A similar thing will happen with WMR headsets in November of 2026, by the way (they'll work beyond that, but you can't download the software anymore after that date):
Since these depend on Windows itself, I don't think there will be an easy (or even possible) workaround.
Sad news, because these are cheap, high-res, fast to set up, easy to use and generally very decent headsets. Controllers are not top of the class, but good enough for almost anything. Ideal for people interested in tipping their toes into proper PCVR.
Thanks for informing me about Monado, but it seems like it's exclusive to Linux. That's hardly ideal. Then again, it's more than two years until November of 2026, so a lot might happen until then.
I would expect Valve's next headset to be expensive, complex and requiring extensive configuration by the user, just like their previous efforts. Pretty much the polar opposite of the Quest.
They are anti-consumer, but for smaller devs in particular, they can mean the difference between between canceling and releasing a game, between bankruptcy and the studio's continued existence.
Do you see developers making games exclusively for one console manufacturer the same way? Are you willing to deprive the gaming community as a whole from these titles? Games like Shadow of the Colossus or Alan Wake 2 would not have happened without exclusivity.
No, both of these titles are "halo games" (not in the Bungie series, but in the way that they are showcase titles) that sold poorly compared to their development costs - and their publishers likely knew that these would sell very poorly, but chose to publish them regardless, because they bring prestige to their platforms. They sold poorly, because they are niche games, not due to their platform exclusivity.
It's kind of like a car manufacturer making an exclusive sports car that only a few hundred people will buy, but that is meant to elevate the entire brand, bring in customers for other products and wow journalists so that they think of the brand more highly. Most of Sony's publishing strategy hinges on strong exclusive titles - since their hardware is virtually identical to Microsoft's - and they started this by going down the "high art" game route all the way back with the PS1 (with extremely niche games like "The Book of Watermarks") before creating more mainstream blockbuster exclusives like the Uncharted series.
I get your frustration with this, I have felt it myself with exclusives that I wanted to play, but couldn't justify the expense of buying a console for, but there are solid reasons from the perspective of developers and publishers for doing it and outlawing this practice would result in a far less vibrant and interesting gaming landscape. Another comparison is how rich aristocrats used to pay artists like Leonardo DaVinci to create art for them. This was also an exclusivity deal of sorts, since most of the public didn't see these artworks until centuries later (the platform exclusivity was being born to the right kind of family), but without these wealthy, selfish patrons of the arts, mankind would have been deprived of amazing creations.
Let's be honest, was anyone expecting any different outcome from Embracer's hasty growth with cheap money? There was no way this would have worked out.
Exactly. That's what nearly all of the competitors fail at. Sure, they might have more performance, are slimmer, have this feature or that advantage, but when it comes to actually getting games to work with them and the user experience, none are as good as Valve's handheld.
Avoid the OLED model (due to the danger of burn-in) and get it. It's a great device for portable gaming, both for games running directly on it and emulation up to and including Switch. It's fantastic for rediscovering games in your library. Just be aware that the slick user interface gets replaced by bog-standard (and extremely unpleasant to use on the small display) Linux clunkiness the moment you need to tweak anything outside of Steam and games.
I got really indifferented, because I don't even remember the plot of the first film anymore. Also because it's the triple-whammy of awfulness, a mobile MMO by Tencent.
Quest 1 becomes near-E-waste Apr 30 (lemmy.nowsci.com) angielski
'The gold rush is over:' Slay the Spire and Darkest Dungeon devs say that big Game Pass and Epic exclusive deals have dried up for indie devs (www.pcgamer.com) angielski
Embracer sells Borderlands maker Gearbox to Take-Two Interactive for $460 million (www.gamedeveloper.com) angielski
In today’s episode of “watch Embracer crash in slow motion”
Orange Pi Neo Linux gaming handheld starts at $499 with Ryzen 7840U, Ryzen 8840U at $599 (www.gamingonlinux.com) angielski
Hope it is successful.
Command & Conquer™ The Ultimate Collection now available on Steam (store.steampowered.com) angielski
Two indie Steam games were disguised as Helldivers 2 to scam players (www.videogameschronicle.com) angielski
No More Avatar Reckoning, it has been cancelled (gengamer.in) angielski