Metaverse

Ride A Virtual Motorcycle In BMW’s New VR Metaverse

July 12, 2023 From vrscout

Cruise the metaverse in style.

This past weekend, BMW unveiled BMW Motorrad MetaRide, a virtual world dedicated to the auto manufacturer’s new motorcycle, the BMW CE 02. Accessible via the VR social platform Spatial, this digital brand space promises a variety of activities designed to immerse users in the world of BMW Motorrad, the company’s official motorcycle brand.

Upon creating an avatar and joining the world, you can “ride” a virtual recreation of the BMW CE 02 through a realistic environment designed to mirror the real world. In addition to these “virtual test rides,” you can also shoot hoops and collect virtual tokens. There’s even a custom jacket you can unlock for your avatar.

“The new BMW CE 02 represents a new way of accessing the world of BMW Motorrad, because it is electric, appeals in particular to young people and is neither an e-motorcycle nor an e-scooter – it is an eParkourer,” said BMW in an official release.

“In keeping with this new, forward-looking type of mobility for urban environments, BMW Motorrad is now offering the opportunity to experience the new CE 02 up close in the BMW Motorrad MetaRide.”

Credit: BMW

You can visit the BMW Motorrad MetaRide metaverse now via Spatial, available for free on Meta Quest 2 and Quest Pro VR headsets. According to BMW, MetaRide will eventually grow to include various other products.

For more information check out BMW’s official announcement here.

Feature Image Credit: BMW

VRChat Is Coming To Android & iOS Devices

March 31, 2023 From vrscout

One of VR’s most popular social platforms is about to get a whole lot busier.

VRChat for Android and iOS mobile devices is currently in development, according to an official developer update shared earlier this week.

The company states that the mobile version of the platform is already being tested by select team members. In fact, it’s possible you may have interacted with a phone user already without even realizing it. And because Meta Quest headsets run Android, the phone version is compatible with any world or avatar that works on Quest.

Credit: VRChat

That said, some worlds and avatars may need to be adjusted to account for touchscreen controls in order to function properly on Android devices, according to VRChat. The company encourages world creators to optimize their worlds for 2D platforms and reach out with any and all feedback.

VRChat for Android mobile has been in development for a while,” said the company in an official release. “Team members have used it to attend large team meetings, and we’ve been sneaking around in VRChat, trying it out! Who knows, you may have already seen someone using their phone to play VRChat.”

VRChat for Android will be available to VRChat Plus subscribers first within 3-4 months followed by a full public release 3-6 months after the VRC+ release. Instead of using the Google Play Store, participants will receive a custom URL directing them to the download.

According to the company, an iOS release is also currently planned, but there’s no word on an official release date just yet. For more information check out the Developer Update here.

Feature Image Credit: VRChat

Meta’s Horizon Worlds VR Metaverse Adds Quests

March 22, 2023 From vrscout

Earn exclusive rewards by completing specific objectives.

Meta today announced update V102 for Horizon Worlds, the company’s social VR metaverse platform. This latest update introduces a number of bug fixes plaguing world editing and collaborators. What is most exciting, however, is a new feature called “Quests.”

Rolling out on Quest headsets over the next few weeks, this new feature allows you to unlock exclusive rewards for your Meta Avatar by completing various objectives, or “Quests,” available in certain worlds. This includes Giant Mini Paddle Golf, a virtual mini-golf course set in a tropical island paradise complete with an enormous crab and monstrous Kraken.

Credit: Meta

Test group users can head to their Identity Panel to find a new “Quests” icon containing six unique objectives to complete, including “Get a Hole-in-one.” Completing these quests earns you avatar rewards, such as the Sea Captain Costume.

Meta is currently testing the feature with a select group of users. The company will be opening up access to more users over the coming weeks.

The following is a comprehensive breakdown of the bug fixes included in update V102 (as provided by Meta):

General
- Some people were having trouble canceling a party invite; this has been fixed in V102.
Creators
- We fixed a bug that was causing selection boxes to remain visible after switching into preview mode from edit mode.
- In rare cases, the “Edit World” button was not appearing for collaborators after accepting a collaboration invite. This should be fixed and reliable now.
- We fixed an issue where avatar thumbnails were not aligning on leaderboards.
- There was an issue where creators were reporting Build Mode was down; this has been fixed.

