth dropped new trailers and announcements for upcoming games that you've got to see. Here's everything I've personally cherry picked below!

Out now!

You can watch the entire VR Games Showcase above, which includes the announcements I've rounded up here plus a ton of others, but let's take a look at the games you can play right now before we move onto the wishlist items. I'll link to each trailer and store listing below so you can experience the games ASAP!

Vampire Survivors but it’s in virtual reality (trailer) (Meta store link): This one really threw me for a loop! Vampire Survivors goes pseudo-3D with this exclusive VR release, featuring all the massive hordes you've come to expect in the famed game with the unique immersive qualities of a diorama experience.

Hotel Infinity (trailer) (Meta store link): Set aside a 2m by 2m square space of your physical floor and get to exploring Hotel Infinity like you were Tanjiro headed into the Infinity Castle. The world constantly shifts and changes as you physically walk through it, with MC Escher style impossible architecture that'll blow your mind constantly. It's a perfect representation of what VR can do.

Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss (trailer) (Meta store link): I don't know anything about MOBAs and I've never played DOTA, but this Moss spinoff has me intrigued. It's a realtime strategy game that looks like a cross between Demeo Battles and classic board games like Catan, and the quick battle length makes this one perfect for a snappy weeknight VR session.

Syberia VR (trailer) (Meta store link): The classic point-and-click adventure game from the early 2000s just got remastered and is fully playable in VR on the Meta Quest. I loved this game back in my high school days and can't wait to play through the whole thing again from a fresh perspective!

EXOSHOCK (trailer) (Meta store link): Heaven knows there are enough VR shooters out there, but every so often one comes along that stands out from the pack. This co-op PvE sci-fi squad shooter aims to redefine how you work with your friends with unique combat and a memorable art style. Give the alpha client a shot by joining the Discord now.

Banners & Bastions (trailer) (Meta store link): I previously tried Banners & Bastions when it released in early access, and now a big new update adds tons of new content, including major UX improvements, controller support, new bosses and enemies, and more! It's a quick thinking strategy puzzle game you have to try!

Dimensional Double Shift (trailer) (Meta store link): The developers of Job Simulator have taken the proven formula and added multiplayer, encouraging players to work together to get high scores and serve up orders, fix up cars, and enjoy all of the differences in each dimension. The New Joysey dimension recently launched on Meta Quest, and the game is also available on Galaxy XR starting December 11.

Coming soon

Star Trek: Infection: This sci-fi horror title is a decidedly different take on what I would think of a traditional Star Trek game would be, but maybe that's what makes it so interesting! We're expecting this one to land before the end of the year.

Deadly Delivery (trailer): Have you ever thought about how all those creatures live in dungeons in the age of Amazon and Door Dash? Deadly Delivery answers that question by letting you and three other friends dress up as goblins and deliver packages to dungeon dwellers. But beware, because those dungeons feature plenty of traps and unfriendly residents. Coming December 4.

How To God (trailer): Ever play Black & White on the PC back in the 2000s? How to God puts players in charge of a world, giving them godly powers and a giant creature that may or may not do their bidding. It's virtual pet sim meets Civilization-style world builder! I played it in early access and now it's coming out for everyone on December 4.

Men in Black (trailer): Talk about a shadow drop! From the developers of Jurassic World Aftermath and Augmented Empire comes a game that puts you in the literal shoes of the famous Men in Black. It's described as a stealth action game that gives you access to untold numbers of gadgets and the directive to remove the alien threat without anyone finding out. Good luck with that! Coming December 5.

VR Giants (trailer): A co-op VR platformer like you've never played before! One person plays as a giant who helps the smaller player hop, skip, and jump through traditional 3D platforming levels. It takes real teamwork to get through these levels! Coming December 11.

Tin Hearts (trailer): Christmas is just around the corner, so why not play "the most Christmassy game ever made" on your Meta Quest? It's a narrative-heavy, block-based puzzle game that takes you through a family-friendly adventure everyone is going to love. Coming December 11.

Espire MR Missions (trailer): Espire 2 launched a set of mixed reality missions back when the Quest 3 came out two years ago, and now the concept of Metal Gear Solid in your home is getting a full standalone release! Sneak and shoot your way through your own bedrooms, living room, basement, yard, or wherever you're physically at with this stealth action title, coming Decembrer 16.

Wrath: Aeon of Ruin VR (trailer): There's nothing quite like the intensity of a 90s 3D shooter, complete with unfiltered textures, gorgeous low-poly art, gratuitous violence, and a heavy metal soundtrack. Coming Spring 2026.

