Meta has just shipped a trio of major (and free!) updates for Quest headsets, and the headline is this: go nuts, creators and streamers! A new streaming hub, a creation suite powered by AI and an advanced scene-capture tool bring new capability without the requirement for any new hardware — though one component is available only on newer models.
Streaming Finds A New Home Inside VR Headsets
Horizon TV is Meta’s attempt to bring movies and shows inside Quest. It collects the heavy hitters—Netflix, Prime Video, ESPN, Peacock, Hulu and Disney+—into a single VR-first interface intended to minimize app-juggling that has been with media in headsets from the beginning.
For audiovisual purists, Horizon TV comes packaged with Dolby Atmos out of the gate, and will get a dose of Dolby Vision later this year (if supported) for more spatial sound depth and better video contrast where available. Meta says certain Universal titles — among them “M3GAN” and “The Black Phone” — will include immersive 3D effects, providing a taste of the cinematic depth that ordinary flatscreen viewing cannot provide.
The company’s broader content push has been gaining steam. Filmmaker James Cameron announced that his Lightstorm Vision startup has a Metaverse deal to offer premium 3D entertainment — from live sports, concerts and movies to series. A special 3D clip from Avatar: Fire and Ash is already live to hammer home Meta’s message that it wants Quest to be a destination worthy of appointment viewing, not simply where you go to watch casual clips.
Faster World-Building AI Tools For Creators
For developers, Meta Horizon Studio is bringing a generative AI editor within Horizon Worlds. Rather than carving each asset to shape with your hands, creators can command new structures, textures and soundscapes just by speaking or typing their intentions into the system — and even modify AI-driven behavior of NPC characters. Think: “Put a UFC-style octagon under stadium lights,” or “Turn this beach into a neon-soaked cyberpunk pier.”
The pitch is speed. Generative tools have obviously been a game-changer both in terms of reducing the time from idea to playable prototype but also changing the way we work across design and game engines. It reflects an industry move mirroring that in platforms like Unreal and Roblox, where the barriers to creation keep dropping and the cycles of iteration keep tightening. Deloitte’s Digital Media Trends report has pointed out the increasing percentage of time consumers spend in user-generated worlds — Meta is positioning Quest creators to serve that demand.
Of crucial importance, these tools don’t supplant manual editing; they augment it. For power users, RealSpacesPro can be used to call for a base layout and then specify the lighting, physics or interaction logic without doing repetitive asset work.
Turn Your Room Into A 3D Set With Hyperspace Capture
Hyperspace Capture is the most flashy new feature for Quest 3 and Quest 3S owners. It uses the headset’s cameras and something called Gaussian Splatting to capture your real space in a way it can be reconstructed as a navigable 3D scene within minutes of entering. The result is static — objects don’t move — but the fidelity can be startling, as natural lighting and fine detail are retained.
Gaussian Splatting, which emerged in 2023 work we showed the graphics community, depicts scenes as millions of overlapping 3D “splats” instead of conventional polygons. The end result is a picture-perfect reconstruction that conveniently fits into consumer hardware, a sweet spot for VR. Meta says the experience is more methodologically developed than typical spatial photos, and that they result in a “deeper sense of presence” and “better continuity of depth and texture.”
For creators, this can unlock practical uses: scan a bedroom as reference material to design for a believable set in a mixed-reality sketch, capture a studio space for an online virtual tour of an artist’s work or gather up reference geometry data for environmental design.
It is also a new tool to help archivists and educators preserve spaces with as little friction as possible.
Why This Is Important for Creators and Brands
To that end, these updates nudge Quest toward a tighter loop of creation, distribution and discovery. Horizon TV extends potential reach and enables us to onboard premium partners. Horizon Studio is going to tighten the world-building and reduce the skill floor while not capping the ceiling. Hyperspace Capture uses the spaces in front of us to create instant sets, reducing production costs for mixed reality storytelling.
Expect ripple effects across the ecosystem — shorter production timelines for social VR experiences, more polished creator content and richer tie-ins with mainstream entertainment. Brands and studios that are trying out VR activations will be particularly drawn to the option of rapidly prototyping and publishing interactive scenes.
Compatibility And Rollout Across Meta Quest Line
Horizon TV and the new AI-powered Horizon Studio tools, on the other hand, are rolling out to the entire Quest line, Meta says. Hyperspace Capture is exclusively for Quest 3 and Quest 3S, which both require cameras and the right processing power. Horizon TV gets Dolby Vision support later in the year.
If you share or publish room captures, check and double-check privacy settings — high-fidelity scans could divulge personal information. As with any generative workflow, creators must also check rights to combine AI-authored elements with third-party IP.
For now, the takeaway is simple: your Quest just got a more powerful studio and theater without requiring a subscription add-on.
That’s an unusual mix in the consumer tech world — and especially appreciated in VR.
