Save a staggering $70 on the Razer Kishi ultra gaming controller over at Amazon.

The post Razer Kishi Ultra Gaming Controller Is Almost 50% Off, Mobile Gaming Can Feel Way Better for Much Less appeared first on Kotaku.

It’s time to look beyond flowers or chocolates.

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Billed as a large-scale VR sci-fi action game inspired by Starship Troopers, a title called Hivefall is available in Early Access through the Patreon of Memoreum’s director.

Access is granted via a Patreon page and SideQuest from Wim Buytaert, the director of Memoreum. Hivefall is the latest creation from the director focused around the concept of base defense. Each mission lets players prepare before a massive assault of alien bugs tears down their walls, culminating in a bombastic final wave with large bosses.

This early build is specifically made with the Quest 3 in mind, with a downloadable file sent to paying subscribers on Google Drive and installable by sideloading through the SideQuest app. The developer mentioned that the sci-fi action shooter is “inspired by everything I always wanted from Starship Troopers in VR.”

As the commander of an Earth-based military corporation, your terraforming efforts to colonize new planets end up waking up an alien organism hellbent on infecting other solar systems. The current build provides access to the first three missions of Hivefall and a fully functional progression tier system with skins. The solo developer aims to update the project every month with new content.

After spending some time with this early build and going through the hassle of setting up SideQuest and uploading the files needed to work correctly, we’ll be curious to see how many people are willing to go through the sideloading process. Hivefall’s dev is basically investigating that very prospect with his offering. Distributing work in VR via Patreon is not unheard of, with Davigo’s flat PC vs. VR game running a campaign. I can confirm the game runs in an early alpha state on Quest 3, but a considerable number of the planned pieces are still work in progress or missing. The bugs are still looking pretty pixelated to my eyes in the first build distributed for the game.

“This project may realistically be my final venture in the VR industry if it does not become financially sustainable. That said, VR remains my true passion and the space where I most want to create and innovate,” the developer wrote over email. “This project represents not only a game, but years of experience, dedication, and belief in immersive technology.”

Last year’s survival horror Memoreum from the dev received praise for its ambitious goals while falling short of expectations in other areas, as we said in our review, “there’s going to be someone out there who will love Memoreum, even with its rough spots, and they’ll have a sizable experience to dig into.”

Regular episodic campaigns and the possibility of an online co-op mode may be in the cards for the game depending on the support it receives.

Hivefall is available now for Quest 3 via Patreon.

Palmer Luckey thinks Meta closing its VR game studios is “a good thing for the long-term health of the industry”, and that the narrative of it “abandoning” VR is “obviously false”.

If you somehow missed it: last week Meta shut down three of its acquired studios – Twisted Pixel Games (Deadpool VR), Sanzaru Games (Asgard’s Wrath), and Armature Studio (Resident Evil 4 VR) – and conducted significant layoffs at a fourth: Camouflaj (Batman: Arkham Shadow).

The closures are part of Meta’s wider strategy of, in its own words, “shifting some of our investment from Metaverse toward AI glasses and Wearables”, and the layoffs have affected around 10% of Meta’s Reality Labs division, around 1500 people.

Meta Closes Deadpool VR, Asgard’s Wrath & Resident Evil 4 VR Studios

Meta has shut down Twisted Pixel Games (Deadpool VR), Sanzaru Games (Asgard’s Wrath), and Armature Studio (Resident Evil 4 VR), UploadVR can confirm.

UploadVRDavid Heaney

This strategy shift has led some in the industry to speculate that Meta is abandoning VR entirely. But Oculus founder Palmer Luckey doesn’t agree.

In a post on X, Luckey argued that last week’s events were “not a disaster”, pointing out that Meta still employs more people working on VR than any other company “by about an order of magnitude”.

Further, Luckey explains that “crowding out the rest of the entire ecosystem” by forcing third-party developers to compete with blockbusters like Batman and Deadpool games that cost more to make than they would ever return “doesn’t make sense”, suggesting that the end of this strategy will be “a good thing for the long-term health of the industry”.

He further notes that while some of these titles are received well, others fail, revealing that Rock Band VR, a 2017 Oculus Rift exclusive, sold just 700 copies.

Here’s Palmer Luckey’s full statement:

“I have an opinion on the Meta layoffs that is contrary with most of the VR industry and much of the media, but strongly held.

This is not a disaster. They still employ the largest team working on VR by about an order of magnitude. Nobody else is even close. The “Meta is abandoning VR” narrative is obviously false, 10% layoffs is basically six months of normal churn concentrated into 60 days, strictly numbers wise.

The majority of the 1,500 jobs cut in Reality Labs (out of 15,000) were roles working on first-party content, internally developed games that competed directly with third party developers. I think this is a good decision, and I thought the same back when I was still at Oculus.

