Horizon Worlds Is Dropping VR Support, Going Flatscreen-Only

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Meta Horizon Worlds is dropping VR support in June, meaning it will only be available as a flatscreen experience for the web and smartphones.

By March 31, Meta says the Horizon Worlds app will be delisted from Quest’s store, and key first-party worlds such as Horizon Central, Events Arena, Kaiju, and Bobber Bay will no longer be accessible in VR.

Then, from June 15, the Horizon Worlds app will be removed from Quest headsets, and all worlds will no longer be accessible in VR.

Horizon Worlds will remain accessible as a flatscreen experience from the web and the Meta Horizon smartphone app, and Meta says it plans to continue to develop, expand, and invest in Horizon Worlds as a mobile experience.

The end of VR support for Horizon Worlds will also mean you can no longer invite friends to join your Horizon Hyperscape scans as Meta Avatars, since this was done through Horizon Worlds.

Facebook Horizon Has The Building Blocks To Take On Rec Room, But It’s Got A Lot To Prove
There’s mystery on the horizon or, rather, within it. Since its reveal last year, a shroud of uncertainty has engulfed Facebook Horizon, the company’s new creation-driven social VR experience. It’s been exacerbated by a prolonged silence brought about by COVID-19 and, more imminently, the upcoming switch to
UploadVRJamie Feltham

Launched as Facebook Horizon in 2020 until it was rebranded to Horizon Worlds a year later, the platform was supposed to be an early instantiation of the VR metaverse of science fiction.

Originally, its focus and unique feature was on in-VR creation, with all worlds created by users inside Quest or Rift headsets by using Touch controllers to place and manipulate primitive shapes and adding dynamic functionality via a spatial visual scripting system.

But while this goal of democratizing creation was somewhat admirable, it led to overly crude graphics that faced widespread ridicule on social media, especially combined with the common misconception that Meta’s entire AR/VR budget was being spent on Horizon Worlds.

In 2023, Meta started rolling out flatscreen desktop PC software to create worlds using a traditional game creation workflow, with the ability to import textured 3D meshes and use TypeScript to add functionality. By 2025 this was available to all creators.

It’s arguable, however, that this toolset arrived far too late, and that the reputational damage to Horizon Worlds had already been done. The infamous Mark Zuckerberg selfie is still being shared on social media to this day as the singular depiction of Horizon Worlds, despite being a bad example of the platform even when it was first posted in 2022, and not at all representative of its current state.

As political strategist Lee Atwater said four decades ago, perception is reality, and Horizon Worlds as a VR platform, no matter how much it had changed since that Zuckerberg selfie, was never able to shake its public perception.

Meta CTO Explains Layoffs & Strategy Shift: “VR Is Growing Less Quickly Than We Hoped”
In a series of interviews at Davos, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth explained why the company is reducing its investment in VR.
UploadVRDavid Heaney

Back in January, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth claimed that Meta has seen “really, really positive pickup” in Horizon Worlds on smartphones, and said that the company planned to double down on this.

“You’ve got a team that actually has product market fit in a huge market on mobile phones, and they’re having to build everything twice. They’re building it once for mobile phones, and building again for VR. There’s a pretty easy way to increase their velocity: just let them build for mobile. So Horizon is very focused now on mobile — not exclusively, but almost exclusively,” Bosworth was quoted as saying.

In February, Meta officially announced that it was “explicitly separating” Horizon Worlds from Quest, removing worlds from the operating system interface and store while making Horizon Worlds “almost exclusively mobile”.

Meta “Explicitly Separating” Horizon Worlds From Quest
Meta says it’s “explicitly separating” Horizon Worlds from Quest, in a blog post assuring developers that it’s still committed to the VR ecosystem.
UploadVRDavid Heaney

Those “exclusively” quotes are very notable, as they suggest that just one month ago Meta was still planning to keep Horizon Worlds in VR, or that leadership hadn’t finalized the decision to remove VR support.

What are your thoughts on the end of Horizon Worlds in VR? Are you glad to see it go, or sad to see it not given time to reach its potential? Let us know in the discussion below.

