Hello and welcome to Steve Knows. Today we have new Meta headset technology, MetaQuest features that are incoming, new games that are coming soon, some freeto plays, and of course, so much more. I am sorry. I have to apologize that I didn’t put out a video last week. I was doing personal things. I was actually hanging out with my wife, my mom, and my stepdad at a ’90s festival, and I got recognized. I couldn’t believe it. The parents of Mr. William Spooner came and said hello. And I said that I would dedicate a video to Mr. William Spooner there. So, hello my friend. This one’s for you. And I think that is enough chinwagging. Let’s get started. So, a couple of things from the legendary Luna. First is the new home environment coming to our Quest headsets called the Lookout Loft. And if it looked familiar, it’s because apparently this is one of the background images from the mobile application, the Meta Horizon app. And I did have a little nose. I couldn’t find it, but apparently that’s where it’s from. If you know where I can find it, please comment down below and let me know cuz I struggled. Steve didn’t know. It looks Tony Starkesque, like Iron Man’s home. One that I could never afford. So, at least we can enjoy in VR. Although, honestly, I don’t really care too much about home environments. When I boot up my VR headset, I’m either playing mixed reality, of which I don’t want an environment, or I’m diving into VR. I’m on version 78 and I do not have this update either, but these environments can just pop up anytime out of the blue. So, keep your eyes peeled on this one. We also have avatar improvements to include more body shapes. So, in the strings of the firmware, it says there are even more body customizations coming. How will this be? I don’t know. Is it going to be sliders that can give us a medium to large beer belly? Can it make our muscles larger? Can we have differences between our leg and torso proportions? So you can create yourself in greater detail. Although someone said to me many years ago in VR, why would you want to be you when you could be anybody? And if you start dwelling on that notion, you can get quite deep. So an interesting one to answer for yourself, but I am not Socr. Let’s move on. So onto the meta research where they have developed a prototype two prototypes for an ultra wide VR and MR device that can hit 180 degrees field of view which is which pretty much covers a person’s a normal person’s at least peripheral vision. The Quest now only hits about 100. So it’s a huge difference. And I read a while ago that the vertical field of view is more effective for immersion. So fun fact that’s well fun fact if I’m not mistaken otherwise fun lie. The lenses it uses, they say, are called high curvature reflective polarizers as it has to get light from wide angles into a more focused spot so you’re able to view it. This can be achieved by using curved lenses or reflecting the light so it can travel closer to the center of that. I’m not a lens scientist. I don’t know the details of that. There are high field of view devices already out there like the Pimax, but they are huge. You’ve seen the size of them. It’s like wearing two bricks on your face. So seeing one with the form factor of a Quest 3 is mighty impressive. We just need to get that to market and for a good price, but this could purely just be research. We may never see it. It might not see the light of day. And unintentionally speaking of light, something more likely to hit the store shelves for us to buy, especially as there is now competition on it, is an ultra lightweight headset from Pico and Meta. So, the Meta 1, you may know as it’s recently been changed, the code name Phoenix, with an expected release in 2026. It should have an external puck that contains the battery and the processing power of the device so it can remove the weight from your head. Also allowing it to reduce the form factor so it becomes super light, super comfortable and you just put that puck in your pocket so the weight is around your waist. The headset becomes a sensory unit and a display unit. But knowing how Meta markets, I doubt that this device is going to be used for gaming. Game is like a means to an end for Meta. It’s sad to see sometimes. No, we made the Quest, but they’ve got other plans. And if you’re a VR veteran, you know that the form factor and the weight of a device makes such a difference to your experience. And I don’t think I’ll be too upset with a puck. Would you rather the weight in your pocket or the weight on your face? That’s pretty much the choice you’ve got. Right. Let’s talk about games now. Some free-to-play titles, some new titles, and some mixed reality ones. If you were looking for something to play because either you’re bored or it’s the end of the month or you just flat out have no money, Blaze and Braze from My Dearest, as in the developers called My Dearest, not someone that’s personally close to me. They are turning that game into the free-to-play model, a 3v3 multiplayer brawler. It will instead offer in-game currency