Change always sucks because people lose their jobs in the process, but in a world of limited resources, Meta heavily subsidizing their own (with money, marketing, placement, etc) at the expense of core technical progress and platform stability doesn’t make sense. Crowding out the rest of the entire ecosystem, even less so. Every developer big and small, even the hyper-efficient ones, have had an extremely hard time competing with games developed by Meta-owned teams with budgets and teams that spend vastly in excess of earning potential. People will point out that these teams did an awesome job and got awesome reviews from critics and customers alike – yes, and fucked up though it is, that makes the problem even worse!

Some people will say “they should have just funded those developers as external studios rather than acquiring them, then!”. Yes, I agree, but hindsight is 20/20. Do you think Oculus expected to only sell 700 copies of Rock Band VR after spending eight figures to make sure it was ready and awesome for Rift CV1 launch, to the point of bundling the guitar adapter with every single headset? Of course not, but sometimes you learn what the world actually wants from you the hard way.

TL;DR, I feel really bad for the people impacted, but this is a good thing thing for the long-term health of the industry, especially the ongoing incentives.

(Nobody at Meta knows I am making this post)”

Palmer Luckey’s Anduril Partners With Meta To Build Military XR Devices

Palmer Luckey’s Anduril is teaming up with Meta to build XR products for US and allied militaries, starting with the EagleEye AR/VR helmet.

UploadVRDavid Heaney

After being fired from Oculus by Facebook in 2017, Luckey founded Anduril, a defense firm that makes and sells drones, loitering munitions, interceptors, cruise missiles, sentry towers, and even unmanned submarines, as well as a software system that integrates them and other assets into a unified view of the battlespace. It was most recently valued at over $30 billion.

In 2024, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth publicly apologized to Luckey, an apology which he also publicly accepted. And last year, Anduril and Meta announced a partnership to build XR products for US and allied militaries, starting with the EagleEye AR/VR helmet.

“The people acting like I am some stooge who will obviously agree with everything Meta does need to read a history book or something, jfc

Oculus had a strong internal mandate to NOT be Nintendo and instead build things that build the ecosystem. Returning to that is good.”

In response to the idea that he was “stooge who will obviously agree with everything Meta does”, Luckey suggests those under that belief read a history book.

A big December update doesn’t seemed to have changed its fortunes much

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Even more players than usual are grinding spawns instead of playing the objective

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Marathon‘s accessories look unsurprisingly neat

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Paywalled mods turn Baldur’s Gate 3 and every other major game into unofficial VR ports

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In light of Reality Labs’ reorganization, which has seen recent internal studio closures and layoffs, Oculus founder Palmer Luckey calls the doomer narrative “obviously false.”

The News

Luckey literally kickstarted consumer VR more than a decade ago with the founding of Oculus, which in 2014 was acquired by Meta (ex-Facebook) for $2 billion.

Having departed the company in 2017, Luckey still maintains close ties to the industry; his defense company Anduril is working with Meta to build “the world’s best AR and VR systems for the US military.” So when Luckey voices his opinion, it’s usually from an insiders perspective:

“I have an opinion on the Meta layoffs that is contrary with most of the VR industry and much of the media, but strongly held,” Luckey says in a recent X post.

“This is not a disaster. They still employ the largest team working on VR by about an order of magnitude. Nobody else is even close. The “Meta is abandoning VR” narrative is obviously false, 10% layoffs is basically six months of normal churn concentrated into 60 days, strictly numbers wise.”

Luckey argues that while Meta’s VR layoffs are regrettable, they’re an overall positive since Meta-funded internal games crowded out third-party developers and diverted resources from core platform and technical progress.

“Some people will say ‘they should have just funded those developers as external studios rather than acquiring them, then!’ Yes, I agree,” Luckey says, admitting that hindsight is 20/20:

“Do you think Oculus expected to only sell 700 copies of Rock Band VR after spending eight figures to make sure it was ready and awesome for Rift CV1 launch, to the point of bundling the guitar adapter with every single headset? Of course not, but sometimes you learn what the world actually wants from you the hard way.”

My Take

The takes are still very hot at the moment, as it’s been less than a week since Meta closed three first-party studios: Armature Studio (Resident Evil 4 Quest port), Twisted Pixel (Deadpool VR), and Sanzaru Games (Asgard’s Wrath).

Details are still coming too, including the revelation that unannounced projects, such as a Harry Potter Quest exclusive and Batman: Arkham Shadow sequel, were reportedly in the works, but are now cancelled.

Maybe this eventually proves healthy for the ecosystem. But right now, it’s hard to call it a clear win when we don’t yet know how far Meta’s pullback goes, or what the ‘plan B’ really is for Quest.

A brief counter to Luckey’s optimism: what if Nintendo announced it was cancelling a bunch of first-party games for Switch 2, and would instead focus on non-gaming platforms? Even if third-party developers benefited in theory, the signal to the market would be unmistakable.

