Looks like Meta scaling down VR efforts- closing top studios

[Lucas Ayde]

After burning through billions, I guess it had to happen:

https://www.ign.com/articles/meta-shuts-3-vr-studi...

Sanzaru made some of the best VR games on PC and Quest.

Will we see a Quest 4? I wouldn't bet on it. Even if we do, I doubt that it will be essentially a subsidised 'giveaway' like the Quest 2 and 3 have been and likely pretty pricey and more upmarket. I guess a lot will ride on the Steam Frame and how well it does - if Valve can make a success of it (at presumably a higher price bracket than the Quest3) then Meta might have a go.

[Brainpox]

I doubt how successful Steam is will have anything to do with it. The Quest got out there, fairly successfully I'd say, into people's homes, or at least into their minds. Unlike most tech my dad has heard of it, and a couple of people in the family got one.

This is Meta is going all in on the AI bubble, just like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Twitter, and all the other names. They all think there's a market out there that not only can make AI profitable, but more profitable than anything else they've ever done, and they'll cut themselves back to the bone to make it happen (and if not, then as long as shareholders think the payday is just round the corner, the CEOs are doing their bit for the business)

[Lucas Ayde]

Brainpox said:

I doubt how successful Steam is will have anything to do with it. The Quest got out there, fairly successfully I'd say, into people's homes, or at least into their minds. Unlike most tech my dad has heard of it, and a couple of people in the family got one.

This is Meta is going all in on the AI bubble, just like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Twitter, and all the other names. They all think there's a market out there that not only can make AI profitable, but more profitable than anything else they've ever done, and they'll cut themselves back to the bone to make it happen (and if not, then as long as shareholders think the payday is just round the corner, the CEOs are doing their bit for the business)

Zuckerberg seemed to have watched 'Ready Player One' and got obsessed with the idea of a 'Metaverse' developing - he even renamed the company to Meta from Facebook. Then he went all in on VR - they have apparently spent over 70 billion dollars on their 'Metaverse' operations which principally involve releasing heavily subsidised headsets (Quest 2 and 3) and cornering the market in exclusive titles.

Basically, at the moment, PCVR is an almost forgotten memory and PSVR is existing but little more than that .. Quest IS/was the 'gaming VR' market. Looks like Meta are dumping it and going in on Zuckerborgs new obsession, AI (out of the frying pan...). Any future for takup of VR gaming in the mainstream is now down to Steam with the Frame, which will hopefully revitalise PCVR titles .. Which were much more capable and experimental than the mainstream stuff that Meta standardised.

The good news is that Quests (2 and 3) make excellent PCVR headsets .. especially the 3.

[alfa aficionado]

Maybe I should return the Q3 I got for Christmas? I already had a Q2 and was gonna upgrade but in light of this news I may just keep the Q2 and return the Q3.

[heisthegaffer]

We have a Q2 and a Q3 and are brillant. I cant believe how clever the menu is remaining static when youre moving around.

[Lucas Ayde]

alfa aficionado said:

Maybe I should return the Q3 I got for Christmas? I already had a Q2 and was gonna upgrade but in light of this news I may just keep the Q2 and return the Q3.

The actual hardware is still brilliant - it's just that the flow of Meta-sponsored big name game titles is going to stop and the platform is unlikely to see much more development (they were constantly adding new features and improvements). We're also unlikely to see a Quest 4 headset in my opinion.

The problem is that Meta's massive subsidy of VR was a two-edged sword. On the one hand, they made amazing hardware and sold it at extremely competitive prices (probably at a loss) in order to build a hardware platform base. They also bought a bunch of game studios to make exclusive 'AAA' (in VR terms) titles for their headset. It seems they were also subsidising third party studios to make sure their games came out on Quest, possibly with timed exclusives.

But - this had the effect of Meta cornering the VR games market almost completely and pretty much squeezed out most high-spec games on PCVR as any software house making VR titles would strive to make sure their game could run on the Quest headset, meaning games generally looked more like PSVR1. It didn't help that they dropped all their PC games production shortly after they brought out Quest 2. Oculus had been putting up the cash for some genuinely top notch AAA PCVR games - close to Half Life:Alyx quality - when they were independent. They had also been doing multi-play titles which were on both PC and Quest and getting one meant you also owned a copy for the other platform too. The PC version was typically much 'richer' in graphics and features but you had the convenience of having a Quest version that you could play natively on the headset if you wanted. All that ended under Meta.

Now that Zuckerborg has decided that burning 70 billion dollars on building the 'Ready Player One' Metaverse hasn't been worth it, they're just pulling the rug almost overnight. That's really messed up VR gaming as a side effect.

On the bright side, maybe with the Steamdeck and focus on SteamVR/PC gaming we'll see the kind of more advanced PCVR games that used to be common making a comeback. Also, PSVR2 is a pretty capable platform that will provide another outlet for said advanced games. We'll still see 3rd party Quest games coming out (because it's the single biggest VR platform to target) and the Quest 2 and especially 3 make for really good PCVR headsets so we'll still be able to play those PCVR games.