CES 2025 Round-Up: The Best XR & Virtual Reality News From The Event
CES 2025 – the world’s leading tech showcase – has just taken place, and there’s a serious amount to unpack when it comes to virtual reality news from the event. The timing of CES always stands out, held in Las Vegas at the very start of the calendar year to give tech companies and developers the opportunity to showcase their latest XR and VR tech and plans for the year ahead to keen onlookers. This year’s show was no different and the headsets and capabilities demonstrated at CES 2025 give us not only a lot to be excited about right now but also a fascinating glimpse into what may lie ahead in VR development. Here’s the most important virtual reality news from the event…
Sony Xyn XR Headset
Gamers have been enjoying Sony’s VR offerings since the release of the PS-VR headset all the way back in October 2016. Now, we’re set to see this offering expand to VR content creators too, with the introduction of the Sony Xyn headset being some of the biggest virtual reality news at CES 2025.
The Sony Xyn headset was on display at the tech showcase and was billed as a device tailored specifically for spatial content creators. It promises to work alongside the wider Xyn creator system’s spatial capture solution, which can create 3D models from images captured of your surroundings. The Xyn headset itself should then allow us to both view and get immersed in this universe and work more efficiently, effectively and realistically in 3D environments. These game-changing capabilities are backed by exceptional visual clarity thanks to 4K OLED microdisplays, so getting the quality needed to render captured images effectively shouldn’t be a problem.
Everything the Xyn claims to be seems incredible, but there are some doubts reserved about when or if we’ll actually get to use it. Unfortunately, Sony didn’t share a release date with us at CES 2025 and the headset is still in development. In the meantime, the tech giant did promise the release of their Xyn Motion Studio in March 2025 – we just hope the promise of a genuinely joined-up and professional XR infrastructure isn’t a false one.
Roto VR Explorer
For gamers, the most exciting virtual reality news from CES 2025 will no doubt be the Roto VR Explorer. Roto VR, in collaboration with Meta, unveiled the Roto VR Explorer, a revolutionary gaming chair designed to enhance the VR experience for both enthusiasts and first-time players.
Designed to be used alongside Meta’s Quest headset and the suite of games available on the Meta Quest store, the chair features brand-new “look and turn” technology, automatically rotating when you gaze in different directions. Roto and Meta are promising that this prevents nausea and motion sickness – virtual reality news that will be much welcome to frequent VR gamers – and ensures nothing detracts from a truly immersive experience.
Other features of the Roto VR Explorer demonstrated at CES 2025 include haptic feedback and full-body vibrations, along with a comfortable ergonomic design that should bring the comfort of VR gaming in line with more traditional console experiences. Much like the Xyn headset, we can’t get our hands on this bit of kit just yet but are delighted to see that its release is billed not too far away in Autumn 2025. Though slightly sceptical about how widely it will be adopted, it will still be cool to see how capabilities we’ve long thought possible are filtering down into more mainstream tech.
VR Audio Is Changing…
As well as some impressive hardware, CES 2025 also gave precedence to new systems and software that we could start to see integrated into our virtual experiences. Particularly interesting virtual reality news was announced in the VR audio space with a real-time auditory focus system showcased by Attention Labs.
Attention Labs’ new system essentially promises the ability to concentrate on specific conversations within mixed reality environments. By determining where your attention is directed (via your gaze and interaction levels), the auditory focus system isolates certain audio inputs and dials down background noise. One of the main gripes with VR technology to date has been the limitations placed on social interactions, but this virtual reality news certainly points towards a shift towards more natural and focused communication in virtual spaces.
…And So Is The Way We Interact With Existing VR Tech
In addition, CES 2025 also showed that the way we physically interact with our existing VR tech will start to change. Shiftall – the creators of the MeganeX PC headsets, announced two new VR controller accessories due for release this summer.
Although nothing we’ve not really seen elsewhere, the GripVR was Shiftall’s first piece of CES 2025 virtual reality news – a SteamVR-compatible controller featuring capacitive touch sensors and the mainstream button layout for PC gamers.
If the GripVR was Shiftall’s only announcement, we’d be feeling disappointed. However, they also announced a new aftermarket attachment for Quest 3, 3s and Pro controllers which actually seems to advance rather than just copy other controllers out there. Aptly called the AddCon, the attachment effectively adds a wheel and extra buttons to expand controller functionality. What is particularly exciting about the prospect of the AddCon is all of the new interactions it should enable. Providing it’s actually integrated into different games and applications, we expect to be enjoying a much wider range of controls and really start to bridge the gap between virtual and real.
Both bits of kit are due for release in the summer at lower price points than we’ve seen from some comparable tech, further signs that virtual reality will continue to penetrate the mainstream this year.
What’s Next?
There’s no doubt that CES 2025 has delivered some pretty exciting virtual reality news, but whether we manage to get our hands on some of the bigger pieces of VR tech this year remains to be seen. Either way, the range of developments showcased at CES 2025 shows that innovation and change in VR and broader XR space are showing no signs of letting up any time soon and that the boundaries between tech used by a casual user and a serious VR enthusiast are really starting to blur. One thing is certain: we’ll be continuing to track the latest virtual reality news throughout the year and are excited to have more conversations about how we can all make the most of such widespread technological change.
In Short: There was virtual reality news a-plenty from CES 2025, including the announcement of the Sony Xyn Headset and Roto VR Explorer. We’re most excited to see how this tech is actually adopted by both VR enthusiasts and casual users alike, but if one thing is for certain, it’s that the latest developments in VR will start to blur the boundaries between these two groups.
Header image credit: Consumer Technology Association (CTA)®
