The latest announcements Facebook’s first virtual Game Developer’s Showcase which is happening this week.

In the midst of the growing coronavirus pandemic, holding any sort of normal conference is entirely out of the question. But although it might seem like the entire world is grinding to a halt, life goes on and there are still some exciting announcements coming out of the tech world.

But in fact, there has never been a more opportune time to push for advancements in (and adoption of) immersive tech. As so many of us are asked to work from home or find ourselves isolated from one another, XR offers us new ways to enable collaboration, remote work, and all manner of interaction which (at least for a while) might be difficult or downright impossible in real life.

So we’re excited to see this first all-digital Facebook: Game Developers Showcase which promises many announcements, trailers, developer interviews and more this week.

Things kicked off with a major update to the Oculus Quest system experience that makes VR more flexible, social, and easy to use. It comes with a completely redesigned universal menu, new immersive overlays, and multi-window support for 2D apps starting with Oculus Browser— these updates are launching as experimental features later this month.

Redesigned universal menu

The personal dashboard lets you navigate between immersive environments and 2D apps, control your device, and stay connected with people and with your system’s status while in VR. The new design organizes information more clearly to help users navigate to commonly-used system apps like Explore, Store, Browser, and TV more quickly, as well as access key settings like brightness and volume. It also brings recently and frequently used apps front and center so it’s easy to jump back into the action.

Immersive overlays

These make it possible to bring up content, like the universal menu, without leaving the app you’re in. That means it’s easier than ever to find and control system functions without returning to the home screen. This should provide more seamless access to functions like making a friend request, casting, or live streaming. This will be available in WebXR apps launched from Oculus Browser to start and will come to more apps on the Oculus Platform as developers add support, so over time, you’ll have instant access to your menu anytime and anywhere in VR.

Oculus Browser supporting multiple windows

Users can now multitask, opening, closing, and rearranging windows from a new control box above the window. Support for multiple windows will first come to Oculus Browser, with support for more 2D apps like Chats and Store coming later.

Together, these updates continue to evolve the Quest experience and represent a step toward VR becoming the next computing platform. It all starts rolling out this month, users can opt-in by going to the Experimental Features section in Settings and toggling the new features on.

New Timbaland Music Pack Announced for Beat Saber

Launching March 26^th, gamers will be able to access new music by the legendary rapper, created specifically for the game. It features hit artists like Bruno Martini, Kaydence, Common Strangers, Sid Tipton, and Timbaland himself. The pack, priced at $7.99 (or $1.99 per song) on Oculus Quest and Rift, includes the following tracks:

• Sid Tipton, Timbaland – Has A Meaning
• Kaydence, Timbaland – Dumb Thingz
• Wavezswavesz – While We’re Young
• Nash Overstreet, Karra & Common Strangers – What I Like
• Bruno Martini, Timbaland – Famous ft. Jake Davis

Beat Saber continues to dominate the charts and has gone Double-Platinum, selling over 2-million copies worldwide across all platforms. In addition to breaking records within the VR community, the game has also proven a viable way for artists and entertainers to connect with their fans, as the packs have sold 10 million songs through downloadable content from artists like imagine Dragons, Green Day, K/DA, and others.

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