Mixed reality videogames and entertainment: a new immersive era

The launch of Civilization VII for Meta Quest 3 marks a new turning point in the evolution of video games in Mixed Reality. For the first time, an established strategy title arrives on a platform that blurs the barriers between the physical and digital worlds, allowing the player to interact with their environment while enjoying an immersive experience. This milestone not only opens up new possibilities for game studios, but also for brands looking for new ways to connect with audiences at home.

In this article we explore the impact of Mixed Reality on video games, how it is transforming entertainment and what opportunities it offers developers and brands through interactive and immersive experiences.

The potential of Mixed Reality in video game development

Mixed Reality (MR) combines the best of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, allowing three-dimensional digital elements to be superimposed on the user's physical environment, with which they can interact in real time. Unlike Virtual Reality, which isolates the player in a completely virtual environment, MR integrates the video game into the real space, adding new layers of narrative, interaction and gameplay.

What does Mixed Reality bring to video game design?

• Real physical interaction: the player can use gestures or physically move to influence the game.
• Adaptation to the environment: RM enables personalized experiences based on the user's space.
• Immersive narratives: digital elements can be integrated into everyday life, breaking the fourth wall.

This makes it possible to create experiences tailored to the user's context: games that respond to physical objects in the environment, mechanics that require moving around the room, or interfaces that rely on real furniture.

Civilization VII and the video game expansion for Meta Quest 3

The arrival of Civilization VII to Meta Quest 3 is not anecdotal. It marks the beginning of a trend that many studios are already exploring: the adaptation of traditional video games to XR platforms, especially those focused on Mixed Reality and Spatial Computing.

A classic experience adapted to new environments

Civilization has been a benchmark of strategic turn-based gaming for decades, but its leap to MR allows for a more intuitive and physical way of playing. Floating boards in the air, manual interactions with units or menus anchored to space are just some examples of what is now possible thanks to mixed reality.

This step shows that it is not necessary to create a game from scratch for Mixed Reality, but that many titles can be adapted or evolve towards this new format, keeping their essence but expanding their impact.

How to adapt a videogame to Mixed Reality?

For studios considering this leap, the development of a video game for MR involves a number of technical and creative considerations:

Keys to adapt video games to MR:

• Contextual interaction design: controls and game elements must adapt to the user's physical space.
• Spatial recognition: take advantage of features such as environment mapping or occlusion to enhance immersion.
• Floating and intuitive interfaces: HUDs must be integrated into the 3D space.
• Performance optimization: XR devices have different limitations than consoles or PCs.

In DeuSens we help studios and developers to create XR experiences, either from scratch or adapting existing titles to mixed reality, virtual reality or spatial computing platforms such as Meta Quest 3 or Apple Vision Pro.

Are you exploring how to adapt your game to Mixed Reality? Contact DeuSens and find out how we can help you make the leap to XR.

Other examples of video games in Mixed Reality

Although it is a recent trend, Civilization VII is not the first video game launched with Mixed Reality functions. Although it is one of the first to faithfully adapt its essence to this new technological medium that allows a more immersive gameplay, there are other great examples of video games that have managed to use this technology to integrate the action and gameplay in the players' own living room. These are some of the best we have tested:

LEGO BrickTales: Build your LEGO adventures in Mixed Reality

Discover new ways to build your story with LEGO, embarking on a story in which your models and block creations will mark the path and destination of the adventure, as you travel through jungles, cities, deserts, mountains and castles fully integrated into your home. Build and connect the story with LEGO blocks, as you would do by hand in reality, but now in Mixed Reality - and forget about collecting afterwards!

Drop Dead The Cabin: Turn your home into an immersive zombie invasion

Who hasn't wanted to be the protagonist of a zombie apocalypse like in the movies? With Drop Dead The Cabin, and its Mixed Reality game mode, you can turn your house into your zombie shelter and try to survive the coming waves. So realistically that the game detects walls and furniture to integrate the action into your reality and make the experience completely immersive. And if you get caught, remember that this is just a game!

Cubism: Challenge your mind with Mixed Reality puzzles

90 puzzles are waiting for you! But they will be like you have never solved them before, since they are in Mixed Reality. These puzzles, fully integrated in 3D, will be a good test for your brain, although there are also people who relax solving them. Whatever your case may be, with Mixed Reality glasses it is possible to do it without the need of physical blocks.

Home Sports: Make your home a virtual sports center with no limits

The Home Sports videogame allows you to enjoy five dynamic sports in single or multiplayer mode, integrating the sports action into the real world and turning your living room into a badminton court, a miniature golf course or a bowling alley in Mixed Reality. You no longer need equipment or to rent courts to practice some of your favorite sports!

Mixed Reality Entertainment beyond Gaming

Mixed Reality is not only transforming the world of video games, but also the experiential entertainment that brands can offer to their audiences. In a context where capturing the user's attention is increasingly difficult, immersive experiences are positioned as a way of differentiation and recall.

Mixed Reality for brands: branding and entertainment 

At DeuSens we have developed Mixed Reality experiences for brands such as Dingonatura, Cerave or Telefónica in which the user can interact with digital elements superimposed on their physical environment, generating an emotional and memorable connection with the brand's content.

These activations are especially effective in:

• Experiential marketing campaigns
• Events and fairs
• Retail and physical spaces
• Interactive branded content projects

Thanks to RM, brands can invite users to live stories, play, explore or interact with products as if they were physically present, from their own home or personal space.

Conclusion: an opportunity for studios and brands

Mixed Reality is transforming both the video game industry and experiential marketing strategies. Its ability to integrate the digital and the physical allows the creation of new forms of entertainment and engagement, both for studios looking to innovate and for brands that want to stand out.

At DeuSens we accompany studios, developers and brands in the design and development of interactive experiences in Mixed, Virtual and Augmented Reality, adapted to new devices such as Meta Quest 3 or Apple Vision Pro.

Do you want to develop your next Mixed Reality project? Talk to our team and discover how to take the next step towards immersive entertainment.