Or maybe the more apt comparison is PSVR 2, where Sony’s quiet pullback from first and third-party funding didn’t “free” the ecosystem so much as signal exhaustion, reinforcing the perception of VR as a medium unable to scale beyond its niche.

The post Oculus Founder on Meta Cuts: “The ‘Meta abandoning VR narrative’ is obviously false” appeared first on Road to VR.

Supernatural continues to rank at or near number one on the Meta Quest charts in the wake of Meta’s decision to pause content updates and lay off much of the team behind one of VR’s most effective fitness apps.

Many in the VR fitness community have been looking into their options.

Supernatural has always been positioned as a premium experience. Access as of this writing is subscription-only, with users paying either $9.99 per month or $99 per year. That recurring revenue, combined with strong engagement and brand recognition, made Supernatural feel like a rare success story in consumer VR fitness.

Meta says the existing library, which spans thousands of workouts, will stay accessible. Current subscribers can continue paying for full access and new users are still able to sign up. In the short term, that keeps Supernatural viable, especially for users already invested in its structure and coaching. What happens to the mainstream music used in the project if licenses expire?

What makes Supernatural’s situation so disruptive is not just the pause in new content, but the loss of certainty. VR fitness depends on habit, trust, and long-term commitment. When a chart-topping, subscription-only app can be upended overnight, the entire health journey some people are may see potential disruption down the line.

In that context, ownership models, studio independence, and transparency do actually matter to many more than production value alone. At a moment when VR fitness is proving its ability to retain paying users and drive real behavior change, Meta appears to be stepping back from one of its strongest examples.

For users navigating this moment, the good news is that the ecosystem is deeper than it once was. The harder question is which platforms feel stable enough to earn long-term trust.

I’ve tried a number of VR fitness options besides Supernatural to check out what the latest options offer.

FunFitLand

I have spent a meaningful amount of time inside FunFitLand, starting back in its early alpha period. Early on, it leaned heavily on Supernatural’s blueprint, with real coaches in 3D as well as beautiful real-world and imaginary scenes for workouts. Over time, it moved past that influence and developed its own identity.

That evolution is most visible in the community and coaching. The tone is supportive and motivational without feeling performative. Coaches have sharpened their virtual instruction skills, with clearer cues, tighter pacing, and better movement guidance. On the workout side, the platform has expanded its movement set with additions like side steps and hammer strikes, giving sessions more physical range.

DanceFit has since evolved into GrooveFit, favoring looser, more expressive routines. The addition of FlowFit has been especially meaningful. It introduces a meditative, tai chi-inspired experience focused on balance, breath, and intentional movement. It reinforces the idea that VR fitness does not need to be all intensity to be effective.

FunFitLand also improved its music selection. The library now spans a wider range of genres, including cinematic tracks and some heavy metal. That added variety helps reduce repetition and gives different workout modes a clearer identity.

FunFitLand mirrors Supernatural’s pricing structure, offering both monthly and annual subscriptions. At the time of writing, a first-year annual discount of $69.99 appears to still be available for new subscribers, undercutting Supernatural’s standard annual fee. The app, which also supports hand tracking, has also launched on Apple Vision Pro, signaling ambition at a time when others are pulling back.

FitXR

FitXR began life as BoxVR in 2017 and has since grown into one of the most feature-rich VR fitness platforms available. It operates on a subscription model priced at $12.99 per month or $108.99 per year.

The platform, which also supports hand tracking, currently offers seven workout types: Box, Combat, HIIT, Sculpt, Dance, Zumba, and the newer mixed-reality SLAM mode. Workouts span multiple intensity levels and are supported by a progression and rewards system designed to encourage consistency. Regular content updates and monthly themed challenges keep the experience from feeling static.

FitXR uses recognizable fitness personalities as coaches, though in some modes, particularly Sculpt, Dance and Zumba, those coaches appear as stylized cartoon avatars. Choreography across disciplines is strong, and the workouts are fully capable of delivering a serious sweat.

Where FitXR falls slightly behind Supernatural and FunFitLand is in environmental range and polish. There are fewer workout environments, and those that do exist are not as breathtakingly beautiful – think functional rather than awe-inspiring. Hit feedback in the boxing and combat modes also lacks the satisfying auditory impact found in FunFitLand, which remains best in class in this area. Even so, FitXR’s breadth, progression systems, and consistent update cadence make it a strong long-term subscription for users who value variety and structure.

FitXR is also expanding beyond Meta’s ecosystem. The app is now available on Samsung’s Galaxy XR headset, running Android XR, marking an early move to support next-generation mixed reality hardware outside the Quest platform.

Les Mills XR Bodycombat

Les Mills XR Bodycombat takes a fundamentally different approach. It is sold as a one-time purchase priced at $29.99, with optional DLC packs typically around $9.99. For users wary of subscriptions, that alone makes it appealing.