Orcs Must Die: By The Blade (trailer): The classic trap-placing action game comes to VR! Protect your castle from descruction by eliminating every orc that tries to worm its way inside. Coming January 22.

Knights Of Fiona (trailer): Japanese RPGs have seen a big resurgence in recent years, and Knights of Fiona aims to put a new perspective on a cinematic action JRPG that looks like a ton of fun and a half. Coming 2026.

Last night, I lay in bed playing Lumines Arise til my arms started to ache from holding my Steam Deck in the air. This afternoon, I placed my Meta Quest 3 on my head and seamlessly continued my progress in the game, this time with an unparalleled sense of immersion that my Steam Deck could never hope to offer.

It's this type of hybrid play-as-you-please gaming haven that Valve planted the roots for when it launched the Steam Deck several years ago, which is now entering the blooming stages as the Steam Frame launches in early 2026.

The Steam Frame, as the new VR headset is called, is a standalone "Steam Deck for your face" that plays VR and non-VR games alike. It doesn't care how you want to play games or what you want to play; it just wants you to play them everywhere and gives you full access to the Steam library you already own, making it a powerful addition to any gamer's household.

Play what you want, how you want, when you want it

The real beauty in products like the Steam Frame isn't inherently the hardware, although PC Gamer's hands-on delves into Valve's engineering mastery and what makes this headset stand out from the rest. No, the real draw here is the versatility of the Steam library.

When I finish a long day of work but recognize that I need physical exercise or movement and not another few hours of sitting on my butt, picking up a Steam Frame and playing a great VR game may just be the answer. Other times, I might want to wind down for the night in bed with a round of Peglin or solving some puzzles in Islands of Insight on my Steam Deck. No matter what, Steam has my back.

For me, it's this versatility that matters most. Sony is close to having a similar ecosystem with the PS5, but the company falls short in several ways. The PSVR 2 requires a cord to work, online multiplayer requires a monthly paid subscription, and Sony's digital games purchasing policy is squarely anti-consumer. Valve's ecosystem suffers from none of these issues.

Like the Meta Quest, Valve's game purchase and return policy is second to none. Don't like a game or want to return it for any reason? You have two weeks from the purchase date or two hours of "trial play," whichever comes first. It's great, and it makes me feel good about spending money on digital games that I'll never have the chance to sell.

The PS5 has the ability to play physical games, but many games only get digital distribution, particularly the indie titles I enjoy playing most, meaning this isn't a situation where the PS5 has a full advantage.

The obvious upside of an all-digital library is that I can play my games on any hardware I want, which is something Steam is particularly well-suited for. The Steam OS that runs on Steam Deck and Steam Frame is built to play any Steam game, even ones made for X86-based PCs. The only real hamstring is the hardware power, which will require you to use a PC or cloud service to stream more detailed games.

Valve even thought of that when building the Steam Frame, as it includes a dedicated streaming USB stick in the box. This stick enables not only Wi-Fi 6E-grade wireless bandwidth, but it also uses a dedicated antenna on the Steam Frame to stream your PC games wirelessly to the headset. That ensures you never run into network traffic issues on your home network since it bypasses that completely.

The Meta Quest 3 can also stream any Steam game from your PC to the headset, including using a dedicated wireless streaming box like this one I've been testing for months, but the Quest wasn't purpose-built for this and doesn't provide the same ultra-high quality streaming that Steam Frame can.

What's more is that Steam Frame can sideload Android APKs just like the Meta Quest series can. Steam Frame isn't running Android, but Valve's unique Proton and FEX emulation layers allow it to run Android apps and games just as well as it can run Windows apps and games, something that gives the Frame a unique position in the market.

Samsung's recently released Galaxy XR headset can also run Android apps natively since it uses the Android XR operating system and has a unique advantage in that area since it comes with Google services built in. Some apps don't work at all without Google services, which is why this sort of thing never caught on with Meta Quest owners despite its ability to run Android apps natively.

Steam Frame vs. Meta Quest 3

Now that I've brought up the Quest 3, it's important to take a look at the two of them side-by-side and see which one is more worth your money. The biggest issue right now is that we don't know the price of the Steam Frame, although Valve says it's aiming to come in at under the $999 price of its previous headset, the Valve Index.

So we'll throw price out the window for now and just look at the biggest experiential differences between the two systems. The Meta Quest 3 is purpose-built for VR and mixed reality games. Meta owns just over half a dozen game development studios and uses them to pump out AAA VR games like Batman: Arkham VR, Deadpool VR, Asgard's Wrath 2, and even helps fund titles like Assassin's Creed VR, Thief VR, Metro Awakening, and more.

