Sony Sells VR Patents to Meta, Casting Doubt on PSVR 3 Future
Sony has reportedly sold 419 virtual, augmented, and extended reality patents to Meta Platforms. The transaction raises questions about the company's commitment to its own VR hardware.
Sony has sold 419 patents related to virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and extended reality (XR) to Meta Platforms, according to reports from South Korean media outlet ZDNet. The sale, encompassing patents developed between 2010 and 2022, has fueled speculation that Sony may be scaling back its VR business.
The acquired patents include 180 registered in the United States and 239 distributed across other regions such as China, Japan, South Korea, and Europe. Meta, already a major player in the VR market with its Quest line of headsets, could leverage these newly acquired assets to further solidify its position.
This move appears to contrast with previous statements from Sony, where Senior Vice President Eric Lempel described VR as a business area the company values. The transfer of these patents casts uncertainty on the future development of a potential PlayStation VR 3, the successor to the PSVR 2.
However, official confirmation regarding the development status of PlayStation VR 3 has not been provided by Sony. While the patent sale suggests a potential shift in strategy, it does not definitively confirm the cancellation of the next-generation headset.