ByteDance Expanding Pico Interactive’s VR Plans Into The US

Republished By Plato

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May saw Pico Interactive finally take its first steps out of the consumer market in Asia with a limited release of the Neo3 Link headset in Europe. Up until this point, Pico had only focused on enterprise customers globally. Now the company is looking towards the US market as job listings on ByteDance’s website show a range of positions available across the West Coast.

Pico Neo 3 Link — Image credit: Pico Interactive

First spotted by Protocol, there are more than 40 vacancies ByteDance is looking to fill for Pico Interactive’s expansion. With the website saying ByteDance has: ““tons of money” for VR games and experiences”, the listings mainly focus on the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle and San Diego.

Looking to fund lots of new content through Pico Studios, positions available include Head of Pico Studios, Head of VR Game Strategy, Head of Consumer Sales, Head of Overseas Content Ecosystem and an Operation Manager. There are also plenty of engineering roles across systems, optics, and other disciplines.

While nothing official has been announced regarding a consumer launch in the US, Pico Interactive is certainly looking to increase its presence there to compete with Meta. The Pico Neo3 Link is seen as one of the very few competitors to the Meta Quest 2, sporting a very similar specification list and videogame library. Titles such as SUPERHOT VR, Puzzling Places, After the Fall, Walkabout Mini Golf, Elven Table Tennis, and Demeo are all natively supported by the device which is also compatible with StereamVR.

Nothing is likely to happen in the US until Pico has completed its European role out. Pico has continually said that the European release of Neo3 Link is a “beta Launch”, where only one headset can be purchased per customer. The headset is available in Germany (where the Quest 2 isn’t available), France, Spain, The Netherlands and now the UK for £399 GBP.

Whether ByteDance and Pico can compete with Meta is another question entirely, with the latest IDC figures putting Meta Quest 2 sales at nearly 15 million. Attracting more developers, as well as funding original content, might help Pico but the Neo3 Link’s biggest draw could be not having to connect it to a social network.

As Pico Interactive reveal further details, gmw3 will keep you informed.

Time Stamp: June 14, 2022