Valve doesn't fund any VR game development and isn't even making a new VR game, which means the latest and greatest is still the 5-year-old Half-Life: Alyx. That also means we're not getting Portal VR, Counter-Strike VR, Team Fortress VR, DOTA VR, or any other Valve IP I forgot about. If you want AAA VR gaming, the Meta Quest is the obvious headset to buy.

If you're more interested in modding VR games like Fallout 4, Skyrim, or just playing VR Chat with the Steam Frame's built-in eye tracking, Valve's headset might be right for you. With a 144Hz display and lighter build, the Frame is designed with PCVR games in mind from the start. Valve calls it a "streaming-first headset" because it recognizes that Steam VR players primarily use the platform to play visually complex games, something a standalone system cannot compete with.

But that doesn't mean it can't play these VR games without a PC. The company hasn't offered long enough play sessions to make an opinion on this yet, but my guess is that most PCVR games will run fine enough on the Frame in local processing mode, so long as you turn the visuals down. For someone like me, that's just fine. I use a Steam Deck because I prefer the ability to play anywhere I want. Graphics simply aren't high on my list of priorities.

Both Valve and Meta have crafted headsets that are designed to be modular, but the Steam Frame seems like it'll win a competition in this area. The front module of the Steam Frame can be easily removed, which contains the lenses and all computing elements. It's just 190g for that module since there's no battery inside, ensuring this headset can be used for years to come without having battery issues.

Valve also designed the controllers to be a fascinating hybrid of a traditional gaming controller and VR motion controllers. Time will tell if this was a good idea or not, but the company says, "We see it just as a new way to play your entire Steam library," which makes this decision a lot more sense. Given that controllers are easily mappable natively in Steam, this should work nicely for VR titles, too.

The problem here is that the Steam Frame only has black and white passthrough vision out of the box, while the Meta Quest 3 has full color passthrough. That means there's no chance you'll want to play non-VR games on a Steam Frame while seeing your room, and that's going to be a huge disadvantage for Valve until a color passthrough add-on is sold. Yes, Valve made a port for camera add-ons on the headset.

Whether or not Steam Frame gives PCVR a development boost is up in the air, but it may not take much to move that needle. The Steam Deck, as popular as it seems, has only sold around 5 million units to date, yet it has significantly influenced the world of PC games development in a way that prior PC handheld hardware didn't.

Regardless of its influence over the PC VR space, I'm excited to play hybrid VR titles like Lumines Arise on this. Being able to play the same game in my bed with a Steam Deck before going to sleep or be fully immersed in it with a Steam Frame is an incredible value proposition, and it makes my Steam library feel even more valuable than it already did. I can't say the same about any other gaming ecosystem on the market.

FAQ

Looking for something listen to during your commute? Then we've got the podcast for you! I sat down with 9to5Google's Will Sattelberg this past week to discuss the launch of Android XR, the Galaxy XR, and everything those products mean for the future of XR on the November 3, 2025 edition of The Sideload podcast.

When Will asked me to be a guest on the show, I knew there was no way I could turn it down. We've been covering the Samsung Galaxy XR in depth at Android Central since before the launch, getting our hands on the elusive headset three times before it went to retail.

I also write a weekly XR-centric column called AC thVRsday that goes live on, you guessed it, Thursdays. If you're not familiar with the term XR, it stands for eXtended Reality and covers the gamut of AR and VR devices. That's everything from smart glasses like Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses to full-fledged, premium VR headsets like Samsung's newly launched Galaxy XR.

If you're looking for something specific, Will was kind enough to list out the timestamps for all the major topics:

• 00:00:00 – Intro
• 00:01:02 – Nick’s VR experience
• 00:10:04 – Galaxy VR
• 00:23:20 – Samsung’s current-gen rivals
• 00:35:32 – Where VR excels
• 00:48:03 – Smart glasses
• 01:06:48 – Laser Dance
• 01:11:16 – Wrap-up

Google's Android XR is a brand new version of Android built specifically for XR devices, and while the Galaxy XR mixed reality headset is the first Android XR device to market, we're expecting a treasure trove of smart glasses to use the operating system next year.

That includes companies like Samsung and Xreal, who are expected to debut a wide range of products including display-less AI glasses and even full-fledged AR glasses. What are your thoughts on XR, as a whole? Are you excited about smart glasses, can't wait to get a top-notch VR headset, or have another opinion? Let us know! We'd love to hear it.

