• Interview
• Video

Owlchemy Labs CEO on Apple Vision Pro, and the future of AR/XR Experiences

With the Apple Vision Pro now out in the wild, Owlchemy Labs CEO Andrew Eiche shared his thoughts on what it means for the VR landscape.

TJ Denzer

May 10, 2024 3:10 PM

1

Owlchemy Labs is one of the few gaming developers out there that has made a constant and reputable name for itself as a VR-specialized dev. The company has made its name on the back of Job Simulator, Vacation Simulator, and Cosmonious High, and continues to do so with the cutting edge development of new apps, software, and tools in the VR and AR space. That’s a big part of why we felt they were the best to talk to about the recently released Apple Vision Pro, its possibilities in the AR/VR hardware space, and the future of AR/XR software and experiences.

Owlchemy CEO Andrew Eiche was kind enough to sit down with us and talk about these very subjects. When it comes to the evolution and development of AR/XR apps and experiences, Eiche doesn’t see it as any given singular sector of development, but rather a spectrum of media in which no headset has the full lockdown of any of it so much as they poke at different parts that make up the whole. Eiche sees the space as full of opportunities for greater things, from small apps to grandiose experiences.

At GDC, Eiche was giving a talk in the opportunities of AR/XR development while Owlchemy Labs itself was showing off a café app it’s been working on for a while. The group also worked directly with Apple on the Vision Pro on software. Eiche described it as an interesting and unique experience because it was “essentially three companies working together” between Owlchemy working on a game in Unity, Unity pitching it to Apple, and Apple making it available on the Vision Pro. Eiche also feels that Owlchemy was uniquely qualified to work software for the Vision Pro because of how much work it has done in immersive hand-tracking technology and interfaces already.

Be sure to check out the full video for more of Eiche’s insights on AR/XR and developing on the Apple Vision Pro. Want more videos like this Owlchemy Labs interview? Be sure to check out our YouTube channels at Shacknews and Shacknews Interviews for our gameplay, reviews, unboxings, livestream VODs, and more on the latest video games, toys, and technology.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.