Improved headsets
The first VR headsets that were available commercially were primitive and rudimentary compared to even the “phone in case” solutions available today. The Oculus itself, the product that triggered the whole VR resurgence, was criticised for being too bulky and heavy, not to mention the fact that it had to be tethered to a PC for it to work. (Oculus’ Project Cambria concept headset)
The Oculus Quest 2 is already a huge step forward in the right direction: it’s lightweight, smaller than its predecessors, and powerful enough to run many VR games. The upcoming Oculus headset will continue to improve on its usability, introducing “pancake lenses” and the capability to track the wearer’s gaze. Improved haptics and VR “skins”
VR headsets are already capable of providing fully immersive visuals - but what about our other senses? That’s what haptic feedback is for - and technology has made some great improvements on this front in recent years.On the more affordable side, we have bHaptics’ TacSuit X series that offers its users - especially gamers - a more immersive experience by letting them actually feel what’s happening in the game. The vests are available in two variants - one with 16 feedback points, and another with 40 - and support more than 300 games. bHaptics also offers haptic devices for the hands, forearms, and feet.
On the “God, that’s expensive but I still want one” side, in turn, we find the Teslasuit. This is a full-body haptic suit meant for applications like athletics (it also measures biometrics), enterprise (it can do motion capture), and medical applications (for rehabilitation, for example). There is no word on its official price just yet - all we know is that one Teslasuit was auctioned off for 10 wETH this July - around $20k at the time, worth around $45k today.
At the same time, engineers are working on making our VR experiences even more immersive with artificial “skins” that can transmit heat and wetness to our skin.
From individual games to “metaverses”
There are dozens of VR games out there, some better, others, not so much. The balance, in turn, is shifting toward “better” as VR is becoming more ubiquitous. But the future of VR gaming is probably not in individual games but “metaverses”, platforms on which social experiences, entertainment, and gaming will merge into one.Imagine something similar to Roblox, only in VR. Mix in some Sansar (the VR live events platform) and VR Chat (the VR social network), all this with the money and expertise of Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook - also the maker of the Oculus headsets. With all of the above coming together, we can expect VR to transition from a novelty (something that it still is after so many years) into a fully immersive and captivating experience.