When I got my iPhone 17 Pro Max a few weeks ago, I couldn't wait to tear open the box. No, that's not because I love using iPhones — quite the opposite, really. It was because I couldn't wait to test out the spatial photo and video capture that comes built-in to the phone's camera app.

You see, when Apple launched the Vision Pro in 2024, it understood that most people with a Vision Pro wouldn't wear them on their heads 24/7 and, therefore, wouldn't use its powerful spatial cameras to capture everyday memories. That type of experience is reserved for the phones in our pockets, and recent iPhone models can capture this kind of content.

On the Android side of things, the only way to capture spatial photos or video is to buy an Xreal Beam Pro. This neat little gadget is perfect when paired with a pair of Xreal One glasses, and it's also perfect for capturing spatial photos and video of any kind throughout your day. The obvious problem is that it's a second device you'd have to remember to charge and take with you at all times, and that's just not realistic for most people.

A spatial future

Last month, Google and Samsung launched the new Android XR operating system alongside the Samsung Galaxy XR headset, ushering in a new era for VR headsets. The new OS can run all Android apps in VR space, making it the best new XR operating system and outpacing both Meta and Apple in this particular metric.

Galaxy XR is an entertainment powerhouse, and one of the pillars Google touts of this experience is the ability to view 3D — better known as "spatial" these days — photos and video right in the headset. The problem is that no modern Android phone can record 3D photos or videos, just the ancient EVO 3D and, of course, the Xreal Beam Pro sidekick device.

Google attempted to solve this problem through the magic of AI by automatically converting existing 2D photos and videos to 3D, but the end result isn't quite as good as if it were captured natively with a binocular phone camera system.

Meta introduced a similar feature back in May, which includes automatically converting Instagram content to 3D as you scroll. The effect is quite impressive, although again, it's not quite as good as if you were watching native 3D or spatial content.

For that, you'll need an iPhone 15, 16, or newer iPhone 17. Not only do these phones capture spatial photos and video impressively well, but the Meta Horizon app makes it dead simple to import them onto your Meta Quest headset.

To do this, open the Meta Horizon app on your iPhone, select the menu button in the top-left corner, tap gallery, then click the upload button in the top right. Once you give the app access to your camera roll, you can slide over to the Spatial tab and easily select any spatial photos and videos you've captured on your iPhone.

On the Android side of things, the instructions are the same, but there's no Spatial tab to be seen. Even on the Xreal Beam Pro, I don't have a Spatial option, as the app doesn't recognize the 3D side-by-side content the device captures as "spatial" photos or video. Rather, it thinks these are panoramas, and that's reflected in the in-headset experience.

Now, I can load a gallery app on the Meta Quest that allows me to view side-by-side photos as 3D images, but I have no way of natively viewing them with the built-in gallery app or uploading 3D video natively through the Meta Horizon app. That all seems to be locked to iOS because of Apple's official spatial capture standard.

Another green bubble for Android

This is where Google needs to catch up. Without a properly supported standard, Android users are effectively stuck in "green bubble land" again, just using a different subject matter. At the very least, Samsung introduced a hidden feature in its Camera Assistant app that lets you capture 3D pictures and video specifically for Galaxy XR, but I don't understand why Samsung wants to hide it so badly. This should be a standard mode or feature on all Samsung phones.

The worst part is that Samsung has already one-upped Apple by offering users high-quality selections for 3D video and photos. Even better, the Galaxy S25 Ultra can capture 4K spatial video, while even the mighty iPhone 17 Pro Max tops out at 1080p. Again, why hide such a fantastic feature? I just don't get it.

The images I captured using this feature on a Galaxy S25 Ultra upload just fine to the Meta Quest app, but videos aren't selectable at all yet. That one's on Meta, but it still shows that Android users have to jump through unnecessary hoops to get a second-rate experience compared to how things are on an iPhone, and I hate that.

Samsung Galaxy XR is the newest premium XR headset on the block, merging the virtual and real worlds in a way that feels almost magical, thanks to a bevy of external cameras and ultra-high-resolution OLED displays. In many ways, it looks a lot like what the Meta Quest Pro should have been.

Things are even better when you realize it's powered by the brand-new Android XR operating system, which lets you run all your favorite Android apps in 3D virtual windows. That means you don't have to worry about which apps are made specifically for the headset; just find all your favorites on the Google Play Store and do what you love!

