Intriguing mix of futuristic neo-noir, top-tier graphics—and a bevy of adult celebrity performers

Taking a unique—and frankly refreshing—approach to erotic video games, the recently released Cyber Sexuals places you in the kick-ass shoes of Axel King, a down-on-his-luck street hustler trying to navigate the dark, neon-lit streets of the appropriately named Cyber City.

Lying somewhere between a significantly less-than-AAA title and explicit content from a better-than-average, interactive virtual reality adult site, Cyber Sexuals is an entertaining experience. 

Especially since—with a bit more polish—it could be a sign of things to come: a whole new genre might finally manage to merge the best of non-erotic VR gaming with first-rate explicit content.

Under dead television colored skies

Sold as a series of self-contained, $29.99 episodes, the first, “The Heist,” has Axel hijacking a CyCorp truck in order to score enough credits to spend quality time with Val, an exotic dancer played by real-life adult actress Katee V.

If this were any other adult game, virtual reality or otherwise, you’d naturally expect everything to not pass go, not collect twenty dollars, and jump straight to the explicit action.  

But—surprise—most of the episode is instead playing Axel as he blasts a bevy of CyCorp goons in the process of scoring his much-needed loot. Only after he escapes in a fairly well done CGI cutscene does he get to pay to see, and more, with Val.

A Slamhound’s after you

Three other episodes, currently four in total, continue Axel’s cyberdelic adventures: duking it out in a suitably neon-shaded ring (“The Brawl”) for the attention of adult star Little Dragon as Aeon; risking life most of his limbs rescuing and Nadia (Indica Marie in “The Underground”); then partnering with the elite hacker and love interest, Astra—played by Rei Sky—to expose an illegal synthetic human operation (“All In With Astra”).

Featuring different gameplay mechanics, and an assortment of diverse sexual encounters, each episode also builds on the previous, giving Cyber Sexuals a pleasant cohesion like the chapters in a book or a series with an overarching storyline.

RECOMMENDED READ: 2D to VR: How AI Will Give Adult Entertainment an Exciting New Dimension

Speaking to XBIZ, Cyber J described his game, saying, “What makes this more than just another interactive adult game is the seamless fusion of cinema-quality production, cutting-edge gameplay, and real-world eroticism.”

Adding, his goal was to make it a much more engaging and therefore immersive experience for the player: “This is not a passive experience; it’s a game that demands your attention, your choices, and your desires. Part action film, part sensual odyssey, Cyber Sexuals is a fully fleshed-out narrative that places you at the center of danger, desire, and deception.”

Nothing at all like Tokyo

Cyber Sexuals may have its metaphorical head in cyberpunk’s static-grey skies, but right now there are improvements to make before the game can be everything it could or maybe should be.

Hardware is first, as it requires a pretty hefty PC, like an Intel Core i5 4590 with 16GB of RAM. On the VR side, unless you have either an HTC Vive or an Oculus Rift CV1, you’re out of luck.

Software is the second if it’s to achieve a look as slick and polished as Cyberpunk 2077 is now.  The comparison feels like there’s way too much time, effort, energy, and money miles between them.  

For instance, the first episode has Axel picking up a pistol, ammo, grenades, healing items, and such, only for him to use them in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it action sequence.

Then there’s the writing and acting, like the developer’s odd choice to narrate Axel’s thoughts and actions with speech soundling like something between an AI-generated voice and a distractingly uninterested voice actor, instead of having him speak in first person.

Feeling it in my ghost

Even with these rough edges, Cyber Sexuals is worth checking out.  More so if you’re as jacked into cyberpunk’s chrome-and-neon cyberspace as I am.  

Besides, the only way Cyber J’s going to be able to polish and perfect his game, or give us a totally new one that’ll truly live up to its potential, is if we support Cyber Sexuals now— which, bugs aside, is still gleamingly impressive.

Image Sources: CyberSexuals

The post Sex Punk: Diving Into the New, Interactive VR “Cyber Sexuals” Game appeared first on Future of Sex.

The future of adult entertainment might be more psychological, less technological

From precisely directed streams of high-pressure air, hydrogel gloves lined with electrotactile pads, and what’s basically a full body version to directly stimulating our hands all the way to our brains, the researchers—not to mention the sextech industry—have been pursuing the holy grail of haptic virtual reality for decades.