For more information visit here.

Feature Image Credit: Meta

Singer Jewel Is Offering Mental Health Support In VR

March 13, 2023 From vrscout

Mental health support is just a headset away.

Do you remember Jewel, the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter who graced us with such memorable songs as “Who Will Save Your Soul” and “You Were Meant For Me”? Well, she’s back, and she’s dishing out some much-needed mental health support to the VR community.

Recently, the multiplatinum music artist appeared on the news show CUOMO to chat about Innerworld, a VR metaverse she co-founded that offers evidence-based mental health tools and peer-to-peer support to those struggling with various mental complications, from anxiety and depression to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The platform offers a variety of beneficial resources and is monitored by a team of human operators as well as an artificial intelligence (AI) system that keeps a lookout for keywords that may indicate immediate self-harm.

“What I’ve done in the Foundation for the past 20 years is a peer-to-peer model, and we actually see a lot more profound results than one-on-one,” said Jewel. “I think psychotherapy is great, but it isn’t something everybody has access to. And meditation is incredibly important and there are so many great meditation apps out there but what I’ve learned is that meditation puts you in position to change, but then you need behavioral tools to start to change actual habits.”

Credit: Innerworld

“I had been tasking myself to come up with solutions that were genuinely scalable. And for me, VR was really where I was focusing,” she added. “We have a lot of people who use this as a supplement to their therapeutic work and we have people who don’t have access to therapeutic or other traditional service. They are getting incredible results, and there are people from all over the world—which is what’s so amazing about VR.”

Innerworld is available for free in VR on Meta Quest, PC, and iOS devices. For more information visit inner.world.

Feature Image Credit: Henry Laurisch

Ristband Returns To SXSW With Its Music Metaverse

March 8, 2023 From vrscout

The party returns on March 12th live via the metaverse.

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festival draws everything from up-and-coming music artists and interactive media companies to forward-thinking startups and various other cutting-edge technologies.

One of the companies featured this year is Ristband which will once again be hosting its Music Metaverse, a virtual event that combines the energy of live music with VR technology. Performing at the event will be the UK-based “collective,” Miro Shot.

Credit: Ristband

During SXSW 2022, I talked with Roman Rappak, CEO of Ristband and singer for Miro Shot, who told me how he was influenced by bands such as Kraftwerk and how they embraced “weird technology that was broken and hard to use and made music with it.”

This year, Miro Shot will be returning to SXW and will be presenting a completely revamped version of their concert, which will feature brand-new music and the latest in XR technology.

“With SXSW’s international reputation as a festival supporting emerging culture and technology under one roof, we are excited to have the opportunity to extend the festival in the metaverse with the true pioneers of this new digital era: the artists who are the driving force of this movement,” said Anne McKinnon, CEO of Ristband.

This year’s Music Metaverse showcase promises attendees an unforgettable experience that will expand the magic of SXSW. Ristband’s official Music Metaverse event will answer questions such as how the metaverse will impact the live music industry and how contemporary artists are using AR/VR as well as the metaverse to reach new audiences. Along with the performance, Ristband’s event will feature a variety of discussions about how the metaverse will affect the industry.

Last year, Miro Shot used older Android devices to drop attendees into a VR environment that reacted with the band’s instruments as they played live. This year, Miro Shot partnered with HTC VIVE to immerse their audiences in a virtual world using HTC’s new all-in-one headset, the VIVE XR Elite.

“Live music and physical events are at the heart of music culture, while at the same time, exciting new tools that can extend our concert into VR and a gaming platform like Ristband have had an incredibly powerful effect on the reach of our band,” said Rappak.

To attend the event, individuals must be 21+ and have an SXSW festival pass. The event will be held at The Venue ATX, which is a 5-minute walk away from the Convention Center. Oh, and you’ll have to RSVP!

Feature Image Credit: Ristband

Report: Meta to Open ‘Horizon Worlds’ to Younger Teens Amid Renewed Retention Push

February 8, 2023 From roadtovr

Meta’s social VR app for Quest, Horizon Worlds, is lagging behind the competition when it comes to attracting and retaining VR users. According to a leaked memo obtained by The Wall Street Journal, the company is now ostensibly looking to boost numbers by more transparently appealing to younger teens in addition to funding a slew of new second-party content.