Arizona Charges Kalshi With Illegal Gambling Operation

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Arizona has filed criminal charges against Kalshi, accusing it of operating an illegal gambling business. “Kalshi may brand itself as a ‘prediction market,’ but what it’s actually doing is running an illegal gambling operation and taking bets on Arizona elections, both of which violate Arizona law,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement. The case could ultimately head to the Supreme Court to decide whether federal oversight by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission overrides state gambling laws. Bloomberg reports: While state regulators have taken steps to crack down on what they say is unlicensed betting on Kalshi’s site, Arizona appears to be the first state to escalate to criminal charges. The charges cited in the complaint are misdemeanors, which carry less serious penalties than felonies. […] Prediction market exchanges like Kalshi have said they should continue to be regulated by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission despite opposition from some state officials, who argue the trading should come under state gambling laws.

Arizona’s criminal complaint follows Kalshi’s move last week to block the state’s gaming department from taking enforcement action against the company. “These are the first criminal charges of any kind filed against Kalshi in any court in the United States, but it will likely be the first of several,” said Daniel Wallach, a sports and gaming attorney.


Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Subnautica 2 might finally be entering early access in May

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Subnautica 2 has weathered the storm and has rescheduled its early access release. IGN reported today that the sequel to the underwater survival game will begin early access on PC and Xbox in May, although a more specific date was not provided. 

The news comes a day after a judge ruled that former Unknown Worlds Entertainment CEO Ted Gill should be rehired at the game studio. That decision capped off a dramatic year for the team behind Subnautica, which was acquired by Krafton in 2021. The studio and its new owners entered a legal battle because the purchase of Unknown Worlds included a promise of an up to $250 million payout from Krafton if the team met certain performance goals by the end of 2025. In July of that year, however, Krafton fired several studio leaders and then delayed the sequel’s early access launch. The court case has raised questions about which side was trying to either secure or avoid making that multi-million payment. 

With yesterday’s ruling, a rep from Krafton said that “we are evaluating our options as we determine our path forward.” It’s unclear if that path, or the other litigation still underway over the project, will create further delays to the planned early access date.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/subnautica-2-might-finally-be-entering-early-access-in-may-223747369.html?src=rss

Meta will shut down VR Horizon Worlds access in June

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Horizon Worlds, Meta’s first pass at a metaverse, will be inaccessible via virtual reality headset after June 15, 2026. The company shared plans to separate Horizon Worlds from Quest VR platform and focus exclusively on the smartphone version of the app in February, and now in a new post on its community forums, Meta detailed when the VR version of Horizon Worlds will be deprecated.

By March 31, Meta says individual Horizon Worlds and Events will no longer be listed in the Quest’s Store and headset owners will be unable to visit worlds like “Horizon Central, Events Arena, Kaiju and Bobber Bay.” Then, after June 15, the app will be removed from Quest headsets and worlds will be completely unavailable to visit in VR. From that point on, the easiest place to visit Horizon Worlds will be in the Meta Horizon app for iOS and Android.

Additionally, Hyperscape Capture, a recently added beta feature that allows Quest headset owners to capture, share and visit each other in detailed 3D scans of real-life locations, is also being removed from Horizon Worlds. Meta says users will still be able to capture and view Hyperscapes, “but sharing, inviting, and co-experiencing Hyperscapes with others will no longer be supported.”

While Meta’s original blog detailing its 2026 VR strategy left open the possibility that a committed Quest owner might still be able to access some part of Meta’s original VR metaverse, that apparently was never the company’s plan. Meta saw enough “positive momentum” focusing on supporting the mobile version of Horizon Worlds in 2025 that it made sense to completely abandon the VR one in 2026. While that seems to run contrary to Meta’s positioning as a “metaverse company,” it does reflect where the company is spending the most money and seeing the most (relative) success: AI and smart glasses.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/meta-will-shut-down-vr-horizon-worlds-access-in-june-222028919.html?src=rss

