Are these photos our first real glimpse of the PSVR 2?

While a select group of developers got to see Sony's hotly anticipated PSVR 2 headset in personal demos at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in March, most of us have yet to even see an image of what it looks like. All we've had are renders of what it might look like – perhaps until now. 

While there's been notable quiet from Sony on its plans for the virtual reality headset for PlayStation 5, we got a bit of a surprise this week when an indie games studio posted an image on Twitter that appeared to show a real PSVR 2 sitting on what looks like a very large chair (see our guide to everything we know about the PSVR 2 for more details on the headset).

first_real_picture_of_ps_vr2_mirror_because from r/PSVR

The original tweet was rather quickly deleted, but not soon enough to avoid it being picked up on by PS5 fans and shared both on Twitter and Reddit.  The Texas-based studio Bit Planet Games originally posted the photo with the message “Guess what’s coming to PSVR 2?” It then deleted the tweet and posted the same message again but with the generic render of the Playstation VR 2 that we already know, apparently having been asked by Sony to remove the image.

When users jumped in to make it clear the deleted image had not gone unnoticed, the studio replied "looks face to us. The chair is badass though," and "Fake news! Pro Photoshop job though!" However, on Reddit, a developer from Bit Planet Games, Chris_BPG, replied to clear a few things up.

He confirmed that the studio had been asked to remove the photo and said that posting the images was "obviously, a mistake. We, scout's honor, were just trying to drum up hype for Ultrawings 2 to the less than 900 people that follow us on twitter." He added: "It could be that my 3D printing, duct tape, and cardboard building skillz are on point? It could have been a delicious cake made to look like a PSVR2?"

The fuss might seem all seem a lot of unnecessary mystery considering that we already know what the PSVR 2 looks like, but Sony's renders don't really give us a sense of the size and finish of the device. This is the first time we've seen what appears to be a real physical copy of the PSVR 2, and it seems to confirm that dev copies have been sent out.

The photo doesn't actually reveal any aesthetic surprises compared to what we've seen from the renders, but those commenting on Reddit are divided on the design. Some think it looks sleek, while others think the controllers look big and that the headset looks a kind of plain without any logo or distinctive design – someone even suggested it looked like "some kind of Chinese knockoff or generic VR prop headset for stock photos". It certainly looks very minimalist compared to the PSVR 1 with its blue LED lights, but it does perfectly match the look of PS5 itself. Besides, I'm sure it won't be long after release that we start to see all kinds of airbrushed or sticker-plastered mods.

The big mystery now for some fans is what's wrapped in the two packets seen alongside the apparent PSVR 2. A cable for charging each controller?  Wrist straps and a microfibre cloth for cleaning purposes perhaps? We'll still have a while to wait a while to find out because the PSVR 2 isn't expected to launch until 2023. That's plenty of time to get a PS5 if you don't yet have one – see our guide to PS5 restock. You might also want to choose the best TV for PS5 and the best external hard drive for PS5.

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