But what if our minds are actually responsible for our experiences of lifelike touch?? Far-fetched, to be sure, but perhaps this undoubtedly enthralling concept might someday become a key part of haptic systems—and make our dreams of fully interactive, totally immersive adult VR movies and games a reality.

Touch me, touch me

Philosopher Laura Marks’ Touch: Sensuous Theory and Multisensory Media explores the concept of “haptic visuality,” suggesting that visual art, and possibly even the written word, can evoke tactile sensations in the viewer—or reader.

In an Instagram post, Miraal Habib, a “bio-mimicker” visual artist, pondered in an Instagram post, “What if we could simulate the feeling of touch without actually touching anything?” Habib was inspired by Marks’ theory during her own Master’s thesis work. 

RECOMMENDED READ: With Sugar on Top: Tasty New VR Tech Flavors the Future

Habib’s project utilizes natural patterns and imagery as a more effective means of communicating important scientific information, because “Human beings have become attuned to understanding nature since the beginning of time.”

Feeling feelings I never felt 

How does virtual reality, especially the explicit adult variety, fit into all of this? The answer could lie in producing content that, before the action begins, first firmly grounds the viewer in reality. 

By this, I mean that most VR videos lean towards creating a fantasy, almost surreal experience; one where everything is polished, perfect, and the farthest thing from real life. Clothes mysteriously vanish, sexual activities pop in and out of existence, and linear time is nowhere to be seen—or experienced.

Then there’s the hardware, which, ironically, becomes heavier and increasingly cumbersome the higher the resolution, thus making them less immersive. Add VR motion sickness to this, and it’s understandable why it takes so long—if it happens at all—to get a feeling of actually being in a virtual environment.

It also explains why a large percentage of today’s sextech haptic accessories have a massively high hill to climb, the foothills of which are the less-than-arousing sensation of having one’s genitals inserted into a loudly whirling, clearly mechanical device.

I let my sensory nerve open

As mentioned, Marks’ concept of specifically crafting art capable of eliciting a touch-like experience might not solve all of VR’s haptic issues, but it might be a great place to start.

For instance, VR adult content could put as much work into crafting familiar environments as they currently do to create unreal ones, such as setting the stage by having the viewer enter via a door with squeaky hinges and stepping into a familiar-seeming room rather than an immersion-breaking set.

Next, how about adding a plethora of other grounding details, such as having a nice, plump, juicy apple offered up, then lusciously bitten into by our more fleshly, less plastic performer. Obviously we can’t taste it—at least not until haptic tech finally gets us there—but if Marks is right, it might help boost our sensual verisimilitude.

Likewise, everything should unfold in real time, with additional cues such as groaning bedsprings and floorboards, a squeaking floor, or a whooshing ceiling fan.

Companies must also make VR headsets lighter and more immersive until they’re as comfortable as regular eyeglasses.

Your heart is beatin’ next to mine

Again, all this won’t replace haptic tech’s fully immersive Holy Grail. However, these more realistic approaches to producing adult VR content may mean the winning hardware won’t have to work as hard as it otherwise would.

Think of it like that imposing hill I mentioned: we could either work harder and harder to make the lifeless feel lifelike, or take what might prove to be an exponentially more immersive shortcut by focusing on making what already looks realistic into where everything—and everyone—feels excitedly lifelike.

Image Sources: Depositphotos

The post Seeing Is Feeling: New Approach to Haptic Immersion May Transform Erotic VR Forever appeared first on Future of Sex.

Immersive adult entertainment still has a long way to go

Over the last decade or so, explicit VR sites have gone from a smattering of high-tech curiosities to possibly hundreds of different platforms today. However, despite this impressive growth spurt, virtual reality could—or perhaps should—be far more popular.

So, what’s holding adult VR back, and how can the industry overcome these and other, sometimes quite unexpected, challenges?

Better, Faster, Cheaper

First and foremost, while extremely affordable—i.e., really cheap plastic or cardboard—smartphone-type headsets are occasionally supported, the truth is the ridiculously subpar experiences they provide tend to be more of a turn-off than a turn-on.  So much so, it wouldn’t take a huge logical leap to assume this disappointment would cause most to ditch virtual reality for good, old-fashioned 2D adult content instead of investing in superior, and way more expensive, VR rigs.