Rural Ohioans Seek To Ban Data Centers Through Constitutional Amendment

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Residents in rural Ohio are pushing a constitutional amendment to ban large data centers over 25 megawatts, citing concerns about energy use, water consumption, and lack of transparency around proposed projects. “My biggest concern is because I love Adams County,” Nikki Gerber told Cleveland.com. “What it feels like they are doing is just taking advantage of the unzoned rural areas of Ohio, where they can go ahead and put in whatever they want.” From the report: Gerber and a handful of residents from Adams and Brown counties gathered about 1,800 signatures in eight days to start the ballot process. They submitted those petitions to the Ohio attorney general’s office on Monday. That’s the first step before supporters can begin collecting signatures statewide.

State law requires at least 1,000 valid voter signatures to begin the process. The petitions must also include the full text of the proposed amendment and a summary explaining what it would do. Attorney General Dave Yost’s office now has 10 days to decide whether the summary fairly and truthfully describes the proposal. If it does, the measure will move to the Ohio Ballot Board. Supporters would then need to gather about 413,000 valid signatures by July to place the amendment before voters this November. The report notes that a 25-megawatt limit “would effectively block most modern data centers from being built in Ohio.”


Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Meta’s Next Headset Will Reportedly Have 2.5K Micro-OLED Displays

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According to a Chinese VR news outlet, Meta’s next headset will use 2560×2560 micro-OLED displays.

The report from VRcoast claims that SeeYA Technology plans to clear its existing production lines to dedicate its full capacity to producing the display for Meta’s next headset.

SeeYA is the provider of the micro-OLED displays in Bigscreen’s Beyond headsets, both generations, which are also 2560×2560.

It’s unclear whether, if the report’s claims are true, the dedication of SeeYA’s production lines would affect Bigscreen’s supply availability. We’ve reached out to Bigscreen to ask about the report’s claims and we’ll update this article if we get a response.

If the report is accurate, this will be Meta’s first ever headset to use micro-OLED, and its first non-LCD headset since the original Oculus Quest in 2019.

Graphics Depicting Meta’s Next Headset Found In Quest Firmware
Graphics depicting Meta’s upcoming ultralight headset with a tethered compute puck, codenamed Phoenix, have been found in Quest firmware.
UploadVRDavid Heaney

If you haven’t been following along: multiple reports and sources indicate that Meta’s next headset, codenamed Phoenix, will be an ultralight device with an open periphery design and tethered puck that offloads both compute and the battery.

Phoenix will be strongly focused on virtual screens for productivity and entertainment, and other seated mixed reality and VR use cases.

In June last year, The Wall Street Journal reported that Meta was targeting a price below $1000, though with the global memory shortage this plan might have changed since then. That same month, UploadVR reported that the compute puck will run the same Horizon OS as Quest headsets, and that Meta had discussed names that included, but were not limited to, ‘Meta Quest Air’.

In December, leaked internal Meta memos revealed that the company is targeting the first half of 2027 for the launch, a pushback from previous plans of late 2026.

Last month, low resolution graphics depicting Phoenix were discovered in the Quest firmware, giving us our first real indication of what the headset might look like.

Building And Riding A Magnetically Levitating Skateboard

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Created by inventor Colin Furze (previously), this is a video of a skateboard with a magnetically levitating top deck to help it ride smoother. I know, I know, it’s not a hoverboard. Unfortunately, we probably won’t have real hoverboards by the time I die again. “Not with the undead warlock thing again.” Oh I’m sorry, you think I wanted to die the first time? I HAD A FAMILY. Well, I had parents. I never had a wife or kids on account of being an evil warlock, but I still regret casting a death spell at that demon in the water. “It was your reflection, wasn’t it?” I didn’t have a mirror in the cave, but I assumed I was handsome.

Apple releases its first Background Security Improvement for macOS, iOS and iPadOS

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Apple has started providing small security updates to iOS, iPadOS and macOS devices. These are dubbed Background Security Improvements that will offer minor system updates between the larger software updates. According to the company, these are meant to “deliver lightweight security releases for components such as the Safari browser, WebKit framework stack, and other system libraries that benefit from smaller, ongoing security patches between software updates.”

