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The XR Week Peek (2026.01.20): Meta performs layoffs in VR but doubles down on smartglasses, and more!

Skarredghost

@skarredghost.bsky.social

My roundup of the #AR #VR news of the week is out! Of course, I talk a lot about the layoffs at Meta, but I also mention some actual good news coming from our space, like XREAL becoming a Unicorn!

skarredghost.com/2026/01/20/m...

#VirtualReality #tech

Roundup of the most interesting XR news of the week, this time mostly focusing on Meta, which is disinvesting in VR to focus on smartglasses

The Meta layoffs, the VR Winter, the XR outlook

January 20, 2026 at 5:56 PM

Skarredghost

@skarredghost.bsky.social

My two cents about the recent news of #Meta disinvesting in #VirtualReality, and what may be the consequences of it.

skarredghost.com/2026/01/19/m...

#VR #technology

Explore the recent Meta layoffs and their impact on the gaming and VR industry. Understand the consequences of these changes for us all.

XR Year in Review: The Most Important Stories of 2025 and What They Mean for 2026

January 19, 2026 at 11:46 AM

Skarredghost

@skarredghost.bsky.social

A good overview of 2025 in XR by @benz145

XR Year in Review: The Most Important Stories of 2025 and What They Mean for 2026
www.roadtovr.com/xr-year-in-r...

#VirtualReality #MixedReality #AugmentedReality

The launch of Android XR, a newly announced headset from Valve, and major strategic shifts at Meta, are just the start of what made 2025 a significant year for the XR industry at large. 2026 will mark...

An Update on Meta for Work | Meta for Work

January 17, 2026 at 6:33 AM

Skarredghost

@skarredghost.bsky.social

#Meta abandons the VR enterprise sector:
"Starting next month, Horizon managed services and commercial SKUs of Meta Quest will no longer be available for sale."

forwork.meta.com/it/blog/an-u...

#VirtualReality #VR #technology

forwork.meta.com

January 16, 2026 at 5:41 PM

Skarredghost

@skarredghost.bsky.social

Damn, even the sequel to Batman: Arkham Shadow has been canceled. This seems really the end of first-party VR content from Meta...

www.uploadvr.com/batman-arkha...

#VirtualReality #VR

Batman: Arkham Shadow Sequel Canceled As Camouflaj Sees Significant Layoffs

Meta has canceled the Batman: Arkham Shadow sequel, UploadVR has learned, and conducted significant layoffs at Camouflaj, the developer of the first game.

Meta Considers Doubling Or Tripling Smart Glasses Production

January 16, 2026 at 6:53 AM

Skarredghost

@skarredghost.bsky.social

While #VR is cooling down this year, #smartglasses are on fire, with Meta considering to 2x or even 3x the production with Luxottica. They may reach 30M glasses manufactured per year...

www.uploadvr.com/meta-essilor...

Meta and Ray-Ban owner EssilorLuxottica are discussing doubling or even tripling their smart glasses production capacity, Bloomberg reports.

Meta Reportedly Laying Off 10 Percent of Reality Labs, Shifting Focus from VR & Horizon Worlds

January 15, 2026 at 7:56 AM

Skarredghost

@skarredghost.bsky.social

Today is a hard day for #VirtualReality: according to various reports, #Meta is going to:
- Fire 10% of the Reality Labs people, with circa 1500 people being affected [ www.roadtovr.com/meta-layoff-... ]

Meta is slated to layoff around 10 percent of staff at its Reality Labs XR division, a New York Times report maintains, as the company appears to be shifting focus to AI and smart glasses. The News Ac...

Google's Leading AR Glasses Partner XREAL Raises $100M

January 14, 2026 at 6:16 AM

Skarredghost

@skarredghost.bsky.social

XREAL is now a unicorn

Google’s Leading AR Glasses Partner XREAL Raises $100M
www.roadtovr.com/google-andro...

#startups #augmentedreality #smartglasses

XREAL, the Beijing-based AR glasses maker, announced it has raised $100 million in a recent funding round. The News Xreal co-founder and CEO Chi Xu broke the news on Bloomberg Television, noting the c...

The XR Week Peek (2026.01.12): A Special Edition with the best XR news from CES 2026!

January 13, 2026 at 6:11 AM

Skarredghost

@skarredghost.bsky.social

Today's roundup of the best XR news of the week contains all the best XR news from #CES 2026! Read about XREAL ASUS glasses, RayNeo e-SIM glasses, Play For Dream small headset, and more! skarredghost.com/2026/01/12/b...

#VirtualReality #MixedReality #CES26

My roundup of the best XR news of the week in this edition becomes a collection of the best XR news from CES 2026!

Lenovo just revealed a concept for AI-powered smartglasses at CES

January 12, 2026 at 6:28 PM

Skarredghost

@skarredghost.bsky.social

Lenovo revealed a concept for AI-powered smartglasses at #CES
www.engadget.com/wearables/le...

#smartglasses #technology

Lenovo just introduced some concept smart glasses. They are stuffed to the gills with AI.

www.engadget.com

January 11, 2026 at 6:52 AM

Skarredghost

@skarredghost.bsky.social

Discover the most important pieces of XR news of the past two weeks in XR! The one that I liked the most has been a project for an opensource headset... skarredghost.com/2026/01/06/b...

#VirtualReality #MixedReality

The XR Week Peek (2026.01.06): Best of 2025, and opensource headset, and more!

