Articles about virtual reality

Rec Room’s final day: Fans say goodbye as social gaming platform comes to an end

The Seattle social gaming platform, once valued at $3.5 billion, shuts down at noon Pacific today after a decade and 150 million players. Fans are marking the end with tribute videos, yearbook-style goodbyes, and final virtual gatherings. Read More

Snap acquires assets from Rec Room as social gaming platform announces shutdown

Snap has acquired select assets from Rec Room Inc., with some employees joining the Spectacles hardware subsidiary, as the Seattle-based social gaming company shuts down its platform on June 1. Read More

Rec Room shutting down: Once valued at $3.5B, social gaming platform finds profits elusive

Rec Room, the Seattle-based social gaming platform once valued at $3.5 billion, is shutting down on June 1, ending a decade-long run for one of the city’s most prominent startup unicorns. Read More

From Sydney to South Lake Union: VR startup Vantari brings its ‘flight simulator for healthcare’ to Seattle

Vantari has officially moved its headquarters to Seattle as it ramps up work with health systems and device makers across North America. Read More

Amazon design vet can’t shake desire to create art and music, so he left to build a new VR experience

Grant Hinkson spent almost nine years at Amazon, leading design engineering within the company’s Devices and Services Design Group. He… Read More

This virtual reality game encourages rhythmic breathing to help with mental health

At first glance, Deepwell DTX’s Zengence (pronounced like “vengeance”) is what video game fans might call a rail shooter. At… Read More

Software firm sues Amazon in contract dispute over Emirates VR experience at Dubai Airshow

A VR demo at the Emirates booth during the 2023 Dubai Airshow is the subject of a lawsuit filed by… Read More

Air hockey, kraken tentacles, and laser rhythm: Inside new virtual-reality entertainment venue Mirra

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I attended a preview event on Wednesday for Mirra, a new virtual reality… Read More

New virtual reality gaming and entertainment venue Mirra opening in Bellevue

Virtual reality entertainment startup Mirra plans to open its first location in Bellevue, Wash. in August. Mirra is a “social… Read More

I had a blast playing ‘Squid Game Virtuals’ at a VR arcade — but here’s why I likely won’t return

After years of hype, virtual reality still hasn’t achieved mainstream consumer adoption. But it sure helped my group of friends… Read More

Seattle startup Peeka releases Barbie virtual reality kids’ book experience

Seattle-based virtual reality startup Peeka is tapping into the hype around Barbie and releasing a collection of storybooks featuring the… Read More

Seattle VR studio Polyarc reveals its next game: ‘Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss’

Seattle-based virtual reality developer Polyarc Games unveiled its next project Tuesday morning. Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss is a multiplayer strategy… Read More

‘Virtual creature’ startup Windup Minds raises $1.6M in seed funding

A startup founded by gaming and tech industry veterans in cities including Seattle and Los Angeles has raised $1.6 million… Read More

Podcast

Apple vs. Microsoft: Vision Pro, HoloLens, and a familiar pattern in a classic tech rivalry

Some of Microsoft’s biggest missteps over the years have come not from being too late but rather too early, leaving… Read More

Review: ‘Firmament,’ new game from ‘Myst’ creators, is a beautiful throwback to the 90s

Firmament feels like it was thrown into a time capsule at some point around 1993, with beautiful vistas, a haunting… Read More

Valve sued by Immersion in patent infringement lawsuit related to haptic technology

A new lawsuit accuses Valve Software of infringing upon patents on touch-feedback technology with its gaming products such as the… Read More

Virtual reality storyteller creates project showcasing historically Black community in Seattle

The recognizable chords from Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” are the sonic greeting to a new virtual reality experience created by… Read More

Seattle studio Polyarc is working on a follow-up to its award-winning VR games

Seattle studio Polyarc Games announced an open playtest for its next project, a new multiplayer VR game set in the… Read More

Lessons in virtual reality: What these computer science students built (and learned) in 10 weeks

The tech world is abuzz about artificial intelligence, but there’s still plenty to learn and accomplish in virtual and augmented… Read More

Sandbox VR opening new full-body gaming venue in Seattle’s South Lake Union

Another virtual reality gaming experience is opening shop in the Seattle region. Sandbox VR announced Wednesday that it will open… Read More

Oculus Studios acquires Camouflaj, the Seattle-area studio behind ‘Iron Man VR’

Bellevue, Wash.-based game developer Camouflaj has joined Meta’s Oculus Studios. Camouflaj, founded in 2012, is the studio behind 2013’s Republique… Read More

Zero Latency opening a free-roam virtual reality gaming venue in Seattle area

Zero Latency VR, the Australia-based virtual reality technology company, is bringing one of its free-roam gaming spaces to the Seattle… Read More

Testing a new time-traveling VR experience that explores sea level rise in Seattle

The Seattle Public Library and the University of Washington have created a virtual reality experience for teens and families that… Read More

Immerse yourself in life aboard the International Space Station at ‘The Infinite’ VR experience

TACOMA, Wash. — One tour of the International Space Station is not enough, even if you do the tour in… Read More

AR/VR eyewear company Innovega strikes deal with global supplier of technology for visually impaired

Innovega Inc., a Bellevue, Wash., company that uses disposable contact lenses in combination with high-tech glasses to create a digitally… Read More

Pluto VR debuts tech that lets you stream virtual reality to a headset without a computer

Seattle startup Pluto VR has brought its virtual reality streaming platform PlutoSphere into Early Access, which gives interested players a… Read More

Meta/Oculus expands in Seattle’s stadium district as tech giants anticipate regional light rail

All aboard the Meta Express? The parent company of Facebook and Oculus has renewed and expanded its office leases in… Read More

Christmas was so Meta: Big jump in Oculus app installs signals a tipping point for VR

New installations of the Oculus mobile app jumped more than 150% over the Christmas weekend, compared to past years, according… Read More

Seattle VR startup Rec Room raises $145M, reaches $3.5B valuation

Rec Room, the Seattle-based development studio behind the fast-growing VR application Rec Room, has raised $145 million in new funding,… Read More

We asked seven venture capitalists if the metaverse is the next big thing or just a lot of hype

What is the metaverse? How far off is it? And will this represent a tectonic technological platform shift — along… Read More