These updates should download in the background, as the name implies, although the device will need to be restarted to complete the process. In practice, we found that applying a Background Security Improvement was faster than a typical software update from Apple. On an iPhone, the restart was more of a power cycle taking under a minute compared with the 5 to 10 minutes a standard update takes a device out of commission. 

The inaugural Background Security Improvement was released today with a patch for WebKit. These updates will be supported and enabled on devices running iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1 and macOS 26.1. Details can be reviewed under the Privacy & Security section of the Settings menu.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/apple-releases-its-first-background-security-improvement-for-macos-ios-and-ipados-214052311.html?src=rss

Apple can delist apps “with or without cause,” judge says in loss for Musi app

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Musi, a free music streaming app that had tens of millions of iPhone downloads and garnered plenty of controversy over its method of acquiring music, has lost an attempt to get back on Apple’s App Store. A federal judge dismissed Musi’s lawsuit against Apple with prejudice and sanctioned Musi’s lawyers for “mak[ing] up facts to fill the perceived gaps in Musi’s case.”

Musi built a streaming service without striking its own deals with copyright holders. It did so by playing music from YouTube, writing in its 2024 lawsuit against Apple that “the Musi app plays or displays content based on the user’s own interactions with YouTube and enhances the user experience via Musi’s proprietary technology.” Musi’s app displayed its own ads but let users remove them for a one-time fee of $5.99.

Musi claimed it complied with YouTube’s terms, but Apple removed it from the App Store in September 2024. Musi does not offer an Android app. Musi alleged that Apple delisted its app based on “unsubstantiated” intellectual property claims from YouTube and that Apple violated its own Developer Program License Agreement (DPLA) by delisting the app.

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World ID wants you to put a cryptographically unique human identity behind your AI agents

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Over the last few months, tools like OpenClaw have shown what tech-savvy AI users can do by setting a virtual cadre of automated agents on a task. But that individual convenience can be a DDOS-level pain for online service providers faced with a torrent of Sybil attack-style requests from thousands of such agents at once.

Identity startup World thinks its “proof of human” World ID technology can provide a potential solution to this problem. Today, the company launched a beta of Agent Kit, a new way for humans to prove they are directing their AI agents and for websites to limit access to AI agents working on behalf of an actual human.

If you recognize the name World, it’s probably as the organization behind WorldCoin, the Sam Altman-founded cryptocurrency outfit that launched in 2023 alongside an offer to give free WorldCoin to anyone who scanned their iris in a physical “orb”. While WorldCoin still exists (at a current value well below its early 2024 peaks), World has now pivoted to focus on World ID, which uses the same iris-scanning technology as the basis for a cryptographically secure, unique online identity token stored on your phone.

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Remedy releases its final content update for FBC: Firebreak

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What a short, strange journey it’s been for FBC: Firebreak; Remedy announced that the final update for the online multiplayer game is available today. But while this Open House update will be the end of new content, the studio said it plans to keep the game available.

“FBC: Firebreak will stay online and continue to be playable for years to come,” Remedy said. “We have done engineering work to ensure we can sustain the upkeep of the relay servers when the player volume is lower.”

Remedy has won lots of fans for creating the eerie, surreal world where its hits Control and Alan Wake are set. FBC: Firebreak, which was released last year, is also based in that universe. However, this multiplayer game took a beating in reviews, largely due to its poorly received onboarding experience and Remedy shared plans to improve the first few hours of the game. Its CEO also left the company last year and sparked a shakeup in the leadership at the studio. 

The Open House update will add some new in-game content, but the more interesting changes seem aimed at making FBC: Firebreak more accessible. The base price has been dropped to $20, and the game has added a feature called Friend’s Pass that will allow people who don’t own the game to accept match invites from players who do own it.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/remedy-releases-its-final-content-update-for-fbc-firebreak-212000463.html?src=rss

Spotify rolls out ‘bit-perfect’ playback in Windows app

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Spotify is introducing a way for subscribers to get bit-perfect playback of songs if they listen on Windows. The company’s newly announced “Exclusive Mode” gives the music streaming app complete control of audio processing on your PC so you can listen to songs exactly as they were mastered.

