Meta blurs out upcoming VR headset in hands-on hype video

Mark Zuckerburg smiling with his hand up in VR that's been blurred out.

(Image credit: Mark Zuckerburg/Meta)

Mark Zuckerburg, the Zuck himself, has been spotted flaunting Meta's upcoming VR headset in a demo video on his Facebook page, but for reasons we can't quite place, the company has decided to blur out the VR headset. Either by way of generating more hype, or just being vague for the fun of it, we're still none the wiser about Project Cambria.

The Byte brought the hands-on to our attention, asking the important questions: "Is there a giant dong attached to the front of the device?"

I'm inclined to share their sentiment of cynicism. I mean, why blur out the one thing we actually care about in the video? Great, there are adorable critters in the new 'experience, and you can pet them, but show us some of that sweet technology, Zuck.

The demo, along with a recent mixed-reality preview, shows that the headset will give users a full-color passthrough, so they can see their surroundings better. It's a step up from the colorless passthroughs some of the best VR headsets today come with.

Other than that, we can see at least that the prototype is black. Though that could change, considering the color scheme we're used to. We also know the upcoming headset will come with eye and face tracking "so that your avatar can make eye contact and facial expressions, which dramatically improves your sense of presence."

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What's become painfully clear is that the upcoming high-end VR headset doesn't appear to be for gamers like you and I. It's being marketed as a desktop PC replacement for "productivity and fun," such as giving long-eared aliens scritches, or sweating into the VR headset while pretending you're not alone doing exercise.

Unfortunately, we gamers are unlikely to see the Oculus Quest Pro come out anytime this year, as Meta's focus remains on Project Cambria. Although we should be seeing four new VR headsets by 2024, which will be an interesting ride as we exodus into our all-encompassing new home in Zuck's metaverse.

Having been obsessed with game mechanics, computers and graphics for three decades, Katie took Game Art and Design up to Masters level at uni and has been writing about digital games, tabletop games and gaming technology for over five years since. She can be found facilitating board game design workshops and optimising everything in her path.