GDC 2024: Moving in MR with FitXR, Meta, Headspace & MLB

Last week, GDC in San Francisco brought together the best of the best in the gaming industry and we took the opportunity to discuss the future of immersive health and wellness with our friends at Meta, Headspace and MLB.

“The reason why we're here talking about health and fitness today in particular, is because over the last few years we've noticed a trend towards the Quest being used for new types of use cases, with health and fitness being one of those categories which is really starting to emerge and mature. Millions of people are choosing Quest to achieve a fitter body and mind and consumers are spending more than ever before on content. 2023 spending in the Quest Store eclipsed that of 2021 and 2022 - combined” said Meta Head of Content, Emerging Verticals, James Senior.

The panelists shared perspectives from these growing verticals within VR and MR; sports, fitness and mental health, and discussed how they are innovating in the space today and what the future looks like.

Particularly for fitness, in the next 5 years, XR, MR and VR have the potential to be heavily impacted by those verticals. Sam Cole , Co-founder & CEO at FitXR , thinks because you're not fully immersed in MR, you're much more comfortable with your surroundings and therefore the barrier to entry is much lower. He asked the panelists, “Wouldn't it be great if you're going for a run or you're going for a bike ride or you're at a park and you're able to transform that environment into something that is like a virtual gym or a virtual play space?”

2023 spending in the Quest Store eclipsed that of 2021 and 2022 - combined. (James Senior, Meta)

Sara Cohen , Vice President of Content Creation at Headspace , agrees it would be compelling and that MR opens up a new avenue to reach customers where they are. Cohen is most excited to see the results and the science of how mindful experiences within MR allow people to create a safe space in their home, so that whether they are in a Quest headset or out of it, they are reminded to take care of their mental health and continue building healthy habits. “It is such a powerful tool to be able to have,” she adds.

“We're able to transport a fan into their favorite ballpark and give them the feeling of hitting home runs like their heroes. That gives us an opportunity to connect our fans with the sport in a unique way,” stated Major League Baseball (MLB) Senior Director of Marketing, Games & VR, Peter Banks . “I look forward to seeing more of those kinds of optimizations of hardware and software that allow us to reach a broader group of fans more seamlessly and with more robust experiences.”

The panelists shared what they’ve learned building immersive products for health and fitness audiences and insights on how to reach new customers and adhere to their needs and wants.

For FitXR, the goal is to get people to look at fitness through a fresh lens. This means FitXR isn’t necessarily the users’ exclusive workout routine, but an enhancement to it. “We're particularly proud of the fact that one third of our audience was sedentary prior to using FitXR. The fact that we're able to serve not only that demographic of customers, but also 1/3 customers who are exercising five times a week now, is truly special,” said Cole. “Our whole mission is to try and get more people moving.”

We're particularly proud of the fact that one third of our audience was sedentary prior to using FitXR. (Sam Cole, FitXR)

Headspace takes a scientific approach when it comes to getting users to adapt to the immersive side of their offerings by encouraging playfulness. It’s the idea of channeling the feeling that you get from playing with your kids or going on a hike and getting completely lost in that. “Play is a pillar of mindfulness … it releases dopamine in your brain, it helps you feel less stressed,” Cohen explains. “We realized that with the Quest headset, we can really lean into playing, let people get into a flow state, letting go of everything that was on their minds when they put the headset on and surprise them with how they typically interact with meditation and mindfulness content.”

From a sports perspective, Banks points to the fact that MLB is able to be more integrated into people's lives through the increased accessibility of XR technology and can meet fans where they are – whether that’s in virtual reality or mobile, which results in having less friction on the?overall product experience and appeal to different types of customers.?

One common challenge discussed across verticals is the misconceptions around immersive technology, and how quickly that changes when users first put on a headset.

When the magic happens ?

Encouraging people to try something that can improve their mental health can be tricky. But in Cohen’s experience, once they try it they say, “Okay, wait, this is real. You're not just telling me to do this because it's trendy, or it's the cool thing. This can actually help me.” When they take off their headset, they actually feel better, she says.

In the fitness space, FitXR are often met with skepticism by people already in the fitness industry. “It will be a bit of a struggle to get them into the headset for the first time and then almost unanimously, they'll be blown away by the experience and what is possible inside the headset,” explained Sam Cole.

James Senior is also focused on getting people into headsets - because that’s when the magic happens and they think, “Oh, I didn't realize this was a thing. I didn't realize I could do this,” he says.

Building the experience ??

Speaking to the developer audience directly, the panelists shared insights on those wanting to build an immersive health and wellness experience.??

Cohen recommends partnering with experts in the field and know your strengths and weaknesses. “We are the experts in mental health but we know nothing about VR, so it was time to hire experts, like Nexus Studios, to learn all the capabilities and bring our expertise together to be able to launch something very unique.”?

“My advice is to get something out as quickly as possible, whether that's on App Lab or Steam Early Access, and just start that learning process. It was so invaluable for us to start that process and that's one of the things that we look back on as being really transformative in terms of getting to where we are today,” explained Cole.