On the flipside, the Galaxy XR isn't sold as a gaming console the way the Meta Quest is, despite the optional controllers selling out in no time flat. It can play games, for sure — and we'll talk about that below — but it's primarily for productivity and other forms of entertainment, a la Apple Vision Pro. Which one is right for you? Let's find out.

Samsung Galaxy XR vs. Meta Quest 3: Looks and basics

While both the Samsung Galaxy XR and the Meta Quest 3 are mixed reality headsets, they each look and fit quite differently. The Meta Quest 3 is mainly designed to fit cost restraints, so it can be under $500. That includes shipping with a relatively uncomfortable cloth strap for your head and an all-plastic design.

Samsung Galaxy XR, previously known as Project Moohan, has a far more premium look and feel. While some parts are plastic to keep weight down, it looks a lot more like a Meta Quest Pro than a Meta Quest 3. This includes rigid side straps with a wheel on the back for quickly adjusting size, a large, plush pad for the back of your head, and another large plush pad for your forehead.

Unlike the Meta Quest 3, Galaxy XR doesn't put any weight on your face at all. The rubber light blockers are included in the box and magnetically removable, so you'll feel no pressure on your face while wearing the headset for long periods of time.

The Meta Quest 3's default cloth strap distributes weight on your face and around the sides and back of your head. Some people, like me, find this to be uncomfortable and end up buying a third-party head strap along with several other Meta Quest 3 accessories to make it more comfortable to wear.

While this sounds like a negative at first, Meta's "modular" design of the Quest 3 means you can take all the important parts off — the head strap, the face pad, etc — and replace them with ones you find more comfortable.

When I work while wearing a Quest 3, I use a Kiwi Design H4 Boost head strap and remove the face pad so the headset's weight isn't resting on my face. Otherwise, when I'm gaming with a Quest 3, I keep the face pad on to provide maximum immersion.

Galaxy XR isn't explicitly designed to be a modular headset in the same way, but that's not stopping some VR accessory makers from trying to modularize it as much as possible.

Galaxy XR is powered by a separate battery pack that's attached via a cord on the left side, while the Meta Quest 3 features the battery in the front of the headset with the lenses and all other electronics. Both headsets can be used while their batteries are in use, so extending usage time is as easy as getting a USB-C battery bank or Meta Quest 3 accessories.

The Samsung Galaxy XR features automatic IPD adjustment thanks to its eye-tracking capabilities, ensuring each user has the exact right eye-distance calibration the moment they put the headset on. That's a huge advantage for Samsung over any Meta-branded headset, which all require manual IPD adjustment.

Some headsets, like the PlayStation VR2, will help you choose the right IPD by using eye tracking to display an image you can line up. The Meta Quest 3, like most other VR headsets, requires you to know your IPD ahead of time. Adjusting it on a Quest 3 is easy and can be done via the IPD wheel on the underside of the headset, but you still need to know the right number before using it.

Both headsets feature crystal-clear pancake lenses with a wide FoV. Galaxy XR uses a 109-degree horizontal FoV, while the Meta Quest 3 has an indistinguishably wider 110-degree horizontal FoV.

The Meta Quest 3 ships with two motion controllers — one is held in each hand — and also supports controller-free hand tracking for more effortless interactions. Each of these controllers features a joystick, three face buttons, a trigger, and a grip button.

Samsung Galaxy XR has controllers that look extremely similar to the Meta Quest 3's controllers, including LED-based tracking without an external tracking ring. Unfortunately, Samsung doesn't ship Galaxy XR with controllers, so you'll have to pay $250 extra to get these.

Samsung Galaxy XR vs. Meta Quest 3: Software and OS

Meta Horizon OS, the operating system that powers Meta Quest Headsets, is built upon Android and always has been. Similarly, Android XR, which powers Galaxy XR, is also a specific version of Android built for XR devices. While they sound similar on the surface, there are some key differences to consider.

While both are based on the Android Open Source Project, Meta Horizon OS features significant layers of customization that Meta has built over the past decade. Meta has built so much on top of Android that it actually packages it as a "separate" operating system, calling it Meta Horizon OS, and now offers it as an option for third-party companies to build their own headsets on.

Meta Horizon OS not only revolves around the "Meta Horizon experience," which includes promoting the Meta Horizon metaverse app front and center, but also ties Meta services deeply into the OS. Apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Facebook, and Instagram all have native Horizon OS apps, and while a few other apps can be downloaded on the app store, Meta Quest headsets are still mainly gaming consoles with some extra computing functionality.

