Meta has onboarded James Cameron’s Lightstorm Vision to create 3D entertainment for its Quest virtual reality headsets.
“A pioneer in the merging of cutting-edge technology and blockbuster storytelling, Cameron has been at the forefront of innovation within the film industry for 40 years,” Meta said, expressing excitement about the prospective collaboration with Cameron.
Cameron, a Canadian filmmaker, is well-known for epic movies such as Titanic, Terminator, and Avatar, which revolutionized cinema's use of visual effects.
“Recently, Boz [Andrew Bosworth, Meta CTO and Head of Reality Labs] showed me some of Meta’s advanced tech. I was amazed by its transformational potential and power, and what it means for content creators globally,” commented Cameron, calling the collaboration “fantastic” news.
According to him, it could be a “historic inflection point” for creating “mind-blowing” forms of media. Lightstorm Visions is recognized for its expertise in stereoscopic media technology, a critical skill set that Meta is likely seeking to master to strengthen its presence in the VR market.
This new collaboration is expected to help Meta expand its 3D entertainment portfolio to include top-tier content, such as live sports and concerts, feature films, and well-known TV series on Meta Quest, which will become Lightstorm Vision’s exclusive mixed-reality (MR) hardware platform.
“MR headsets represent the next step in the evolution of media, enhancing the viewing experience for millions, and utilizing native 3D in the service of traditional and immersive 360-degree environments, along with interactive elements that put you at the center of the story,” writes Meta.
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Unknown future for the metaverse
Meta, which rebranded as a metaverse-oriented company a few years ago, has struggled to promote its metaverse platform, Horizon Worlds, resulting in significant financial losses.
On the side, the company has invested heavily in promoting VR hardware. Meta Quest, introduced to the market by Meta’s subsidiary Reality Labs, has seen increasing revenues.
In general, global revenue from VR headsets in the consumer electronics market is expected to grow by $1.7 billion between 2024 and 2029. However, VR headsets are still fighting to find their audience.
This August, Meta canceled its premium VR headset. The headset, codenamed La Jolla, was supposed to be released in 2027. Meta’s direct competitor – Apple’s $3,500 VR headset Vision Pro, is also struggling. While it received positive feedback after its initial launch, sales aren’t meeting expectations.
Earlier this year, analyst Ming Chi-Kuo reported that Apple had reduced its forecasts nearly twice to 350.000-400.000 units per year and decided to postpone the launch of its second version of the Vision Pro.
This could be a sign that consumers are still not that interested in VR technologies. Despite the metaverse boom fading away and interest in VR technologies not picking up, the World Economic Forum still predicts that the metaverse market will be worth between $6 and $13 trillion by 2030.
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