Niantic Spatial’s Charming Pet Simulator ‘Hello, Dot’ Exits Early Access on Quest 3

Okay, so I’m just diving into this—Niantic Spatial is doing something sort of bonkers with their pet game thingy, “Hello, Dot.” It’s live on Quest 3 now, apparently no longer just tinkering in early access. They tossed a load of new stuff in there, real head-scratcher why they waited. I mean, what was holding them back? Or maybe they’re just playing it cool. Who knows.

Here’s the rundown. It’s labeled a “mixed reality showcase”—fancy words, huh? They’ve been dabbling in AR stuff for a bit, kicking off on mobile with something called Peridot, back in the oh-not-so-distant 2023. Anyway, if you’re into all that techy XR jazz, Niantic’s got other mind-bending experiences: Peridot Beyond for Snap Spectacles, Pause with Peridot and some web craziness called Snap-a-Dot, plus SunnyTune for Apple Vision Pro. Yeah, quite the lineup.

So, “Hello, Dot,” fresh off the early access bus, shows up with all sorts of quirks—dots with big personalities doing playful antics. I mean, can’t help but wonder, does a dot have a personality? But here’s the kicker, they threw in this arcade machine deal with play dates for dots. It’s like digital pets had a convention and decided to party hard.

And get this—there’s some Gen AI wizardry where you talk to it, and BAM, your Dot changes into whatever you’re yammering about. Radical customization, or just sci-fi creeping into our everyday? And that arcade machine? It spins through activities like Dotball—imagine dodgeball, but with dots. Then there’s an Eating Contest, where your digital companion can chow down, and you earn whatever currency to splurge on outfits. I swear, it’s like a dot fashionista’s dream come true.

Asim Ahmed (Global Product Marketing dude) is over the moon, yapping about enhancing physical spaces with digital prowess. Like we’re living in sci-fi times right now or something. Maybe it’s true.

If this sounds like a hoot, you can nab it on the Horizon Store for the Quest 3 and 3S, free as a bird. Jump in and let those digital dots whirl you into mixed reality madness.