Clearly, what’s needed are affordable, low-to-mid-range headsets, ideally priced below high three-figure standalones like the HTC VIVE or the Meta Quest 3.  

Ideally, it should not require a separate computer. Though higher quality but affordable headsets won’t provide a super high-end experience, the improvements could be enough for people to pay a little extra.

The immersiveness problem

More than anything else, virtual reality’s undeniable allure is its total, complete immersiveness: don a pair of quality goggles and, lo and behold, you’re transported to an entirely new world where, depending on what site you’re visiting, practically anything goes.

It’s not often discussed, but one thing about VR experiences is that once you’re in, navigating can be anywhere from tricky to frustratingly immersion-breaking.  

RECOMMENDED READ: When Real Isn’t Real Enough: VR and Hyperreality’s Erotic Allure

Yes, various top-of-the-line rigs come with hand controls, making it easy to fast forward, rewind, or jump from one title to another, but others don’t have this option.

As we finally have a somewhat low-cost headset option, we also need an equally friendly method to select the videos and adult interactive games we would like to enjoy, as well as change from scene to scene.  What this would look like is anyone’s guess, though ideally it would either use eye or hand tracking technology or a pair of basic yet comfortable controllers.

Quicker, easier

Another common limitation VR currently suffers from is time; by this, we mean that customers usually have a choice between streaming and downloading their content.  

Alas, both can turn virtual reality from a pleasure to a chore.  Downloading, though allowing users to fast forward or rewind to their heart’s content, can, depending on the speed of your internet, take anywhere from several minutes to more than an hour, making VR adult content less convenient to access when  erotic impules  strike.

Conversely, streaming is faster but may also suffer from annoying delays unless you have an extremely fast connection—and even then, the quality is often lower resolution and can be difficult to rewind or fast forward.

A point-and-click fantasy

Lastly, if VR is going to keep moving forward, it needs to be as easy as viewing traditional 2D videos.  Ideally, we should be able to put on our affordable goggles and, via their built-in eye or hand tracking tech or near-field controllers, scroll through hundreds of titles just like we do on non-VR platforms.

Then, after finding something we particularly like, we could just as effortlessly immerse ourselves in it, flicking back and forth to our heart’s content or even pausing when necessary.

The same should also be true about integrating adult VR content with next-gen sextech playthings.  In all honesty, this has improved significantly, to the point where, depending on the toy’s manufacturer and the site supporting it, the process can be as smooth as silk.

Still, it should be even smoother.  Case in point, why shouldn’t we be able to buy a smart, Bluetooth-enabled sextoy and, right out of the box, nearly instantly connect it to our ideal VR headset so no matter the sites we visit, everything’s ready, willing, and able to do its thing whenever and however we desire?

Virtually a dream come true

Hopefully in the coming years, we’ll see adult virtual reality companies take these and other suggestions to heart and, if so, potentially propel the entire industry beyond a complicated novelty to playing an essential part in what could be a full-blown sexual renaissance.  

Image Sources: Depositphotos

The post Virtually Here: What VR Needs to Be All That It Can (Sexually) Be appeared first on Future of Sex.

How ultra-immersive adult entertainment might be altering our sexual awareness

A paper by researchers from Indonesia’s University of 17 Agustus 1945 Surabaya and Gadjah Mada University examines the possibility explicit virtual reality media may cause consumers to develop unexpectedly different views towards what is or isn’t intimate—perhaps even shifting their sexual identities and perspectives.

Conducted by Nara Garini Ayuningrum, Achmedza Aziz Ghofar, Isrida Yul Arifiana, and Nadia Aulia Ferlinda, and subsequently published in the Journal of Scientific Research, Education, and Technology (JSRET), the research is framed around sociology and philosophy’s concept of hyperreality; the point when a sufficiently immersive technology becomes more real than real, including to the point where genuine experiences could either feel less appealing or ironically a pale imitation of someone’s preferred, yet wholly synthetic, virtual version of it.

The Astroturf is greener

The study employs a qualitative approach along with netnography—a form of “Netnography is a qualitative research method adapted from traditional ethnography. 