Android XR is built upon the Android Open Source Project as well but, like most builds of Android, Google services are at the center. Google said Android XR is "the first version of Android built for the Gemini era," which means Google Gemini is able to operate the entire experience if you ask it to.

Gemini can see what you see, including both the virtual and real world, and is able to answer questions and interact with virtual screens as you see fit. This opens up significant new design and interaction paradigms that we simply haven't seen before. One excellent example of this paradigm shift is using Circle to Search while playing Half-Life: Alyx on a Galaxy XR to translate in-game signs.

Both operating systems support native multitasking, giving users the ability to open multiple windows at once and float them anywhere in real 3D space. You can think of these a bit like resizable virtual monitors that you can place anywhere, all of which are able to be interacted with like a smartphone or tablet interface.

Samsung impressed us with the launch of Galaxy XR for many reasons, but the most surprising was the announcement that all Google Play apps work on the headset from day one. That means developers don't need to do anything extra to get their apps in XR, although they can choose to build new XR-specific versions for the headset.

That's a massive leg-up on Meta, which has struggled to get developers to port apps to its Meta Horizon OS. While there are a handful of 2D apps on the Meta Quest — mostly communication apps — Galaxy XR can run any app your Android-based smartphone or tablet can run. That's an incredible boon for everyday use and ensures Galaxy XR is the ultimate XR productivity device.

If you want to learn more about how both operating systems compare, see our detailed Android XR vs Meta Horizon OS comparison.

Samsung XR vs. Meta Quest 3: Performance and specs

Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets power the Meta Quest 3 and Samsung Galaxy XR, but Galaxy XR features the more powerful Snapdragon XR2 Plus Gen 2. This new chipset allows Samsung to include higher-resolution cameras and displays on Galaxy XR while sporting at least the same general performance profile.

Neither are "laptop-grade" chips like what's included in the Apple Vision Pro, but both chips are very capable and are roughly comparable in performance to a 2023 flagship smartphone, with significant customizations to account for the extra processing needed for space tracking and motion tracking.

Both headsets use pancake lenses, but the Samsung Galaxy XR builds eye tracking into the lenses. This will enable Samsung to achieve even better performance thanks to a feature called foveated rendering. This technology allows the headset to render the highest resolution at the center of your vision while saving processing power by lowering the resolution outside of that.

Meta supports fixed foveated rendering, which attempts to recreate the same concept without eye tracking. While it enhances performance, it produces lower resolution outside the lens center and reduces visual quality in those areas.

Samsung Galaxy XR vs. Meta Quest 3: Which is better?

Considering the massive price gulf between the two, the Meta Quest 3 is the best choice for most people looking to get an XR headset. It offers a library of thousands of games, controllers included in the box, and a 3rd party accessory ecosystem that rivals the best consoles.

But the Samsung Galaxy XR is the better choice for folks looking to use their headsets for movies and entertainment or productivity. Every Android app works on Galaxy XR out of the box, while there are very few Android apps on the Meta Quest 3. You can always sideload any Android APK to a Meta Quest 3, but without the official Google Play Store built in, you'll quickly run into limitations.

PC VR players looking for the most premium experience possible should also consider the Galaxy XR, as it features eye, face, and hand tracking that are all passed to your PC games via software like Virtual Desktop. Plus, with ultra-high resolution displays, your games will look top-notch. Galaxy XR is the most premium experience you'll find today in XR, but you'll pay a pretty penny for it.

What you need to know

• Meta earned $51.2 billion in revenue, mainly advertising, but just $2.7 billion in net income thanks to a One Beautiful Bill income tax and AI infrastructure CapEx.
• Reality Labs lost $4.4 billion this quarter, and is expected to do worse next quarter without a new Meta Quest launch.
• Instagram and Threads user count rose to 3 billion and 150 million, respectively.
• The company will continue to invest tens of billions in Meta Superintelligence Labs in 2026, and may lose money on lawsuits related to child safety.

Meta is earning more advertising revenue than ever, and keeping people on its apps for longer, using AI, Mark Zuckerberg boasted during Meta's Q3 2025 earnings call. But it's also spending tens of billions on AI infrastructure to "front-load" computing capabilities for an AI Superintelligence, to the point that investors are spooked.

Zuckerberg and CFO Susan Li outlined the company's highest-ever $51.2 billion revenue this quarter, but Meta's net income fell 83% YoY, thanks to major AI CapEx spending and a one-time $15.9 billion income tax from Trump's 2025 tax bill.