The workouts are demanding and efficient. Sessions are designed to escalate intensity quickly, and it does not take long to work up a sweat. Real-life Les Mills coaches Dan Cohen and Rachael Newsham appear briefly at the start of sessions as holograms, then transition to voice-only guidance for the remainder of the workout.

The workouts share a familiar structure, and for people who train often, that repetition becomes noticeable over time. Even so, the effectiveness is hard to argue with. The sessions move quickly, the combinations stay demanding, and by the end you feel the work you put in. This is not a gentle program, and that intensity is what many users seek.

PowerBeats VR

PowerBeats VR has been a fixture in VR fitness since launching on SteamVR in 2019 and arriving on Meta Quest in 2021. On Quest, it retails for $22.99, with DLC packs typically priced between $2.99 and $5.99.

Its defining feature is customizability. PowerBeats VR allows users to upload their own music and fully customize workouts, sidestepping licensing concerns entirely. That level of control is uncommon and will appeal to users with established playlists or specific training goals.

The experience itself is less refined than many competitors. Visuals are straightforward, presentation is functional, and there is less emphasis on coaching personality or community. Even so, it remains enjoyable and effective at getting users moving when workouts are tuned to personal preferences.

The one-time purchase model combined with deep customization makes PowerBeats VR compelling for a specific audience. It does not sit in my personal top tier, but it fills a niche for many users.

XR Workout

XR Workout takes a different approach from most VR fitness platforms by prioritizing open movement and functional, full-body training over scripted classes and cinematic presentation. The app is free to download and use, with the free tier limited to eight minutes per day. A paid Pro membership unlocks the full feature set, including extended workout time, expanded modes, deeper customization tools, and multiplayer functionality.

One of its defining characteristics is controller-free movement through hand tracking, allowing users to exercise without holding controllers for extended sessions. Workouts rely heavily on bodyweight movements such as squats, jumps, running in place, and target-based striking that engages both upper and lower body at the same time. The result feels closer to an open training circuit than a guided class.

XR Workout also supports mixed reality, blending the user’s physical space into the workout environment so surroundings remain visible during sessions. Multiplayer workouts, playlist selection, and the ability to build or customize routines give the app a level of flexibility that most top platforms do not attempt.

XR Workout feels very different from most VR fitness apps. There is little hand-holding, and very little emphasis on presentation. You load in, start moving, and manage your own pace. If you are looking for coaching, structure, or personality, it will likely feel bare. If you are comfortable setting your own rhythm and just want a space to move hard for a few minutes, it does exactly that.

Starwave

Starwave sits closer to the dance rhythm game end of the VR fitness spectrum, but it overlaps in interesting ways with Supernatural’s Flow workouts. Movement is driven by techno and electronic tracks, with players slashing incoming notes using glowing, cosmic batons. The emphasis is on rhythm, timing, and continuous motion rather than precision or scoring.

There are no coaches, no guided programs, and no overt fitness framing. You load in, follow the beat, and keep moving. In practice, the experience can feel meditative in the same way Flow sessions do, especially during longer play sessions where movement becomes more fluid and less deliberate.

I have found Starwave to be an enjoyable and consistent addition to my weekly fitness rotation. It is not a replacement for structured workouts, but it works well as a lighter, movement-focused session that still gets the heart rate up.

Starwave is a one-time purchase, priced at $19.99 on the Meta Quest store. Additional content is offered through an optional DLC pack at $4.99. There is no subscription model.

Other Fitness Experiences

The platforms I picked here represent what I would consider the top tier VR fitness experiences available in VR headsets right now. They combine polish, consistency, ongoing development, and enough depth to support long-term use. There are plenty of other VR fitness apps on the Quest platform, but many are less refined or narrower in scope, but they are still fun and fully capable of working up a sweat. For users experimenting with VR fitness for the first time, those options can still be worthwhile.

I certainly haven’t covered everything, so please share your favorite ways to get fit in VR in the comments below too. If you’re the developer behind an app building something new in this space, you can also email UploadVR via tips@uploadVR.com.

The wait for Bungie’s new shooter is almost over

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No casualties were reported from an incident at Rockstar North

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No sale is too small when it comes to gadgets and utilities around the house.

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Never worry about dealing with a dead phone or tablet or other electronic gadget again.

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Want to feel like you’re using a real shifter? This is as close as you’ll get.

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Amazon has the UGREEN USB-C to USB-C 100W cables in a variety of sizes.

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Game better without breaking the bank.

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I don’t want to go to Alola if my Raichu can’t come with me

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For a limited time, you grab the TP-Link AX1800 Wi-Fi 6 Router (Archer AX21) at its lowest price ever.

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A simple upgrade to your workspace can make grinding at your laptop faster, easier, and far less cramped.

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