Developed by Robert Kozinets (2019), systematic observation and analysis of online interactions uses discussions, shared content, and comments to try to understand the cultural practices, social dynamics, and collective meanings of digital spaces. 

Valuable for exploring how individuals engage with, contribute to, and shape online communities, Netnography helped the team analyze this phenomenon by reviewing Pornhub’s top three Virtual Reality-based adult videos.

As part of their evaluation, the team broke down the elements behind VR’s ever-increasing popularity, beginning with accessibility. Until relatively recently, virtual reality technology was too expensive for most to try, let alone spend a lot of time exploring.

RECOMMENDED READ: One (Virtual) Step At A Time: Using VR to Alleviate Sexual Stress

Next is anonymity, the allure of being able to watch or, with more advanced gear, interact with anything, anywhere, and at any time. Then there’s accommodation, meaning accompanying virtual reality’s undeniably explosive growth has been a matching rise in the number of sometimes wildly different types of content. In short, if you’re into it, then somewhere out there is a site—or more like a dozen sites right up your sexual alley.

Too good or not good enough?

From there, the researchers state, “the most cutting-edge step that VR Porn tries to accommodate is the projection of intimacy,” noting how feeling emotionally connected with someone else is essential for forming and nurturing healthy relationships, sexual or otherwise: 

“If the implementation of VR technology manages to get a combination of hardware, software, and sensory synchronicity, then it will achieve something known as a “sense of presence”, where the subject really feels like a real presence. In its development and efforts to make sense, VR Porn devices can create entirely new and immersive sexual experiences for their users that may never be realized to be done in the real world”

However, the team disparages VR’s total immersion, leading to where, “Instead of expressing sexual desires, the constant consumption of VR Porn and self-isolation from the real world can have a misleading effect on the abyss of pseudo-reality.”

Beyond compare

It’s difficult, if not flat-out impossible, to predict what, if any, negative impacts VR adult content might have on human sexuality in the coming decades.  If the  Indonesian team is even slightly correct, we could see a growing number of people for whom sex outside of VR might feel like a pale imitation of their preferred, super high-resolution, state-of-the-art, better-than-the-real-thing reality.

However, even if proven to be true, it will be years, if not decades, before these sorts of not merely fully but totally indistinguishable—eventually surpassing what lies beyond our VR headsets—immersive fantasies can come anywhere close to reality.

But even if these technological advances came faster than expected, would they, if you take my previous suggestion, do what these and other researchers appear so worried about?  Yes, VR can be shockingly immersive, but take away its bells and/or whistles, and it’s basically what happens when watching adult videos, reading erotic literature, or looking at dirty pictures.  

Except rather than virtual reality doing all the work for us, our imaginations transport us to universes of idealized, sexually limitless experiences where anything goes: world after world, fantasy after fantasy, all freed from reality’s annoyances and limitations.

It’s not if virtual reality will alter society and how we view and interact with each other sexuality, but when and how. Positive, negative, or somewhere in between, we shouldn’t forget that while reality is not without its many pleasurable perks, we’ll always prefer our fantasies.  

It’s not wrong, dangerous, or heralding your choice of sexual, cultural doomsday, but what makes us so wonderfully human.

Image Sources: Depositphotos

The post When Real Isn’t Real Enough: VR and Hyperreality’s Erotic Allure appeared first on Future of Sex.

Sex toy demand and virtual reality set to spark more growth in expanding industry.

By 2030, the fast-growing adult entertainment market is expected to surpass $300 billion. 

Both strong demand for adult content and climbing numbers of online performers are significant factors. What can’t be downplayed, however, is how interactive and immersive technologies like virtual reality and robotics are set to take adult entertainment to incredible new heights and erotic avenues.

To learn more about the top players in the field, below is a list of the top sextech companies in adult entertainment and adult gaming.

For more information on the sexual wellness market, consult our list of leading sextech companies that specialize in pleasure products and sexual health.

Affect3D

Bravomax Services Ltd

Delecon Holdings Ltd

Girlvanic Studios

Hammy Media, Ltd

Holodexxx

La Touraine, Inc.

