VR News Roundup: Meta Quest Black Friday Sale, Deadpool Delivers, & Boxing Returns

Welcome back to another packed day in VR gaming! Today we're diving into some seriously exciting hardware news from Pico, celebrating some major game launches including the full release of Thrill of the Fight 2, and checking out whether Deadpool's trademark humor translates to virtual reality. Plus, there's a Black Friday sale you'll actually want to know about, and some genuinely interesting developments in the dev tools space. Let's jump in.

Black Friday Alert: 40% Off Hundreds of Quest Games

Let's talk deals, because Meta's Black Friday sale is offering 40% off hundreds of Quest games right now. This isn't one of those "technically a sale but only on games nobody wants" situations—we're talking about a substantial discount across a wide catalog.

Here's my advice: if you've been eyeing any major Quest titles, now's the time to pull the trigger. A 40% discount is significant enough that even games you're mildly interested in become worth the risk. Build out your library, especially with games that have high replayability or strong multiplayer communities.

The sale requires a discount code: BFCM25 to get 40% off games in the Black Friday sale. For games not included in the sale, use code SPACEROACH for 20% off. Make sure you're actually applying the code at checkout. I've definitely made the mistake of assuming a sale price was automatic and missing out on the discount before. Don't be like past me.

Pico's 2026 Vision: 4K Micro-OLED and Dedicated Passthrough Chip

Here's the headline that got my attention today: Pico's planning a 2026 headset with 4K micro-OLED displays and a dedicated R1-style passthrough chip. According to reports from a ByteDance executive, Pico isn't just iterating—they're making a serious play for the premium VR market.

Let's talk about what this actually means for us as players. Micro-OLED displays are the same tech Apple used in the Vision Pro, and they're genuinely transformative. We're talking about true blacks, incredible contrast ratios, and pixel density that makes the screen-door effect a distant memory. 4K per eye would put Pico ahead of most competitors in the standalone space, potentially even surpassing Meta's current offerings.

But the really interesting part? That dedicated passthrough chip. Meta's R1 chip in the Quest 3 series transformed mixed reality from a gimmicky feature into something actually usable. If Pico's implementing similar dedicated silicon for passthrough processing, we could see mixed reality experiences that rival or exceed what Meta's currently offering. This isn't just about reading your phone in VR—it's about stable, low-latency AR gaming and productivity features that actually work.

The 2026 timeline is both promising and frustrating. It's far enough away that Meta will likely have another generation out by then, but close enough that Pico's clearly committed to staying competitive in the standalone VR race. For those of us who remember when Pico was primarily focused on the Chinese market, seeing them push hard on premium features for global consumers is genuinely exciting.

Game Launches: Boxing, Horror Swimming Pools, and the Merc with a Mouth

Thrill of the Fight 2 Exits Early Access

Thrill of the Fight 2 has officially launched on Quest after its early access period, and this is huge news for VR fitness enthusiasts. The original Thrill of the Fight was many players' introduction to just how exhausting—and effective—VR boxing could be. It didn't have fancy graphics or a massive budget, but it had physics that felt right and a difficulty curve that would leave you genuinely gasping for air.

The sequel brings both single-player and multiplayer boxing action, which is a game-changer. Fighting AI opponents is great training, but there's nothing quite like the unpredictability of a real human opponent. The addition of multiplayer transforms this from a solo workout app into a legitimate competitive fighting game. I'm genuinely curious to see if an esports scene develops around this—VR boxing tournaments could be incredibly entertaining to watch.

For anyone who's been waiting on the sidelines, this full release is your signal to jump in. The early access period has allowed the developers to refine the mechanics, and by all accounts, this is the most polished VR boxing experience available on Quest.

POOLS Makes Waves on PS VR2

If you're into atmospheric horror and own a PS VR2, POOLS just launched with native 120Hz support, and there's even a free demo available. This eerie walking simulator has been making waves (pun absolutely intended) for its liminal space aesthetic—think endless backrooms filled with swimming pools, creating that unsettling feeling of familiar-but-wrong that great horror games nail.

