Taking a peek at Phantom Peak

Executive summary

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

• Headline: HTC revealed a 90% revenue share for developers (more below).

• The rumour-mill spins: Supposed images of the Meta Quest 3 Lite leaked online.

• Based in the UK? Help investigate safe spaces in social VR by completing this quick survey (it only takes 30 seconds and it’s for a good cause!)

• Stat of the week: IDC estimates that the shipment of VR and AR headsets will increase by 44.2% in 2024 (to 9.7m units).

• Other stories: Apple is integrating the look and pinch feature into webXR, and Canon unveiled three new VR prototype products (more stories below).

Analysis

HTC revealed a 90% revenue share for developers.

• For reference, most storefronts take a 30% cut while developers receive 70% — which makes it very competitive compared to the likes of Meta.

• Will it move the needle? Maybe; it will cause developers to consider moving titles to the platform. If it’s matched with a rise in people purchasing items or titles within VIVEPORT, then it would be a good deal for many devs.

Phantom Peak is a non-tech immersive experience in London.

• How is it relevant to the Immersive Wire? It is one of the more immersive experiences in London, where visitors take a stroll around a fake town and take in the festivities. There are bars to discover, mirror mazes to traverse, cocktails to make, and fake PlayStations to play. None of it is directly related to immersive technologies, but it does use tech to heighten the experience - such as booths to punch in numbers to find easter eggs.

• What can you take away from this? I know it’s been said a few times, but the technical capabilities of an immersive tech device is not the be all and end all. If it functions to serve a purpose, it functions well - bells and whistles need not be included. It’s an incredibly benign point, but I feel like we all need a reminder of it sometimes.

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Other notable stories

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

• Apple is integrating the look and pinch feature into webXR.

• Canon unveiled three new VR prototype products.

• Dynamic Languages is a way to learn new languages in VR.

• grasworld.ai, which generates 3D assets, raised $3.3m in funding. 

• HTC revealed a 90% revenue share for developers.

• Lawn Mowing Simulator VR (yes, its exactly what you think) is out now. 

• MetaGravity announced the release of HyperScale Engine, a network engine to power large multiplayer games.

• The Park Playground has launched its latest offering, The Park VR Tournament.

• Some Assembly Required will release on the Meta Quest in May.

• Unearthed, an adventure game, is out on Meta Quest.

Got a news story? Contact me with the details here.

Help corner

If you have a problem that you think could be solved by another reader of The Immersive Wire and would like to be connected, let me know at tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com.

Note: The Immersive Wire is run by Tom Ffiske, who also works within Accenture’s metaverse group. The contents of the newsletter should not be regarded as Accenture’s views.