Meta rebukes claims that the development of the Quest Pro 2 is not going ahead

Executive summary

Welcome to your weekly briefing on the metaverse. Here are your snippets to sound smarter in meetings this week:

• Headline: Meta rebukes claims that the development of the Quest Pro 2 is not going ahead.

• Regulation: The European Commission unveiled a plan to lead on virtual worlds (analysis below).

• Open call: Virtual Architects has a call for immersive tech projects. 

• Conversation-starter: /r/VRChat is clashing with Reddit on the NSFW label, in a strange story from The Metaculture.  

Analysis

The European Commission unveiled a plan to lead on virtual worlds.

• Why now? The Commission wants to ensure that European companies can compete in the emerging area while ensuring larger ones cannot stifle competition and development.

• Basically, the plan involves bringing parties to make a thriving ecosystem, alongside regulatory areas and skills to focus on. Metaverse.EU did a great piece of analysis which goes into further detail.

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Other notable stories

Got any stories? Let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.

• A Bavarian monastery is offering virtual tours in VR.

• Bangor University worked with Meta on new features which will soon be available as part of Ocean Rift.

• Bank of America is using immersive tech with its new hires, using VR headsets.

• Battle Bows, the fast-paced co-op VR wave shooter, is out now.

• Bidstack Sports announced a partnership with StatusPRO and the Washington Commanders.

• China Mobile is working with key partners like Huawei to develop immersive technologies.

• Futureverse, a metaverse startup, raised $54m in funding.

• Google’s Mark Lucovsky, the former head of operating systems at Google's AR team, departed while citing an "unstable commitment and vision” at the company.

• Hong Kong International Airport launched its own virtual world.

• The Jed Foundation issued a report on preserving the mental health of young people in the metaverse.

• Movella Holdings provided motion capture tech to Pakistan-based 3rd World Studios.

• Psychic VR Lab and STYLY announced their collaboration with Air Race X.

• Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships will merge physical and virtual components.

• Siemens invested $1.1bn into the Erlangen Industrial Metaverse Hub.

• StoryFutures Xperience is a new initiative that brings immersive experiences to UK cinemas and arts venues.

• Venice Film Festival unveiled its XR line-up.

• Vicon, who works on motion capture, appointed a series of new leaders.

Help corner

Need some assistance from other readers? Let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.

• Jake Donaldso, a VR and Unity developer, is currently available for new projects. With over 6 years of experience in VR and Unity, Jake can help bring your games and experiences to life. You can view Jake's work and contact him through his website.

• Metaverse Monday is another weekly newsletter that teaches you about the AR/VR industry by interviewing the founders, investors and developers building it. Join readers from Google, a16z and Nvidia - Check it out here.

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