XR Weekly Update (2025.05.05): Meta Quest’s Low Sales, Passthrough Apps Hit the Horizon Store, and More!

Sure, let’s dive into this wild ride of XR stuff. So yeah, this week was supposed to be a big deal in the XR space, but honestly, it was kinda like watching paint dry. Maybe because of the May 1st holidays, the pace dropped to a crawl. Yet, I’m still jittery with excitement—I’ve got some cool trips lined up. Tune in tomorrow for those juicy details! But first, let’s dig into some of the sparse bits of XR news that managed to catch my eye.

Top news of the week

Okay, so Meta Reality Labs didn’t exactly have the quarter of their dreams. In Q1 2025, their revenues slipped by 6% compared to Q1 2024. Doesn’t sound like much, huh? But trust me, the numbers could’ve tanked even more if it weren’t for those Meta Ray-Ban glasses. Reality Labs burned through $4.6 billion in that time, with a loss of $4.2 billion. Ouch. And Quest 3S? Yeah, not living its best life—sales apparently nosedived, about 30% less than last year. Even if Quest 3 has more user engagement, the sales stats are just… well, meh.

Ghost Town, a once-hot XR game from 2025, isn’t exactly flying off the shelves either. Only 6500 folks have hit that first achievement. Guess if you’re betting on Quest 3 alone, yeah, that’s not the easiest jackpot to hit. Bright spot? Those Ray-Ban Meta glasses. Zuckerberg is all smiles, saying sales tripled, and Meta’s Chief Financial Officer chirped about their active users multiplying like crazy. It might nudge Meta to toss more energy into smartglasses and maybe ease off VR. Oh, and VR/MR didn’t even make the cut in Zuckerberg’s ‘five major opportunities’ list. AI did because of course.

Other noteworthy tidbits

In other happenings, Meta’s flipping the switch on camera access for apps on the Horizon Store. It’s going from "experimental" to "standard." Developers are psyched—they’ve been creating these wild, AI-fused experiences with camera access. ImmerGallery just turned the Quest 3 into a 3D camera or something. Now they can sell these innovative things instead of stashing them as demos. Of course, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine; privacy issues will always lurk. But Meta promises to keep things kosher, like no creepy surveillance vibes allowed.

Speaking of Meta, data miners are busy. Luna’s dropping hints about where Quest is headed—UI overhaul, window sharing, authentication via eye-tracking, and touch typing on VR surfaces. Exciting, eh? Not sure how I feel about typing in thin air yet, though.

Headset-wise, Pimax Connect’s teasing us with updates about their super-slim Pimax Dream Air. Curious? Sure. Skeptical? Also sure. They promise "new announcements," but honestly, I’m not exactly hyped for another avalanche of VR headsets from them.

Now, the MeganeX 8K Superlight launched, but talk about a bumpy ride. Reddit users say it’s awkward to fit, and the software has them pulling their hair out. When it works, it’s apparently stunning, but otherwise, it’s a real headache. Plus, no refunds? Yikes.

Infinite Reality is kinda a puzzle. Some investor shelled out $3 billion, but what are they doing exactly? Sterling Select is whispered to be the mystery backer. Yet, their investment isn’t even mentioned on their website. Confused? Join the club.

This just in—live meshing on Quest 3! Julian Triveri, the wizard behind the passthrough camera hack, isn’t using camera access but rather the headset’s Depth APIs. Battery-heavy, but super cool tech.

Tired of Horizon Worlds? Reddit’s got your back with a workaround to block it, so it doesn’t keep pestering you. Bet Meta’ll try to patch that, though.

Shift gears to EA: they’re hitting pause on rally games. Codemasters, rally games royalty, is pulling the plug on future additions, and EA Sports WRC updates are ending too. Bad news for VR folks since they had some sick VR support going.

Game updates and reviews

Psytec Games shared why they went with Titan Isles instead of Windlands 3. Another VR space adventure, Remnant Protocol, bankrolled by Meta, is coming to Quest and Steam. BMX fans? Legends BMX jumps onto Quest soon. And for those who love strategy, Surviving Mars: Pioneer is launching, yeah, also on May 8.

Elsewhere Electric shows off cross-device gameplay—VR headset meets mobile phone. I, Robot—no, not the movie remake—turns the old arcade game into a puzzler with just the right challenge. Meanwhile, Immerrock aims to teach guitar using mixed reality, but it’s battling tech issues.

Bonus bits

Apple lets you mess around with Apple Vision Pro in game devs like Godot. OR control your smart home and even design your kitchen with it. Motorola phones now pair with your Quest. Meta dished out a chat with a Star Wars audio designer. Thrilling stuff.

Georgy Molodtsov’s VR gem "Under the Pillow: Kitten Mormitten" lands on Quest Store, and I’ve been lending him a hand. Fingers crossed for its success! Open Brush introduced multiplayer, so VR art jams are officially on. And Phygtl’s on the lookout for unity devs to join their AR escapades.

Random fun

Something about Quest 3 being kinda sus—click the funny link if you dare. Okay, maybe it’s spam. No, really, it’s probably just a giggle waiting to happen.

And hey, before we wrap up, a moment to give back—donate to the Red Cross in Ukraine if you can. Also, shoutout to my awesome Patreon supporters. Your generosity means the world.

Okay, that’s me out. More coming soon, see ya in the labyrinth of XR!