1. Market intelligence company SuperData reports sales of VR devices have declined since the same time last year, despite high sales of the standalone headset Oculus Go. “Oculus Go is part of an important movement for [extended reality],” said SuperData Research. “Facebook sold more units of the standalone headset in its launch quarter than they did the Oculus Rift in the entire first half of 2017. Its price and convenience are proving to be selling points, but it will be up to them to create compelling content that keeps users engaged over and over again.” Things aren’t too bright for PSVR, with  From Software’s “Déraciné” as the only AAA VR content shown at Sony’s E3 press conference this year (as excited as some of us are about the maker of Dark Souls' first VR outing). — VARIETY

2. Unreal Engine, upon which more and more VR (and non-VR) experiences are based, officially launched its 4.20 update today. The update brings “native mixed reality videocompositing for VR applications (broadly: mixing live video with the virtual world) and an update to a much newer Oculus SDK,” according to Road to VR. The update also adds support for Apple’s ARKit 2.0, Google’s ARCore 1.2 and Magic Leap support. — ROAD TO VR

1. Top brands are using a headset-less AR solution from Dallas-based company Spacee, allowing users to transform any 2D or 3D surface into an interactive touchscreen. The tech is called Post Mobile AR, and in practice is used to give consumers interactive surfaces with which to explore a brand like Mercedes Benz’s products. “If you just stick to what you’re doing then there’s no reason for people to go shopping – online is always cheaper,” Spacee CEO Skip Howard said. “If you don’t create an experience that customers want to be a part of, your store could close and you won’t have a job.” — VRSCOUT

2. AR giant Niantic has acquired Seismic Games, known for its mobile, turn-based RPG “Marvel Strike Force.” Niantic acquired Escher Reality in February this year, and acquired Matrix Mill in June. As TechCrunch points out, Niantic’s biggest games—"Pokémon GO" and "Harry Potter: Wizards Unite"—rely heavily on already established IP, so acquiring a team experienced with that kind of creative tightrope routine is a good move. — TECHCRUNCH

3. The “David Bowie Is” exhibit will be available as a VR experience sometime this year, according to VRScout. The exhibit comes to VR thanks to a collaboration between Sony Music, the David Bowie Archive, Planeta, and London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. The experience will reportedly release for all platforms, though more specifics about the experience are as of yet being kept close to the vest, in true David Bowie fashion. — VRSCOUT

4. Samsung has developed a “four-dimensional virtual reality experience to simulate a moon-like environment” to celebrate Apollo 11’s 50th anniversary. The system uses a Gear VR headset, a Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus, and a rig similar to NASA’s Active Response Gravity Offload System that allows astronauts to train while experiencing low-gravity environments. According to Samsung, this experience is partly about “reigniting” public discussion around space exploration, but also because the moon is expected to play an integral part in future Mars missions: “...this is an opportunity to excite the astronauts of tomorrow around the mission. For us, on the one hand it was democratizing an experience that only 12 men have done before, and we think that should be something for everybody...But it’s also a way of exciting youth and adults alike in science and math and engineering, and of course, technology.” — DIGITAL TRENDS

5. ZDNet recently pulled together the 11 most promising upcoming AR trends the site believes will redefine technology. These include education apps that allow students to explore 3D models of objects on a table, for instance. Home buying, heads-up displays, AR mirrors and more all round out the list. — ZDNET

6. Aspyr Media, known for porting PC gaming franchises to Mac platforms, will release VR sci-fi puzzler “Torn” next month on PSVR, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. Road to VR compares “Torn” to Black Mirror and The Twilight Zone in the experience’s puzzle-filled, experimental dimension-hopping gameplay. As always, check out the trailer for a better idea of what to expect. — ROAD TO VR

7. Haven’t heard from George Takei lately, though it looks like that may have been because he’s been busy with “House of Cats.” VentureBeat asked Takei why he thought an AR, Trump-faced talking cat was an effective way to criticize the president: “Throughout history, mockery, satire, and lampoons have been a powerful weapon to not only criticize but, in some cases, bring down powerful people...That’s what we are going to be doing — using his words in the mouth of Trumpy Cat to show how ridiculous he is. We are going to lampoon him out of office.” The app is available for iOS and Android for $0.99, and 1 percent of net profits will be donated to Refugees International. — VENTUREBEAT

8. New horizons...

"Joshua is a paraplegic but through VR is experiencing the joys of walking https://buff.ly/2L6LQOa  #VR #VirtualReality #AugmentedReality #MixedReality #DisabilitySummit #Disability #disabilities #DisabilityRights #computer_science #COMPUTERENGINEERING #technology #tech" - @TheMuseStand

9. Hands-on impressions forthcoming...

"Justin Roiland's 'Dr. Splorchy' to Release on Daydream Next Week, Launch Trailer Here http://ow.ly/VTwH30l1Ttd  @squanchgames @JustinRoiland" - @RtoVR

10. Being able to so completely shift someone's perspective is a powerful tool...

"We're moving into some truly innovative spaces through VR. Check out this article about a FREE VR Dementia Course geared to boost empathy http://ow.ly/oHCX30l1WyQ  #VR #virtualreality #innovation #empathy" - @explorexdesign

3. Plex VR now supports cross-platform social watching for all mobile phone-based headsets. The feature is called “Watch Together” and lets users share their own locally-stored media with up to three other people. The mode also includes voice chat, customizable avatars and an interactive environment. As a VR user with friends on multiple continents, this an exciting media-sharing option... I'll let you know how it works out. — ROAD TO VR

4. Airbus is offering five VR experiences at the Farnborough International Air Show (the UK’s largest event dedicated to flying, apparently). The five VR environments were created by specialty XR company Render, and enable users to visit scenarios involving future air mobility, a spacewalk around the ISS, and more. “We've doubled down our focus on delivering the highest possible quality photo real and cinematic experience. Product accuracy is absolutely vital too; I believe this is our best work to date,” said Render CEO Mark Miles. — VRFOCUS

5. VRFocus got a chance to try out upcoming VR horror experience "Transference," which is shaping up to be a heart-pumping psychological thriller. Ubisoft and SpectreVision plan to release the experience later this fall for Oculus Rift, PSVR and HTC Vive. Check out the trailer or watch VRFocus’ hands-on video after the jump to get a better idea. — VRFOCUS

6. Skydance Interactive’s mech-fueled “Archangel” launched without multiplayer, much to the dismay of fans, but the studio is looking to fix that with the free-roaming multiplayer update “Hellfire." The update adds 2v2 and 1v1 deathmatch modes, as well as a co-op “Mech Assault” mode that allows up to four players to fight against waves of enemies. The update is available now for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive platforms. The vanilla version was a lot of fun, and adding human players into the mix can only improve the experience. — ROAD TO VR

7. The director of “The Lawnmower Man” is working on a new film shot as both a 10-episode VR series and as a traditional 2D film. Many may remember the 1992 "Lawnmower Man" as one of the first to represent virtual reality in a form similar to today’s reality. Though rudimentary now, there’s no doubt the film inspired some of today’s top minds in VR. — DEADLINE

8. Where the rubber meets the "young, impressionable minds" road...

"Using #VR in your curriculum? Your input is important to better understand the landscape and impact of Immersive #Edtech. Please fill out this survey. Results will NOT include Name/Inst. Please RT & Share! #vrpodcast #arvrinedu #iste18 #wearecue #xredu" - @stevensato