At today’s Meta Connect developer conference, the focus was largely on new smartglasses, but the social networking company also announced a handful of metaverse updates during Wednesday’s keynote. One of the largest announcements was the introduction of Hyperscape, first demoed at last year’s event. This new tool allows developers and creators to build more photorealistic spaces in virtual reality.
The company announced that Hyperscape Capture is now rolling out in Early Access. This feature will allow Quest device owners to scan a room in a few minutes and then turn it into an immersive and photorealistic world that acts as a digital replica of a real-world space. The capture process itself only takes a few minutes, but the room’s rendering will actually take a few hours to complete.
At launch, users will not be able to invite others into their digital spaces. However, Meta confirms that functionality will be supported in the future through a private link. The technology has already been used to render several featured Hyperscape worlds. These include Gordon Ramsay’s home kitchen in Los Angeles, Chance the Rapper’s House of Kicks, The Octagon at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, and Happy Kelli’s room filled with her Crocs shoe collection.
Meta first demoed Hyperscape last year at its Connect conference. It showed how the tool used Gaussian Splatting, cloud rendering, and streaming to make the digital worlds appear on a Meta Quest 3 headset. Now, the company is rolling it out to users 18 years old and up who have either a Quest 3 or Quest 3S. The rollout will be gradual, starting today, so not all users may see it immediately.
Meta also introduced more metaverse updates at today’s event. This includes a new lineup of fall VR games, such as Marvel’s Deadpool VR, ILM’s Star Wars: Beyond Victory, and Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked, and Reach.
Its streaming app, Horizon TV, will add support for Disney+, ESPN, and Hulu. A new partnership with Universal Pictures and horror company Blumhouse will offer movies like “M3GAN” and “The Black Phone” with immersive special effects. A 3D clip of “Avatar: Fire and Ash” will also be available for a limited time.