“Without Exclusive Mode turned on, your computer may alter audio before it reaches your DAC by resampling it, mixing other system sounds in, and changing the volume,” Spotify writes. With the mode enabled, all other sounds from your computer are disabled so Spotify can deliver the highest quality and most accurate version of a song possible. Exclusive Mode will help maintain fidelity while you’re playing a song, but to make sure you’re not losing quality anywhere else in the chain, you’ll still want to listen with wired headphones connected to a DAC or digital-to-analog converter, and opt to use Spotify’s lossless streaming option.

Exclusive Mode is only available on Windows for now, but Spotify says it’ll come to the macOS version of the Spotify app “in a future release.” Provided you’re a Spotify Premium subscriber, enabling the feature is fairly simple:

  1. Open Spotify.

  2. Click on Settings.

  3. Scroll down to Playback.

  4. Toggle Exclusive Mode to “On” under the Output section.

Spotify launched its Lossless streaming option as a perk for Premium subscribers in September 2025. The company was rumored to be working on the feature as far back as 2017 and even formally announced it as Spotify HiFi in 2021, opening up the possibility it could be a more expensive add-on to a normal subscription. Now both lossless audio and “bit-perfect” playback are included as part of the same $13 per month you pay for a Premium subscription.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/spotify-rolls-out-bit-perfect-playback-in-windows-app-211036176.html?src=rss

Aces Of Thunder’s Menus No Longer Require VR Controllers

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The combat flight simulator Aces Of Thunder has added support for using mouse & keyboard or standard controllers for interacting with menus, no longer requiring VR controllers.

Aces of Thunder launched as a hybrid title last month with VR and flatscreen support. We reviewed the game in February, saying it “offers one of the most thrilling venues for combat VR gaming has to offer” despite finding it lacking in some features and customization.

Aces of Thunder Review: A Visceral & Thrilling VR Combat Flight Sim
Aces of Thunder, available on Steam and PlayStation VR2, is a thrilling callback to the classic combat flight sims of yesteryear.
UploadVRRichie Shoemaker

Following in the footsteps of other flight sims like Microsoft Flight Simulator, the game already allows players to do the actual plane flight without VR controllers. Now developer Gaijin Entertainment has extended functionality to let VR players navigate the menus with mouse and key inputs, gamepad interfaces, and other standard controllers.

This is welcome news for players who prefer to play their flight games with a full HOTAS (hand on throttle-and-stick) setup and dispense with the motion controllers altogether. Previously, the VR controllers were required to navigate menus, which was a frustrating experience.

Gaijin says it released the feature early for players and is aware of existing issues already, but the model already works in “most scenarios.” Any issues or suggestions are encouraged to be submitted through Gaijin’s reporting service.

Aces of Thunder is available now on Steam and PlayStation VR2 for $29.99.

Space Control, A Comedic Sci-Fi Job Simulator, Launches On April Fool’s Day

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The irreverent job simulator inspired by cartoons like Futurama and Rick & Morty bas a delightfully foolish release date.

MoonMonster Studios has announced that Space Control will release on Meta Quest and PC VR via Steam on April 1 (April Fool’s Day). The interstellar job simulator / ridiculous cartoon comedy features a stacked cast of voice talent, a slapstick story, and plenty of raunchy humor.

The game spans three wildly varied episodes in which the player must work through different jobs set in an absurdly corporate space station. You’ll work off your debt, survive and strive alongside your alien colleagues, and find your rightful place on the torturous corporate ladder.

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We previewed Space Control in February, and while the game’s sense of humor missed the mark for me, I did feel the game “shows genuine promise.” Adding that “[Space Control’s] interactive design is strong and its environments are lovingly crafted and richly detailed. Its cast has potential to become genuinely endearing over time.”

Space Control will be available on Meta Quest and SteamVR in just a couple of weeks.