Tax one-off aside, Meta is promising that spending $19.4 billion this quarter on AI servers, data centers, and network infrastructure is "very likely to be a profitable thing" by accelerating their AI research on Superintelligence and producing better ads. It's a familiar strategy for Meta, which spends heavily on big-picture ideas like the "Metaverse" with the hypothetical promise of future ROI.

Promising a 'profitable' future for Reality Labs (eventually) after years of losses

Meta boasted in the Q3 earnings call about the success of their recent AI glasses, including selling out most Meta Ray-Ban Display store stock within "48 hours." But Reality Labs R&D remained predictably expensive, costing them $4.4 billion in net losses this quarter after $470 million in revenue.

According to Li, even though they expect "significant YoY growth in AI glasses revenue" next quarter, thanks to the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 and Oakley Meta Vanguard glasses, profits will be "more than offset by the headwinds of Quest headsets," because there's no Quest 3S launch this year.

It's a bit surprising that Ray-Ban sales aren't expected to cut into Reality Labs' losses, or at least match past Quest headsets' success during the holidays. Despite this, Zuckerberg assured investors that "it will be a very profitable investment" eventually, starting with revenue from selling the glasses and then building "services" on the hardware.

Zuckerberg continued on by explaining that R&D costs will continue for future devices like Meta Orion, their full-FoV AR glasses, and that smart glasses are still "earlier in their curve" before it can become a "sustained business."

Eventually, however, they plan to reach "many hundreds of millions or billions of people, and that's the point at which we think this is going to be an extremely profitable business," Zuckerberg concluded.

The Meta CEO first brought up the idea of billions of smart glasses in an earlier earnings call; current estimates suggest it's still well short of ten million, but EssilorLuxottica plans to sell 10 million pairs of AI glasses per year starting in 2026, with Meta as its primary partner.

Meta's plans and fears for 2026

Meta claims that after this one "Big Beautiful Bill" tax payoff, there will be a "significant reduction in our U.S. federal cash tax payments," lowering operations costs moving forward. But Meta will likely reinvest that money in AI instead.

After spending $70–72 billion total on CapEx in 2025, Li warns that "total expenses will grow at a significantly faster percentage rate in 2026 than 2025, with growth driven primarily by infrastructure costs, including incremental cloud expenses and depreciation."

This will help Meta build its Superintelligence that "knows us deeply, understands our goals, and can help us achieve them." Zuckerberg suggested that they're working on "truly frontier models with novel capabilities," though he didn't say when these advanced AI tools will arrive.

Meta also warned investors that continued pressure from the European Union could lead to "significant negative impact on our European revenue," while in the U.S., "a number of youth-related trials are scheduled for 2026" that could lead to losses. Meta has come under fire for allegedly covering up potential harms to children from VR games.

What you need to know

• Little Planet channels the vibes of Animal Planet and The Little Prince into a cozy social life sim VR game on the Meta Quest platform.
• The game launches as a free-to-play title on October 30 after 2 years of early access with special rewards for people who have paid for the game.
• New multiplayer games, a virtual pet system, and more are being added as part of the launch.

It's been more than five years since Animal Crossing: New Horizons debuted, and that means fans are salivating for a new title to scratch the itch of collecting and socializing. Thankfully, the developers of Little Planet heard the call and are launching what feels like Animal Crossing VR on the Meta Quest platform on October 30, 2025, for the crowd-pleasing price of free.

Just as in Animal Crossing, players start out making their own avatar, followed by selecting one of three islands to begin their journey on. Here, you'll be harvesting resources, building houses, making friends, and collecting over 4,000 items to decorate your world with. You can also sculpt the land to bring your vision to life.

Unlike Animal Crossing, items in Little Planet are interactive. Place a piano down in your house and you can actually play music on it. Drop a basketball hoop down and shoot hoops with friends. You can even ride inflatables in the water! That's one of my biggest complaints with the Animal Crossing series, and it's been solved here.

With the free-to-play launch version, Little Planet is debuting two huge new systems that transform the game: a virtual pet system, and a ton of new multiplayer features. Several different virtual pets can now be chosen from and will follow you around, begging for pets and treats. From abstract creatures to cute capybaras, the game likely has something you'll love to keep around for the long haul.

The new multiplayer lobby also makes it simple to find people in game and make new friends, join in seasonal festivities, and play a ton of new multiplayer-focused games. This lobby is a central way to socialize in the game, something that's not always easy to do in Animal Crossing.

I got to join the developers in the Halloween-themed area which, as you might imagine, changes regularly depending on the season or holiday. It's yet another area where the game improves over the classic Animal Crossing formula.

