Similar to the Oculus/Meta Quest series of VR headsets, the PlayStation VR2 will feature a “transparent” projection that allows you to see your real world surroundings in black and white. This uses headset-mounted cameras and is useful for seeing where your controls are or navigating your game space without removing the headset. The transparent view can be enabled with a physical ‘power’ button on the hardware itself or through the UI Control Center.
PlayStation VR2 – Screenshots of the user experience
The Control Center will also allow you to design and edit a custom play area on the floor using the hand controls, similar to how Meta Quest handles things. A grid wall will appear in the game when you get too close to your set limits. Your settings are saved between sessions, but moving to a new room will require a new play area to be drawn.
A “cinema mode” has also been confirmed, which will allow you to watch non-virtual content such as existing games on a “virtual cinema screen”. (Being in VR allows things to look much bigger than they are, so you can create a cinematic experience). This content will be displayed in 1920×1080 HDR video format with 24/60Hz and also 120Hz frame rates, so it won’t be as high quality as, say, your nice 4K TV. VR content, on the other hand, will be 4000 x 2040 HDR resolution (2000 x 2040 per eye) with a 90Hz/120Hz frame rate.
The PS VR2 will also feature a broadcast feature that, when combined with a PS5 HD camera, can stream video of both what you see on the headset and what you do in real life.
Sony said the PS VR2 will have more than 20 major launch games. Coming to the platform are Horizon: Call of the Mountain, Resident Evil Village and Ghostbusters VR, among others. The headset itself was only revealed earlier this year, and you can see how it stacks up against other VR headsets in our comparison.
Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK news and features editor.