The 120Hz support is particularly noteworthy. That high refresh rate makes a massive difference in VR comfort, especially in games where you're slowly exploring environments. Less motion sickness, smoother head tracking, and an overall more immersive experience. The fact that they're offering a free demo is smart too—horror games are incredibly subjective in VR, and being able to test the waters (okay, I'll stop) before committing is consumer-friendly.

Deadpool VR: Maximum Effort, Mostly Landing

Speaking of launches, Marvel's Deadpool VR is here, and according to the reviews, it's exactly what you'd expect: hilarious, high-energy, sometimes repetitive, but always Deadpool. That's actually the perfect description, isn't it?

The review notes that the game "serves up a boat load" of Deadpool's trademark humor, which in VR could go one of two ways—either it's perfectly suited to the medium's immersive nature, or it becomes grating when you can't skip cutscenes as easily. From what I'm reading, it leans toward the former. The high-energy combat seems well-suited to VR, though the "sometimes repetitive" criticism is worth noting.

Here's the thing about licensed VR games: they're often either cynical cash-grabs or genuine attempts to do something interesting with the IP. Based on the review, this seems to fall into the latter category—flawed, perhaps, but made with actual understanding of what makes Deadpool work and what makes VR combat engaging. If you're a fan of the character and don't mind some repetition in your action games, this one's probably worth a look.

Developer News: Godot's Big OpenXR Push

Okay, this section might seem less immediately exciting than new games, but stick with me—Godot's massive OpenXR update is actually really important for the future of VR gaming.

Godot just added support for Vulkan foveated rendering on Android, Application SpaceWarp, DirectX 12, OpenXR render models, and the ability to build universal OpenXR APKs. If your eyes glazed over reading that list, here's what it means in practice: Godot is positioning itself as a serious alternative to Unity for VR development, and that's huge.

Unity's various corporate shenanigans over the past couple years have left many developers looking for alternatives. Godot is open-source, free, and increasingly feature-complete for VR development. The addition of foveated rendering support means better performance. Universal OpenXR APK building means developers can target multiple headsets with one build. Application SpaceWarp support means smoother framerates even on less powerful hardware.

Why should you care as a player? Because the easier it is for developers to make VR games, the more VR games we get. Godot's push into XR development could lead to an influx of indie VR titles from developers who can't afford Unity licenses or who are philosophically opposed to closed-source engines. More tools, more developers, more games—it's that simple.

Quick Hits: AI World Generation, D&D Crossovers, and VR Goalkeeping

Meta's WorldGen AI tool can now generate VR worlds from text prompts, which is simultaneously exciting and slightly concerning. The technology is impressive—describe a scene, get a navigable VR environment—but it raises questions about asset homogenization and the role of human artists in VR development. Still, as a prototyping tool or for generating background environments, this could be genuinely useful.

Demeo's Dungeons & Dragons crossover, Battlemarked, is getting positive reviews as "a mostly natural crossover and a fitting evolution for the VR tabletop RPG." Demeo's been one of the best social VR experiences since launch, and adding official D&D content feels like the obvious next step. If you've been looking for a reason to jump back in, this expansion might be it.

Finally, CleanSheet Pro launched on Quest as a subscription-based VR soccer goalkeeper simulator. It's a niche title for sure, but VR's perfect for specialized sports training applications like this. The subscription model is interesting—it suggests ongoing content updates and potentially multiplayer features that justify the recurring cost.

The Bottom Line

Today's news paints a picture of a VR ecosystem that's maturing rapidly. We've got premium hardware on the horizon from Pico, a healthy mix of game launches across different genres and platforms, developer tools getting more robust, and even AI starting to play a role in content creation.

The Pico news is probably the most significant long-term story here. Competition in the VR hardware space has been somewhat lacking since Meta became the dominant player in standalone VR. If Pico delivers on these 2026 specs, we could see a genuine alternative in the premium standalone space, which would be healthy for everyone.

For your immediate gaming needs, though? Check out that Black Friday sale, give Thrill of the Fight 2 a shot if you want to get absolutely wrecked physically, and maybe download that free POOLS demo if you're into atmospheric horror. And if you're a Deadpool fan, well, you probably already bought that game before reading this article.

That's it for today's VR news roundup. See you tomorrow with whatever chaos the VR industry throws at us next!