In a world facing a mental health crisis, especially among young people, Headspace, Meta, and Nexus Studios saw a powerful opportunity to provide new audiences with wellness techniques using XR. Headspace XR is the result of a long history between Nexus Studios and both Headspace and Meta. It was carefully designed to engage younger generations – particularly Gen Z – with mindfulness and meditation techniques through a new and innovative medium.

The biggest innovation in Headspace XR sits at the core of this ambitious project. We took the best of the Quest platform, its social, immersive, playful qualities, and reimagined Headspace’s mindfulness techniques for a younger audience. This allows them to feel the powerful benefits of mindfulness while having fun and spending time with friends.

As you enter Headspace XR, you are greeted by a vast, open world of possibilities. Achieving the style, fidelity, and vibrancy of the art direction at scale on a mobile headset required a lot of innovation. The attention to detail in the visuals and sound design serves a wellness purpose. The feeling of immersion in this positive place is fast and powerful. Brain Audio’s reactive and ever-evolving spatialised soundscape plays a large role in the feeling of really being there.

Offering players a controller-free experience allows users to form an even deeper mind-body connection. So, we invented a new way to move using hand tracking called “Slingshot Locomotion”. You pinch and pull back to slingshot your way forward. An innovative mental model with a simple gesture. Our “Slingshot Locomotion” is just one of many ways we’ve innovated in this diegetic user experience.

Try Headspace XR on Meta Quest