Ready Player One Is Happening!

Good morning, fam!

Yesterday, MIXED News, a leading VR news organization, faced backlash on Twitter. Artist Andrew Fox, dissatisfied with their AI-generated thumbnails, offered samples of his work to become their graphics designer. Citing budget constraints, MIXED News declined his work offer but went ahead and used his samples without permission. You can read the whole story here.

And what else? Oh, remember that VR movie, “Ready Player One”? Yeah, that’s literally going to be a reality!

Headlines for people in a hurry:

• 🥽 Qualcomm Unveils New XR Chip For Samsung & Google

• 😲 ‘Ready Player One’ Creators Join WB To Create ‘Readyverse’

• 🖥️ 11,000 PC Games On VR: UEVR Mod Highly Popular

• 😎 XReal Has Sold 350,000+ Glasses

Read time: 3 minutes

TOP STORIES

QUALCOMM

Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 Announced: Will Power Samsung’s VR, Immersed Visor & More

Qualcomm has unveiled the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chipset. “Wait, isn’t that the chip already powering the Quest 3?”

Nope, that’s the XR2 Gen 2. And the one that’s powering Quest Pro is the XR2+ Gen 1. There’s no way anyone’s going to get confused about this, right? That’s why I’ve included this image; the latest ones are to the left.

The XR2+ Gen 2 is a higher-end variant of the XR2 Gen 2 chip used in the Meta Quest 3. This new chipset features a 15% higher GPU clock and a 20% higher CPU clock compared to the base XR2 Gen 2. It supports higher resolution display output, up to 4.3K per eye at 90Hz or 3.7K per eye at 120Hz, and includes support for up to 12 concurrent cameras, an increase from 10 on the base XR2 Gen 2.

The XR2+ Gen 2 is technically not a successor to the XR2 Gen 2, but a more premium, overclocked option for higher-priced headsets, including those designed to compete with Apple's Vision Pro.

It will power the highly anticipated Immersed's Visor, Samsung's upcoming Google-powered headset, a yet-to-be-announced new HTC Vive headset, a YVR headset in China, and a fifth headset from a currently undisclosed company.

METAVERSE

“Ready Player One” Creators Team Up With WB To Create Their Metaverse Platform

The startup Futureverse, in collaboration with "Ready Player One" author Ernest Cline and film producer Dan Farah, has announced the creation of a new metaverse platform called Readyverse. This ambitious project aims to bring the iconic "Ready Player One" franchise to life in a virtual world. Futureverse, co-founded by Shara Senderoff and Aaron McDonald, has already raised $54 million in venture capital and formed Readyverse Studios to develop this platform.

Readyverse Studios' first major partnership is with Warner Bros. Discovery, which will see the "Ready Player One" franchise integrated into the platform. The technology behind Readyverse has been in development for five years and is designed to be scalable, user-friendly, and equipped with generative AI tools. The platform will leverage web3, augmented reality, and virtual reality technologies, aiming to become a definitive destination for fans to explore their favorite stories and intellectual properties in the metaverse.

Should you be super hyped about this? Well, here’s my take: It’s easy to write and make a film about a mature VR world but actually creating it, given today’s technological constraints isn’t that easy. That’s why it’s called “science fiction.” That being said, I am still hoping that this goes well.

PCVR

Gamers In Paradise As 11,000 PC Games Comes To VR

Ok, we’ve mentioned briefly about this in our previous newsletter, but the story was just coming out and thus, we couldn’t talk more about it then. Praydog's Universal Unreal Engine VR Mod (UEVR) has launched in beta, revolutionizing the way gamers experience PC games in VR.

This open-source framework enables almost any game built on Unreal Engine 4 and 5 to be played on modern VR headsets, including many AAA titles. The mod is a pure injector, meaning it doesn't include game-specific code, profiles, or customizations, but a website and app are in development to help users determine game compatibility and performance in VR.

UEVR offers full 6DOF support, stereoscopic 3D, and a native stereo rendering system, along with a frontend GUI for easy process injection. It also automatically handles most in-game UIs, projecting them into 3D space. The mod is compatible with almost any PC VR headset and is available for download on GitHub.

NEWS FLASH

AIRLINES

VR For Pilots?

• 🛫 FAA approves VR headsets for pilot training, enhancing flight safety post-Japan Airlines crash.

• 🕶️ XREAL ships 350,000 AR glasses in 2023, dominating with a 51% market share in Q3.

• 🛹 VR Skater launches its full release on Steam, offering an immersive skateboarding experience.

• 👀 Bigscreen Beyond may introduce an eye-tracking mod, enhancing VR cinema experiences.

• 🏢 Archiact lays off many employees, reflecting challenges in the VR industry.

• 🕶️ Immersed Visor upgrades to standalone AI, offering a Black Friday deal for early adopters.

• 🍏 Apple Vision Pro may display weather updates and Zoom icons on its external screen, adding a quirky touch to the headset.

BOOKMARKS

Immersive Articles From The Web

• How Was VR Sales During Christmas? A Full Breakdown Report

• Browsing The Web In Quest 3 Passthrough Is Getting Popular.

• Upcoming VR Games For January.

• SteamVR: The 50 Most Successful PC VR Games of 2023

UNREAL MONEY

FUNDING REPORT

Myrias Optics Raises $3 Million

Myrias Optics, Inc., a developer specializing in optics for augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR), consumer electronics, and defense applications, has secured a $3 million seed investment. The funding round was led by Asia Optical Inc., with additional participation from UMass Amherst, Tenon Ventures, and HOSS Investment Inc. This investment will be used to meet growing customer demand and interest in Myrias' structure, materials, and process technology platform.

Founded by UMass faculty member James Watkins, Myrias Optics is an emerging developer of all-inorganic printed meta-optics. The company aims to enable the next generation of meta-optics for AR, VR, consumer electronics, machine vision, advanced robotics, automotive light detection and ranging, defense, and aerospace. Myrias plans to manufacture optics in Western Massachusetts and hire a substantial workforce.

COOL PROJECTS

GAMING

Playing A PC Game Inside A VR Game!

WRAP UP

MEME OF THE DAY

“I Have The High Ground”

TWEET OF THE DAY

“This Is Your Time”

Have a great week folks.

What are your thoughts on the Readyverse? I’ll only join if its creator died, and the will said his billion-dollar fortune goes to the winner of the game, just like in the movie.

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