WSJ only posted snippets of the memo, entitled ‘Horizon 2023 Goals and Strategy’, which was allegedly written by Meta Vice President of Horizon Gabriel Aul. The memo is said to outline the team’s objectives for the first half of 2023.

Here’s some highlights we formatted into a bulleted list, which also includes additional info supplied by a source cited by WSJ:

Competitors are outperforming HW. Improving user retention is most important, especially among teens and young adults
HW to open to teens aged 13 to 17, which could come as early as March
Meta is working with outside studios to build new worlds and experiences for HW
The team is aiming to launch at least 20 new Horizon-hosted experiences built by second-party studios. Of the 20, it’s hoping for five medium hits and at least one a major hit
The flatscreen version of Horizon for mobile and desktops is set to come sometime in H1 2023

Additionally, WSJ reports the memo outlined some key performance metrics, claiming Horizon Worlds’ weekly retention rate was 11% in January, which the company aims to increase to 20%. The goal for monthly active users for the first half of 2023 is said to be 500,000, with hopes of reaching one million for the full year. Currently the platform is at 200,000, or just below the December peak, the reported memo outlines.

The previously reported flatscreen version, which is said to launch by the end of the first half of 2023, is hoping to achieve 150,000 monthly cross-screen Horizon users.

Meta’s Quest 2 headset is technically only available to users aged 13 and up. Horizon Worlds on the other hand has been limited to users 18+ since it was launched in 2021, and only to those in US, Canada, UK, France, Iceland, Ireland and Spain.

While none of this seems to have hindered children below 13 from playing all the Quest 2 has to offer, Horizon Worlds included. More transparently appealing to young teens though will likely come with a host of safety requirements that the company needs to fulfil for liability reasons.

Meta issued a response to WSJ, supporting in part its move to focus on teens:

“Teens are already spending time in a variety of VR experiences on Quest,” Meta spokesman Joe Osborne told WSJ, “and we want to ensure that we can provide them with a great experience in Horizon Worlds as well, with age-appropriate tools and protections in place.”

This comes hot on the heels of Meta reducing its workforce by 13% late last year, one of the biggest tech layoffs in recent memory, which saw 11,000 jobs cut from payroll.

Meanwhile, the company’s Reality Labs XR division has dramatically increased its operating budget in an ostensible bid to maintain market dominance over similar metaverse pushes from the likes of Apple, Google, etc. At the same time, Meta has slashed some XR projects, including first-party title Echo VR.

Provided the report is true, it appears Meta is making another important step towards competing more directly with cross-platform social gaming titans like Roblox and Rec Room.

Horizon Worlds VR Metaverse Coming To Web & Mobile

February 1, 2023 From vrscout

Meta has also begun testing “members-only worlds” featuring exclusive content.

Meta this week announced that it has given a select group of users the ability to grow and moderate their own communities by creating “members-only worlds.” These closed spaces feature exclusive VR content accessible by a hand-picked group of Horizon Worlds users.

According to an official press release, creators can invite up to 150 members to each world as part of the alpha test. Each members-only world can support up to 25 concurrent visitors at one time. Here users can engage in a variety of multiplayer activities, such as organizing a book club, attending a support group, meeting up with friends and family, and more.

Credit: Meta

“Every community develops its own norms, etiquette, and social rules over time as it fosters a unique culture. To enable that, we’ll provide the tools that allow the creators of members-only worlds to set the rules for their communities and maintain those rules for their closed spaces,” said the company in an official release.

“Creators can choose whether or not to share their moderation responsibilities with other trusted group members and decide if they’ll allow members to visit the world without a creator or moderator present,” they added. “Everyone will always have the ability to report worlds to Meta and report others for behavior that violates our Code of Conduct for Virtual Experiences.”

In addition to members-only worlds, Horizon Worlds will also be expanding to additional platforms beyond VR. Meta’s social VR metaverse will soon be available on the web as well as mobile devices, allowing those without a Quest 2 or Quest Pro VR headset the ability to jump into the action.

As previously mentioned, Meta is partnering with a select group of Horizon Worlds users as part of the ongoing alpha test. This test is designed to confirm that creators have the tools required to properly moderate and grow their members-only worlds.

For more information check out the official release here.

Image Credit: Meta