Enlarge / The "Sword of Damocles" head-mounted display, the original augmented reality headset, circa 1968. Augmented reality has gotten a lot more mobile in the past decade. (credit: Ivan Sutherland)

A new report in The Information corroborates and expands upon an earlier Bloomberg report claiming that Apple is preparing to launch a high-end VR headset as early as next year, citing unnamed people with knowledge of the product.

Among the new revelations is that the new headset will feature two 8K screens (one for each eye) and that Apple has considered a steep $3,000 price point.

The headset (which the report says is codenamed N301) will be able to display rich 3D graphics at that resolution, thanks both to an ultrafast M1 chip successor and because Apple will liberally use an already-known VR technique that involves using eye-tracking to render objects in the user's periphery at a lower fidelity than what the user is focusing on.

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Minecraft in VR that's a bit more hands on? cyubeVR (pronounced Cube VR) looks absolutely delightful, and the developer has confirmed their full intention to support Linux too.

This isn't some basic block-building game that tries to be Minecraft in VR though, it's actually a lot more advanced than that with it being fully designed for VR. That includes proper support of the Valve Index controllers, along with fully tracked fingers and a control scheme built for it. cyubeVR works with a Vive too, so the Index is not specifically required. There's also no traditional UI, instead you build everything you need in the detailed VR world.

Some of it genuinely looks great too look the Gravity Gloves, that allow you to pull tools from around you right into your hands so there's less bending around to pick up little tools. Although, my favourite by far is the dual-wielding system because — wow that looks ridiculously satisfying:

Since it's currently in Early Access it's far from finished, with a full roadmap ahead filled with some pretty fun sounding features coming to it like Ray Tracing, new and more realistic foliage, online multiplayer (now that would be awesome), more types of biomes and the list goes on.

Check out the original trailer below to get an idea of what it looks like:

Watch video on YouTube.com

As for Linux support? It's listed on their roadmap and the developer explained on Reddit how close it is:

That is absolutely planned, yes! I've spent quite a while over the past few months working on native Linux support actually :) It's basically 100% working by now, except for one small visual issue on some particles that I still have to workaround in some way. So I hope I can release native Linux support quite soon!

You can follow cyubeVR on Steam in Early Access.

I'm starting to feel a growing need for a VR kit…

A fresh update to Proton Experimental has gone live, the special version of the Proton compatibility layer where all the latest features appear first. Seems like quite a big one, especially if you have a VR kit.

Need more info on what Steam Play and Proton are? It's a compatibility layer that allows you to run Windows games on Linux. See our dedicated page for more.

In the update released January 7, Proton Experimental gained support for the new OpenXR virtual reality API which now means that Microsoft Flight Simulator can work in VR mode with compatible headsets and they specifically mention "AMD hardware.

Gamepad support has been improved too with hotplugging working nicer with Subnautica, many other Unity titles and DOOM (2016). Yakuza: Like a Dragon should also see improved Xbox controller support. Additionally they now support setting thread priorities via RTKit, or Unix priorities if your user has permissions.

That's all on top of the existing additions in Proton Experimental. Here's the full list of what's in it now:

• Beginnings of Wine architectural work to reduce CPU overhead and improve performance in scenarios related to input and windowing.
• Memory allocator performance improvements.
• Implemented the Spatial Audio sound API, fixing Cyberpunk 2077 world sounds.
• Updated vkd3d-proton to 2.1, fixing Cyberpunk 2077 facial animations.
• Improvements for non-US keyboard layouts.
• Better support for Red Dead Online, Kingdoms Reborn, and Anno 1404 - History Edition.
• Improved video support, including infrastructure work for supporting video playback from Media Foundation. You may see test pattern videos. This is normal.
• Support new OpenXR virtual reality API. Microsoft Flight Simulator's VR mode is now usable on AMD hardware.
• Support setting thread priorities via RTKit, or Unix priorities if your user has permissions.
• Improvements to controller hotplugging in Subnautica and other Unity titles; and DOOM (2016).
• Improvements to Xbox controller support in Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
• All other changes from 5.13-4.

Godot Engine, the free and open source game engine for 2D and 3D games is getting a nice VR boost - thanks to Facebook Reality Labs. We can expect great things from this by the sounds of it.

Admittedly, anything with Facebook attached ends up raising a few eyebrows over here but we are talking about open source and the work will benefit everyone here. Writing in a blog post on the Godot website, Project Manager Rémi Verschelde mentioned that Facebook has given the team a grant which has enabled them to hire developer Bastiaan Olij, who will be working on Godot full time as of February 2021.

