• Immersive Wire
  • Posts
  • The Immersive Wire - 19 December 2022 (Monday briefing)

The Immersive Wire - 19 December 2022 (Monday briefing)

The Immersive Wire - 19 December 2022 (Monday briefing)

Immersive Wire logo

Your weekly briefing on the metaverse // 19 December 2022

BRIEFINGExecutive summary

Snippets to sound smart in meetings this week:

  • Headline: HTC will reveal a competitor to the Meta Quest at CES, and it will focus on weight (analysis below).

  • Stat of the week: CTOs are unconvinced by the metaverse as one quarter launched a metaverse project in the UK this year, according to a report from Deazy.

  • Funding: Minderoo Foundation launched a fund worth $1m, to help companies research XR tech.

  • AR popularity type: The most popular virtual try-on experience is eye makeup, driving 42% of global beauty virtual try-ons. The second most popular category was lip colour at 26%, then face makeup with 15%, according to a report from Perfect Corp.

  • Review of 2022: The best way to describe 2022 is 'noisy.' I analysed the year, and divided everything into three groups - which one are you in?

  • Other stories: Blippar is working with Magic Leap 2, SHEIN is working with Klarna, and One Times Square is working better with web3 (more stories below).

  • Break: The Immersive Wire will be on a break next week. See you in 2023! šŸŽ„

Editorā€™s note

I tried to get into Dwarf Fortress, but got overwhelmed very quickly. One that needs a whole holiday break to go over, I reckon. Speaking of, I hope you all have an excellent time over the festive period! - Tom Ffiske, Editor of the Immersive WireWant to be fully briefed each week? Sign up to get it directly to your inbox.

TOP ANALYSISDivided interest in the metaverse

HTC will unveil a competitor to the Meta Quest at CES, focusing on weight.

  • One interesting innovation is the colour feed that can be seen in the headset, captured by its outward-facing cameras. It will have more features than the Vive Flow, and with some more bells and whistles when it comes to VR and AR. I am intrigued in seeing what experiences it will enable, a la the Quest Pro.

  • ā€œItā€™s about taking all of these advances that we made in not only the design aspects... and building it into something thatā€™s meaningful and thatā€™s appealing for consumers,ā€ said Shen Ye.

  • Looks to be interesting, and looking forward to hearing more.

CCS Insight predicts that only 11 million VR and AR units will sell in 2023.

  • The analyst firm says that next year will be very slow, with a hefty bounce in 2024; by 2026, the industry will sell around 67 million units. "High inflation has hit consumer budgets in many major markets this year, and some people, who in better circumstances would have treated themselves to a virtual reality headset this year, have postponed their purchase", notes Marina Koytcheva, Vice President of Forecasting at the company. "We're also seeing signs of businesses being more cautious in their investment in extended reality until the economic picture becomes clearer."

  • Always treat analyst predictions with a pinch of salt. That said, I agree with Leo Gebbie that the outlook remains very positive. We should see some hefty innovation in 2023, and 2024 will look very strong as economic conditions improve. Downturns nearly always spur innovation, so I look forward to seeing what comes out the other side.

OTHER STORIESImportant news from the last week

Got stories? Do let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.

  • Arcturus released several updates for its industry-leading HoloSuite platform, including a new beta feature to connect volumetric video clips and blend them together.

  • Blippar announced the expansion of Blippbuilder, its no-code AR creation platform, starting with Magic Leap 2 and beta testing Meta Quest Pro.

    • Also, Preet Prasannan has been appointed as the new CEO.

  • Celebrity Cruises created a new virtual experience dubbed the Wonderverse.

  • Colossal Cave, a 3D interpretation of the original text adventure, will release on Meta Quest 2 on 19 January.

  • Digital Catapult selected three finalists to create AR experiences for Cartoon Network, Wayne McGregor, and Niantic Labs.

  • exeno will launch exeno finance in Q1 2023.

  • Fast Travel Games launched GameVRoom into Early Access for SteamVR.

  • Futureverse merges eight web3 companies to make an ecosystem.

  • Minibeats, an AR Music platform, is launching first on Snapchat.

  • Omens Studios launched the ā€˜Omens Multiverse,ā€™ to take animation and movie-based IPs into virtual reality and interactive experiences.

  • One Times Square integrated web3 elements into its $500m makeover.

  • Polar, a virtual influencer, announced the release of a Christmas single, 'Rockinā€™ around the Christmas Tree.'

  • Resolution Games announced multiple new projects during todayā€™s Resolution Games Showcase.

  • SHEIN and Klarna worked together to make a virtual world in Roblox.

  • Spatial announced the Spatial Creator Toolkit powered by Unity.

  • SyncVR announced a partnership with Pico.

  • Synth Riders released a pack featuring Bruno Mars, Silk Sonic, and Starcadian.

  • Vertigo Games announced that Maskmaker is now available globally on Meta Quest 2.

  • Virtua will launch the Monster Zone, a new area of its virtual island designed for IPs and brands.

  • Vorlds, a multi-chain 3D social platform, opened its public Beta and launched its first virtual world in collaboration with the Animators Guild India Festival.

  • Warner Music Group announced a partnership with and investment in DRESSX.

  • Zappar announced a strategic partnership with Sunrise International, specialists in cross-border marketing and immersive content in China.

READERS CORNERLooking for assistance

Want to receive help from readers of the Immersive Wire? Send an email with ā€˜looking for assistanceā€™ in the subject line to tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.

  • inStreamly is looking for digital creators (influencers, assets creators, game developers etc) and marketers to complete a survey that will support the development of products aimed to help creators monetize via sponsorships in the metaverse. Each participant will also get access to the survey report and a chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card. Take part here

Enjoy the Immersive Wire? Consider sharing it with friends and colleagues:

That's all for this week! Want to have a chat, let me know about a news story, or talk business? Either reply to this email, or contact tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com. Have an excellent day!

Copyright Ā©