Life Selector

Aylo

Nutaku Entertainment Ltd

PornAffs

SexGameDevil

SinVR

Thrixxx

Utherverse Inc

VirtualRealPorn

WankzVR

Yanks

Select sources:

Affect3 

BaDoinkVR 

Delecon Holdings   

Girlvanic Studios 

Hammy Media Ltd. 

La Touraine, Inc. 

LifeSelector 

Nutaku

PWN Games 

ThriXXX 

VirtualRealPorn

WankzVR 

Yanks VR (Stipes Media)

The post Top Sextech Companies: Adult Entertainment and Adult Gaming [UPDATED] appeared first on Future of Sex.

Explicit VR platform reveals significant user uptick from the previous year

Heralding what might prove to be a profound shift towards more immersive, tactile adult entertainment, adult virtual reality site SexLikeReal [NSFW] reports seeing an impressive 42% rise in new customers over the previous year.

Quoted by XBiz, an unnamed spokesperson credits SexLikeReal’s popularity spike to its recent drive to develop a greater number of interactive scripts: “For every one of the many thousands of scenes on its platform, covering straight, gay, and trans content, this has led to a notable shift in how our users interact with the site.”

SexLikeReal is one of an increasing number of adult sites riding the current sextech tsunami. 

Statista, for example, predicts the global sex toy market will skyrocket from its approximately 52.7 billion US dollar value to a staggering 80 billion in just five years.

If SexLikeReal’s report is anything to go by, a sizable percentage of that eventual 80 billion will consist of virtual reality, haptic, and perhaps other sexually arousing technologies.

Not only that, but the popularity of current sex tech will likely fuel tomorrow’s immersive breakthroughs.

Once you go haptic—

The SexLikeReal spokesperson described the appeal of virtual reality and tactile pleasure devices as, “Once you go haptic, you rarely go back.”

What they didn’t mention are factors that affect interest in interactive sextech devices and virtual reality.  

The first is cost, as many high-end haptic toys can run into triple digits, effectively putting them out of the reach of many potential customers. However, they’ve also been accompanied by less expensive and less-well-made competitors.  

The same is true for virtual reality, where at the top end are systems costing $1000 plus, like the legendary Value Index, while at the other end are affordable alternatives, such as the $500 Meta Quest 3.

RECOMMENDED READ: In the Times to Come: Imagining the Adult Entertainment of Tomorrow

The other factors are sites like SexLikeReal. As in, why go through all the time, effort, energy, and money fitting yourself with everything you need to see and feel adult movies and games if there aren’t any movies or games to interact with?

Fortunately, early VR and haptic adult entertainment sites committed to producing quality content, which in turn would drive demand for the pricey hardware. pay their technological admission price.

Step one: Open the door

With an ever-escalating number of people surfing that sextech wave, proving there will always be a market for low-cost pleasure devices, companies can anticipate profit in developing increasingly advanced models.

This is where the fun really begins. After all, what good is haptic tech research if no one is interested in developing it commercially?

Now we know not only are people intrigued by haptic sextech, especially when coupled with virtual reality, but consumer demand is helping to push sites such as SexLikeReal from the margins to what could become a central piece of the global sextech industry.

Step two: Step through it

Hardware is one thing, but what about content?  Immersive adult platforms like SexLikeReal will need to tread carefully, with a fine line between offering customers a lot of less-than-stellar movies and producing quality content that takes advantage of haptic/virtual reality’s full, erotic potential.

Who knows, we may even see an adult media renaissance with platforms shucking off their low-rez, low-budget, low-pleasurable videos and games for mind-blowingly realistic, thoroughly interactive experiences.  

Imagine Valve’s game-changing VR experience, Half-Life: Alyx, but with less clothing and more, shall we say, exciting new options. All this and more could happen if adult sites are ready, willing, and able to match technological progress with good, old-fashioned, outside-of-the-box erotic creativity.  

That said, hopefully, the question of quantity versus quality won’t be an issue for the burgeoning immersive sextech industry as it should already be familiar with the single, undeniable truth about new customers: that they can go as fast as they—please excuse a bad joke—come.

Image Sources: Depositphotos

The post Feels Like The Future: Customers Flocking To Virtual Reality, Haptic Sextech appeared first on Future of Sex.