This tiny Oculus Quest 2 replace simply made connecting with pals a complete lot simpler

In today’s tech-rich world, it’s easy to lose track of the little features that make connecting and sharing with friends a hassle-free process.

Only when you immerse yourself in the virtual environment of an Oculus Quest 2, for example, do you realize how important a link as simple as an invitation link can be in enhancing your social experience.

Well, more than five years after the company’s first VR headset was launched – which, incidentally, was recently discontinued – all Oculus devices have now been updated with the ability to invite friends to game sessions via a simple web link.

This may sound like a trivial addition, but it is a massive step towards enhancing the social experience of gamers using Oculus-branded VR headsets. Essentially, users now have the option to set up multiplayer game sessions outside of their device, which makes meeting and playing with friends on their headset a lot easier.

To generate a URL-based invite link (which can be sent to friends’ mobile devices, posted on social media accounts, or given in person in an envelope), players can now navigate to the Social tab in the Oculus mobile app on iOS or Android, select the VR title they’re scheduling a session for and generate a custom invite link so players can jump right into the action the moment they’re back in their headset.

(Image credit: Oculus)

Users can still create a party and connect with friends that way, but Oculus hopes invitation links will “streamline the process for those ad hoc hangouts.”

As part of the update, the company also added an “Invite To The App” button that allows users to send a pop-up invitation notification to friends, people they’ve recently played with, or connections in-game without having to navigate through complex menus have to . Once the invited player accepts, they will be added to the multiplayer session, further simplifying the social experience on Oculus devices.

It’s worth noting that only a few Oculus apps currently support both features, and it is expected that more developers will adopt the new functionality in the coming months. But titles like Beat Saber, Blaston, Echo VR, Hyper Dash, and PokerStars VR will soon benefit from this.

Analysis: isolate reality

Perhaps the biggest criticism of Oculus VR devices has been their tendency to isolate gamers in the virtual environments that make them so brilliant.

Sure, users have long had the opportunity to connect with friends and play with them, but it has always been a lengthy and overcomplicated process. Now players have at least the option to invite friends to play before they put on their headsets, as well as the ability to generate invite links in-game much faster than previously possible.

A big part of our Oculus Quest 3 wish list is a neighborhood-like social space where players can more easily interact with others. This update hasn’t quite brought that improvement yet, but these seemingly small additions mark important steps in making some of the best VR headsets the most social.

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