The multiplayer games are a great way to change up the normal gameplay in fun ways, including a scavenger hunt, a giant maze, fishing contests, and more. As you might imagine, winning each of these games gives you in-game rewards that can be exchanged for items or special edition prizes that you can't collect otherwise.

Since the game has been in paid early access for two years, existing players who paid for the game will be getting rewarded for their support. The developers call this the Founders Pack and it includes a full year of the "Little Planet Premium" subscription, exclusive items for your planet, and a unique founder's hoodie and name tag that will never be available again.

If you haven't jumped onboard yet, you can still grab Little Planet Early Access for $20 on October 29 and get the full Founders Pack. Otherwise, check out that same listing on October 30 and beyond for the free-to-play version. Happy collecting!

Imagine yourself in a plane surrounded by seven other people. Everyone is suited up to jump out, and just as the bay doors open, a brown backpack is thrown out that looks a lot like a parachute. Unfortunately, you don't have time to wonder if the thing on your back is a real parachute or a fake, because the plane has already ejected everyone, and you're now free-falling at 10,000ft in the air.

Knowing what's likely going to happen, it's pretty clear to you that you're not going to be the one landing without a parachute. For the next several minutes, all eight of you battle it out in the clouds, using your arm-mounted rockets and grappling hooks to catch other players and keep the backpack until the end.

The game is Project Freefall, and its unique nature isn't just the gameplay; it's also the fact that you can play on a Meta Quest headset, a Steam Deck, or any of the other non-VR platforms the game supports, all flying together in a fairly rare cross-platform quest to reach the bottom.

Battle royale against the clock

Developer Schell Games has long made some of the best Meta Quest games. The veteran VR studio is behind well-known games like I Expect You to Die, Among Us VR, Silent Slayer: Vault of the Vampire, Until You Fall, and many more. While Among Us VR eventually became Among Us 3D with crossplay support between VR and non-VR systems, Project Freefall is designed for crossplay from day one.

The game launched in "earliest access" this week during Steam Next Fest, with a demo on the Meta Quest and a demo on Steam that you can download right now. Since the game is multiplayer only, I recommend visiting Schell Games' Discord server and joining any one of the active sessions posted there.

Project Freefall is simple enough in concept, but certainly one of those games that'll become increasingly complex as players master the unique movement systems. As you're falling through the air, you not only have those arm-mounted thrusters, but each hand has an independent grappling hook that can be used to grab items or pull yourself toward obstacles.

Why are there giant Ninja Warrior-esque obstacles falling through the air while you skydive? It's a video game that's not afraid to be a video game, that's why! Any number of objects can fall, from giant shark statues to literal Ninja Warrior-style obstacle courses that you can pull yourself through to avoid being tagged.

Grabbing the backpack is as easy as simply running into the player wearing it, from whence you'll immediately boost away wearing the coveted prize. Schell Games told me this small boost was introduced in early testing to help avoid the pitfalls of backpack juggling, giving players a brief moment to collect themselves before being chased.

Along with those giant obstacles that help make movement more complex in an otherwise empty sky, you'll find a smattering of power-ups and items that help you achieve the goal of holding the backpack the longest.

Whether it's a paint grenade to blind your opponents, Mario Kart style, or a bat that you can smack them with and stun them, these items are all about increasing the competitive nature of the game.

And that brings me to the unique qualities of playing on each supported platform. VR players will find that they have a distinct movement advantage, as they can easily aim each of their arms in different directions or even blind fire toward an obstacle while faking movement toward another. It's a classic juke movement that's made even more chaotic by the freedom of movement VR allows.

But non-VRs aren't at a disadvantage, despite being a little stiffer. While the VR version plays out in first person, the non-VR version is entirely done in 3rd-person. This gives the non-VR version a distinct perspective advantage, as you can more easily see everything around you without having to whip your head around constantly.

Schell Games told me it worked around the clock to balance these two distinct gaming perspectives, ensuring that neither platform has an overwhelming advantage. Some players will simply choose one over the other based on either convenience or their own strengths. If anything, playing it on a Steam Deck made it feel more chill, while the VR version felt far more active and chaotic, effectively highlighting the strengths of both systems.

The full early access period begins on October 21 and is fully free to play. A fairly standard skin shop is set up for players to purchase unique skins if they want, although in-game currency ensures that you will be able to earn skins and plenty of other fun cosmetic prizes without having to bankroll your character.

Check out the demo now and give it a shot! I was thoroughly impressed with how much fun it was, and the unique movement concepts make it feel substantially different in a flooded market of games that too often feel the same.