XR Gaming is Shaping the Military, Could Consumers Also Benefit?

It is a long-held fact that many modern technologies that we take for granted today started life in the military. From microwave ovens to the internet, the military complex spends a vast amount of money developing next-generation tech, only for us, everyday folk, to use it to heat soup. Even with all those lucrative governmental contracts filling corporations’ pockets, sometimes, civilian companies make breakthroughs that have military capabilities. Now two XR gaming veterans could reshape the future of warfare.

Luckey and Zuckerberg make friends

If you ever wanted to see the power of military spending, just look at the recent Meta/Anduril partnership. If you don’t already know, Anduril (a military tech company) was founded by Palmer Luckey, who previously founded Oculus in 2012 before selling it to Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook (now Meta) for over $2 billion. That relationship eventually soured, with Luckey being pushed out a few years later. With his Meta money, he went on to found Anduril, making drones and software. Meta pushed on with VR, establishing the Quest product line and dissolving (mostly) the Oculus brand.

However, that relationship has been renewed. Their respective companies have officially partnered to build “the world’s best AR and VR systems for the US military.” Several months ago, Anduril announced it had taken over Microsoft’s troubled IVAS (Integrated Visual Augmentation System) program for the US Army. The original plan had been to adapt the company’s HoloLens 2 AR headset for soldiers, but Microsoft continually struggled to make it battlefield worthy.

So Luckey stepped in, and now so has Meta, working on a VR/AR helmet currently called EagleEye. Thus, pooling both companies’ expertise in XR headset design and manufacture. This is likely especially attractive to Meta, considering its Reality Labs division continually reports losses in the billions of dollars. Thus ensuring a quicker return on investment. But we also suspect that down the line, XR gaming may also benefit from this collaboration.

Who else?

Naturally, companies like Microsoft, Meta and Anduril aren’t the only ones benefiting from military money. Take the Czech-based VRgineers, a hardware company that specialises in wide FoV (field of view) VR headsets. Originally, the startup made 170-degree FoV headsets that were ideal for flight simulators and the enterprise market. While VRgineers has seen some success in these markets, its pivot towards military pilot training has ensured its longevity.

VRgineers has collaborated with the likes of the European Air Services to build a mixed reality F-16 simulator. While the Brazilian Air Force has used the XTAL VR headset for its T-27 Tucano and T-25 training programs. Most recently, VRgineers has continued a long-running cooperation project with Lockheed Martin as the Czech Republic purchases Lockheed’s F-35 Lightning II aircraft.

Future military-grade consumer tech

Naturally, there will be many who are concerned about the moral implications of companies like Meta involving themselves in defense technology. But the truth is, this could easily strengthen Meta’s role in VR for years to come. Whilst devices like EagleEye will spare no expense at providing soldiers with cutting-edge battlefield information, a future Quest headset may become lighter, with better audio and a wider FoV because of these developments.

Meta is still spending billions on R&D, with little return on its investment. That can’t last forever. Military contracts could soften that blow. Correspondingly, Meta’s moral compass will point even lower.

How would you feel about playing the latest tactical shooter on a military-derived VR headset? Let us know in the comments.