Welcome to 2026 in XR! I wish this will be a wonderful year for you all! My health is still recovering, and this is why you did not see a news roundup last week, and this

Pistol Whip Developer Cloudhead Lays Off 70 Percent Of Staff

January 6, 2026 at 8:27 PM

Skarredghost

@skarredghost.bsky.social

This is very sad news. I hope all these talented people can find a new job soon

Pistol Whip Developer Cloudhead Lays Off 70 Percent Of Staff
www.uploadvr.com/pistol-whip-...

#VirtualReality #VR

Pistol Whip developer Cloudhead Games laid off 70 percent of staff.

'VRChat' Breaks Concurrent User Record on New Year's Eve

January 6, 2026 at 11:00 AM

Skarredghost

@skarredghost.bsky.social

‘VRChat’ Breaks Concurrent User Record on New Year’s Eve
www.roadtovr.com/vrchat-new-r...

#VirtualReality #VR #VRChat

VRChat’s head of community says the popular social VR platform set a new concurrent user record over the New Year’s Eve celebrations. The News As first reported by UploadVR, VRChat’s head of community...

January 5, 2026 at 7:23 PM

Skarredghost

@skarredghost.bsky.social

A look back at 2025 for XR and for me, and some warm wishes of merry Christmas (if you celebrate it) and of a wonderful 2026!

skarredghost.com/2025/12/24/h...

#VirtualReality #VR

The XR Week Peek (2025.12.22): Meta cancels 3rd party headsets, Ready Player Me sold to Netflix, and more!

December 24, 2025 at 1:28 PM

Skarredghost

@skarredghost.bsky.social

This is one of the most futuristic things I've seen at #UnitedXR Europe: an @xpanceo smart contact lens powered by a wireless power supply installed on the head. Read about this and the contact lens prototypes I've tried in this article:

skarredghost.com/2025/12/23/x...

#AugmentedReality #tech

December 23, 2025 at 3:12 PM

Skarredghost

@skarredghost.bsky.social

My roundup of the best #AR #VR news of the week is out! You can learn about Meta canceling the 3rd party headsets working with HorizonOS, Ready Player Me being sold to Netflix, Boz saying that VR is not dead, and much more!

skarredghost.com/2025/12/22/m...

#VirtualReality #Meta #technology

The best news of the week in XR summarized in a single post only on The Ghost Howls! This week we'll talk a lot about Meta and Ready Player Me...

Netflix acquires gaming avatar maker Ready Player Me | TechCrunch

December 22, 2025 at 3:19 PM

Skarredghost

@skarredghost.bsky.social

We made the environment of our pigeon game a bit more in line with Winter and Christmas! There is also a little Santa Pigeon, but you can not play with it...

horizon.meta.com/world/250462...

#metaverse #gaming #technology

December 21, 2025 at 9:57 PM

Skarredghost

@skarredghost.bsky.social

Oh wow. Ready Player Me has been acquired by Netflix and its services will shutdown on Jan, 31st 2026 :O

techcrunch.com/2025/12/19/n...

#VirtualReality #VR

The gaming startup will allow Netflix subscribers to create avatars that can extend across gaming titles.

techcrunch.com

December 20, 2025 at 8:35 AM

Skarredghost

@skarredghost.bsky.social

My SUPER review of the most advanced #smartglasses I tried: the RayNeo X3 Pro, which surprised me for their bright (stereo) display, loud audio, and #AI integration. All of this comes for a price, tough...

Read everything about them in my article: skarredghost.com/2025/12/17/r...

TCL RayNeo X3 Pro review: very advanced smartglasses, for a price

Uncover the strengths of the RayNeo X3 Pro in our comprehensive review, focusing on technology and user experience.

Meta CTO Responds To The Speculation: "VR Is Not Dead"

December 17, 2025 at 10:39 PM

Skarredghost

@skarredghost.bsky.social

Glad to hear Boz say that VR is not dead. The question is understanding how much is a priority for them now and how they will support/fund the ecosystem next year

Meta CTO Responds To The Speculation: "VR Is Not Dead"
www.uploadvr.com/meta-cto-res...

#VirtualReality #MixedReality #Meta

Meta's CTO has responded to speculation of VR being "dead" at the company.

Pimax Crystal Super Hands-On: a really super visual experience

December 17, 2025 at 5:03 AM

Skarredghost

@skarredghost.bsky.social

Many people are asking me how #UnitedXR Europe was. Well, you can see it by yourself! I recorded myself walking around the showfloor area so you can feel like you were there with me! The full video is available here: youtu.be/_7X2XOlIN_A

#VirtualReality #VR #tech #Europe

December 16, 2025 at 10:32 PM

Skarredghost

@skarredghost.bsky.social

A SUPER detailed article about the Pimax Crystal SUPER. In this hands-on by Rob Cole, you'll discover all the good, bad, and ugly about this headset.

skarredghost.com/2025/12/16/p...

#VirtualReality #VR

Uncover the capabilities of the Pimax Crystal Super in this comprehensive review that details its performance and specifications.

The XR Week Peek (2025.12.15): Google unveils Likeness and showcases Project Aura, Quest had a successful Black Friday, and more!

December 16, 2025 at 9:21 AM

Skarredghost

@skarredghost.bsky.social

My roundup of the most important pieces of XR news of the week is out! Read about Google's announcements, the hands-on Project Aura AR glasses, the 120K Quests sold during Black Friday, and more!

skarredghost.com/2025/12/15/g...

#AR #VR #VirtualReality #Meta #Google

Roundup of the most interesting XR news of the week: Google showcased its Likeness avatars and Project Aura glasses, Meta sold many Quests during Black Friday