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When we first started developing VR headsets, we wanted to build the world's best headset for VR enthusiasts. Specifically, we focused on Bigscreen users watching movies together, racing and flight sim enthusiasts chasing ultimate immersion, and the VRChat community. These three use cases of VR – along with VR gaming broadly (and one day VR productivity) – remain our design focus for Bigscreen.
Many of us on the Bigscreen team are heavy VRChat users, and to go one step further in building the ultimate headset for VRChat, we're thrilled to announce a very special partnership with VRChat: the Bigscreen Beyond 2e: VRChat Edition.
Deep Dive with Tupper, Head of Community at VRChat
To kick off the VRChat Edition, we invited Tupper (Head of Community at VRChat) to the Bigscreen offices for an hour long podcast-style discussion on VR hardware and the VR industry. You can watch the full chat on YouTube – let us know what you think of this new format!
Designing the best headset for VRChat
To build the best headset for VRChat and other games, we needed to prioritize visual quality and comfort.
Dancing in clubs in VRChat, watching movies in Bigscreen, and night flights in Microsoft Flight Simulator all benefit from the vibrant colors and deep blacks of the micro-OLED displays.
Ultra-high resolution displays are required to truly feel a sense of presence and to avoid seeing the immersion-killing "screen door effect" which reminds you that it is only a game. But that's not enough: enthusiast-grade VR also requires exceptional optical clarity. Beyond 2 now proudly delivers edge-to-edge clarity, a huge sweetspot, less glare, and a massive 116° diagonal field of view. These optical specifications competes with – or even beats – the Meta Quest 3, Apple Vision Pro, and other PC VR headsets.
Long nights spent in VRChat require a tethered headset without battery life limitations. For multi-hour VR sessions – and even sleeping in VR – comfortable ergonomics are vital. Our "Every Gram Matters" design philosophy led us to building the world's smallest and lightest VR headset with Beyond 2 weighing just 107 grams compared to 515 grams for the Meta Quest 3 and nearly a kilogram for headsets like Apple Vision Pro and Pimax. We went even further to design an ultra-lightweight fiber optic cable rather than cheaper and heavier copper cables conventionally used in most other headsets.
To improve fidelity in social VR, full-body tracking (FBT) is a must-have for VRChat. For that, we designed Beyond to be compatible with the SteamVR ecosystem of accessories. This means customers upgrading from an Index or Vive can easily use their FBT accessories (an expensive investment!) such as Vive Trackers and Tundra Trackers without needing to buy new accessories.
Eyetracking is another critical feature for VRChat as it enables greater expression when chatting with others in a virtual space. The Beyond 2e proudly features the world's smallest eyetracking camera system with an image sensor the size of a grain of sand (pictured above). Unlike prior approaches, Beyond 2e's eyetracking algorithms utilize novel computer vision techniques. We trained AI models of the human pupil and run inference on GPUs in real-time on models fine tuned to each unique individual.
We set out to make Bigscreen Beyond the best VRChat headset, and one sign that we may have achieved this goal: many VRChat employees bought the Bigscreen Beyond themselves, and choose to use it every day over any other VR headset.
The Bigscreen Beyond 2e: VRChat Edition.
The VRChat Edition comes with an exclusive new shell, custom-designed packaging, and in-game drops.
Atomic Purple: Iconic Design Meets Next-Gen VR
As a passion project, we painstakingly designed a custom material for the VRChat Edition and solved tricky manufacturing challenges to pull it off at scale. Inspired by the nostalgia of iconic products from the 90s and 2000s, the VRChat Edition comes in an exclusive Atomic Purple cover shell. It's a bold vibe with a slightly translucent finish, subtly revealing the electronic circuitry and internal workings of the Bigscreen Beyond. The Atomic Purple shifts in color depending on how light interacts with the surface and acts as a light guide, channelling light to glow and reveal edge highlights.
Custom-designed packaging
The VRChat Edition arrives in a box custom designed by Worth Dayley, our Art Director, in collaboration with the VRChat team to delight customers the moment it arrives at your door. It features gorgeous hand-drawn artwork and celebrates the spirit and community of VRChat.
Exclusive items in VRChat
VRChat users that purchase the VRChat Edition will unlock exclusive digital items like VRChat items, VRChat stickers, and badges for profiles in VRChat. More features are planned for the VRChat Edition in the future (including some rare giveaway drops) so stay tuned!
Limited Edition, Preorder Now
The VRChat Edition is a limited edition and this will only be available while supplies last. New preorders of Bigscreen Beyond 2 placed today – including the Beyond 2, 2e, or The VRChat Edition – are expected to ship in September. Preorder now at store.bigscreenvr.com.
Pricing
Prices for the VRChat Edition start at $1269 and comes with a Beyond 2e (with eyetracking) and the exclusive Atomic Purple shell. Choose between the Custom-Fit Cushion or the Halo Mount's Universal-Fit Cushion. We also recommend the Audio Strap to add built-in high-fidelity audio and improved ergonomics.
Support for existing preorders
If you've already placed a preorder for the Beyond, you can email support@bigscreenvr.com to change your order to the VRChat Edition. If you change your existing preorder to the VRChat Edition today, it may affect your order ship date. Your headset will ship in the roughly the same order as when it was placed after we receive inventory of the VRChat Edition (estimated August 29).
What's Next
The VRChat Edition is a celebration of our love for the VR community and we hope you love it as much as we do. We recently started shipping the Beyond 2 and we can't wait for you all to experience it yourselves soon. In the coming days, we'll be sharing more information on how Beyond 2e eyetracking works today, our development roadmap, and how eyetracking helps with performance-intensive racing/flight sim games and OpenXR content.