Audiences got their first look at the PSVR 2 back in January of this year during Sony’s conference at CES. Its list of upgrades when compared to the original VR headset was staggering, including an HDR OLED display with 2000 x 2040 pixels per eye, allowing players to enjoy a field-of-view of 110 degrees. Setting up a camera at just the right angle will no longer be necessary, as the new hardware will feature four cameras on the headset itself that will track a user’s space without an external device. Of course, the headsets will also track a player’s eye movements.
Most interesting to prospective buyers was the promise of haptic feedback. According to Sony, players would soon be able to “feel a character’s elevated pulse during tense moments, the rush of objects passing close to the character’s head, or the thrust of a vehicle as the character speeds forward.” If that wasn’t impressive enough, a new patent filed by Sony implies that those with physical disabilities or a limited range of motion won’t be left behind when the new hardware launches sometime in early 2023.
Rather than asking players to provide information themselves, the PSVR 2 will allegedly track a user’s movements to make the needed alterations to the headset’s settings. To put it simply, the system will keep track of the objects a player interacts with inside the virtual world. By doing so, it will understand the player’s range of motion and how easily they can navigate the digital environment.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Sony expressed the belief that the PSVR 2 would prove to be much more popular than the original PSVR. Those in the loop have claimed that the company would have 2 million units produced by March 2023. Production of the units is said to have begun in September, with the current supply chain issues seemingly not causing any major hiccups.
The original PSVR was released in October 2016. The hardware sold 2 million units in just under 14 months, which proves that Sony has much more faith in this updated release. No price for the PSVR 2 has been announced just yet. The new headset will not be compatible with original PSVR games, though it will launch with over 20 first-party and third-party titles ready to be played. This includes a number of indie games and the highly-anticipated Horizon VR: Call of the Mountain. Created by Guerrilla and Firesprite Games, the title will put players into the world of the beloved franchise.
Previously confirmed titles include Firmament, Samurai Slaughter House, and the popular deduction game Among Us. Several studios are also confirmed to be working on as-yet-unannounced titles, from nDreams and Coatsink Software to Fast Travel Games and First Contact Entertainment.