purchases, the purchases of battle passes or cosmetic items, the usual [ __ ] This title uses weapons and abilities as well. It’s not just fisty cuffs depending on your character. And you’ll battle in huge environments like cities, a bit like a superhero movie where you have your gang of superheroes ready to take out the enemy and you’re fighting in these large environments. It’s It’s pretty cool. And the fact that it’s now free, you may as well check it out. Another game. Now, this one is a mixed reality title. It tickled me pink. I love how this one looked. It’s called Jungle Man. A it’s like a platformer where you have to swing your jungle man from one side of the room to the other to another portal. Mixed reality titles often seem like rather chill experiences. They got a relaxed vibe to them. There are a few which you may have seen me playing where I take to a leisure center which are a bit more intense often shooters, but this one has a chill vibe for sure. Keeping it simple as you don’t even have to use controllers. It’s all hand track. You just pinch the jungle man back and let him swing. Okay, now this game I expect to be an absolute beast as it comes from Triangle Factory, a studio I adore. The beast studio that brought us a game called Breachers, an incredible multiplayer title, and Hyperdash, another insane multiplayer title. They are they are historically 10 out of 10 on multiplayer games. So, this one is called Forefront. This is a 32player FPS that was announced at the start of this year, but we’ve got some pre-alpha footage to take in now to see what the game is all about. So, it’s going to split you into squads of four. So, eight teams of four. I can do math. And it’s going to drop you into these large scale maps that have destructible environments and vehicles and cooperative based classes like assault and medic. That should force the team to to work together as you’ll all specialize on some as you’ll all have to specialize on something. You’ll also be able to traverse by land, sea, and air. That sounds so cool. Like all the lads on jet skis riding into battle. It really reminds me and seems reminiscent actually heavily inspired by Battlefield, but for VR and a VR experience that I’ve not really come across before, at least from memory, is Besiege VR. It is a flat screen title, but it is now coming to Quest as a VR game. It was announced in April that this would be happening, and the official release date is at the end of this month, 31st. I don’t know why I forgot that. It’s the 31st of July. It’s going to be $20, which is around £15 in the UK. And side note, if you’ve got the flat screen version, apparently you’re able to import all of your creations, not all of them, some of the creations that you’ve got on the PC version onto the Quest headset and use them there. And that pancake game right now on Steam is £127. What a steal. So, if you’re not interested in the VR game, maybe the PC one. Give that a go. It’s so cheap. The idea of it is you’ll get given objectives and you’ll have to create these destructive items with over 70 parts, a bit like Lego, and take them into 55 levels of a campaign. They give you an objective, they give you some parts, and you pretty much just have at it to cause as much destruction and bloodshed as you can. Time for the quickfire news now. Stories that you can get the gist of from the headlines. Some nice to knows. And the first one is there’s more free gameplay to enjoy. You can check out a demo of Wanderer: Fragments of Fate. One of the best games I’ve played in VR in terms of environmental interactions, emotional engagement, and the depth of the experience. Wonder of the Fragments of Fate is a fantastic game. And the free PC VR demo is available right now on Steam. So, go after the video. Go enjoy. And this one, oh my goodness, this one got me so excited. So, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. So, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City got some concept art shared now. So, this is a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle VR game being developed by the developers of Gorn. And if you know the game of Gore, the gameplay feel and the art style. It seems like a fantastic fit for TMNT. And it looks like they’ve kept the cell-shaded art style from the concept art that we see here. Unfortunately, the game is coming in 2026, though a while to wait, but I am excited. And this being aligned with the Gorn developers, will we get a TMNT game that’s more aligned with the original comic style where it was more violent and dark? Or are we going to get something that was more of the, you know, the ’90s TV show for kids? And I know this was supposed to just be a little headline, but I am so excited. Right, that’s it for me today, guys. Thank you so much for watching to the end of the video. Hit subscribe so you can join me for next time, and it helps me share the word of VR. Well, keep well, my friend. I’ll maybe see you guys again next year at that festival as well. But more importantly, have a great week. Happy gaming. Good day.