The work will involve lots of exciting areas like: hooking up OpenXR support for both desktop and mobile which has wide industry support now from the likes of Microsoft / Valve / Oculus, upgrading the Godot input system to support VR specific actions, upgrade their XR plugin system for the upcoming Vulkan renderer in Godot 4.0, optimizations and so on. All big areas to see improvements for Godot and VR.

Hopefully this means once it's out (which is a while away of course), we might see even more developers opt for using Godot Engine . If you're a VR fan, this must be quite exciting news!

Ready to show off your moves and need a new VR game? BitCutter Studios have announced their technical VR rhythm shooter will release into Early Access on October 28.

Sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun for VR fans as you frantically switch between shooting and blocking approaching targets and bullets. All while listening to some slick indie tunes spread across a variety of musical genres, with each track having properly hand-crafted sequences and light shows.

Check out the trailer below:

Watch video on YouTube.com

Speaking about the music they picked to include in the game, BitCutter said they decided to do things a bit differently. Rather than following a traditional licensing model, they opened up submissions to artists around the world, selecting songs that the developers felt provided the best fit for the game's mechanics and atmosphere. The result, they said, makes the game quite refreshing and due to the different genres and pacing, it should help keep players firmly on their toes.

We spoke to the team at BitCutter Studios to ask about their experience developing a VR game for Linux, here's what they had to say about that:

Developing a VR game for Linux has been a pretty smooth process.  We chose a game engine, libraries, and other tools with cross-platform development in mind, and we regularly tested Linux builds throughout the development process.  We were well prepared after developing our other VR game with Linux support, Balloonatics, so we didn't have many surprises.  It also helps that our Linux beta testers are experienced users as they are able to point us in the right direction whenever a bug does show up.

What makes Groove Gunner also pretty slick, is their inclusion of a full editor, the same one used to create the featured songs in the game. So players will be able to customise the experience with their own stuff too.

You can wishlist / follow Groove Gunner on Steam . Since it's VR-only, you will need a Valve Index or HTC Vive.

Remember social games like Second Life? Vircadia, was created from a failed spiritual successor to it and it's free and open source too. Originally known as Project Athena, they've recently begun making some public announcements to bring more attention to it.

The idea is to have a big shared 3D social space that supports both normal and Virtual Reality PC hardware with support for Linux, macOS, Windows and Android. Unlike other social stuff, since it's open source it can't just be shut down and anyone can use it and it allows people to create their own avatar, their own worlds and much more.

As for the current status, they say it's "around an early beta". Functional, usable and stable enough with the core functionality there but it still needs a huge amount of polish and plenty of work ahead. They also seem keen to note how Linux is a properly supported platform, with some developers using it as their primary system.

What do you actually do? What's possible? A lot it seems. Socialise with friends, make games, watch movies, even use it for work meetings and more. It's not limited to any one specific thing and you can build / script it live in-game with others so you can shape it to your liking.

See more about it on the official site .

We'll be following this along a bit closer now to see what happens with it over time, could be great.

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Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson / Getty Images )

On Tuesday, Facebook found another way to aggravate millions of users—though this time, the outrage came from its virtual reality department. The company announced that it would soon mandate the use of Facebook accounts within its Oculus ecosystem , all in order to "unlock social features." In Facebook's ideal world, you'll be your Facebook self on the Facebook VR system... instead of using an existing, separate "Oculus ID."

What's the big deal, you may ask? This isn't the first time a major tech company has tried to combine various services under a "unified account" umbrella. But while Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and others have spent years building such empires, none has pulled quite the bait-and-switch as Facebook did yesterday. And it's not a matter of tech business as usual. Facebook's latest decision deserves fierce scrutiny, right now, before it explodes like a virus outside of the niche that is virtual reality.

The Facebookening isn’t new—just more extreme

For older, existing Oculus VR products, this mandated switch from Oculus ID to Facebook accounts will begin January 1, 2023—and older devices will still function in an "offline" capacity (and will support tweaks like side-loaded, non-Oculus apps). What's more, buyers of "new" Oculus hardware—including sleeker, higher-performing VR headsets—won't have those old Oculus IDs as an option. Should you buy the company's next fancy-pants headset, your purchase alone will not suffice; you must also log in with a valid Facebook account before that new headset will function.

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