News & Roadmap

There have been about 400 pre-orders so far. Pre-orders are paused because the current amount is what can be comfortably handled while still fulfilling everything on time. The next order wave will most likely open in May, once a large portion of existing orders has been sent out.

You can sign up for notifications at facefocusvr.com/form.

Timeline remains unchanged:
Order numbers 1074 to 1360 (before January 16, 2026): April/May.
Order numbers 1360 and above: July/August, though June or July is being aimed for since these kits are part of the same production plan.

For orders outside the EU, May is more realistic than April. The new foam inserts and packaging for international shipments are ordered but likely will not arrive before early to mid-April. For early German and EU orders, there is a chance of receiving kits earlier, with a first shipping wave planned for March using final hardware.

The face cam holder has been redesigned based on user feedback to look cleaner and provide more protection. This updated holder will ship with every order going forward.

For existing kit owners: a new Baballonia version is highly recommended, improving tracking and offering an opt-in data collection program. Please consider wishlisting on Steam.

The expected delivery time for new orders has changed from April/May to Q2/Q3 2026. This only affects orders placed after the website was updated.

Order numbers 1074 to 1360 (placed before January 16, 2026): April/May.
Order numbers 1360 and above (placed on or after January 16, 2026): July/August.

The gap between the two groups should not be very large, but there will be some difference.

Parzeval published a detailed review of FaceFocusVR on YouTube: "The Valve Index FINALLY Has Face & Eye Tracking?!"

Watch the full review: youtube.com/watch?v=EXyL3ECmVjE

Pre-orders had been paused due to EU VAT regulatory requirements and a system change. They are now open again with the same expected delivery date of April/May.

Support for legacy VR Optician lenses has been dropped, as 3D models for them could not be obtained and only three people needed this version. Only the current VR Optician lenses are supported going forward. You can check which lenses you have at facefocusvr.com/lenses. Those who ordered the legacy version will be contacted separately.

Pre-orders placed before January 15 keep the estimated April/May delivery date. Orders placed after that may be pushed to Q3 2026.

Preorders will stay open for the foreseeable future. If the number of preorders grows beyond what is currently planned, delivery dates on the website will be adjusted for newer orders.

The new IR ring has been in testing for the last few weeks and is looking very promising. All orders fulfilled from now on will ship with the new ring, which looks different but has no benefit in terms of tracking quality. The 3D files needed for VR Optician inserts have been received, the designs are finished, and prototype deliveries are being awaited.

Some people in Germany and the EU might receive their kits within the next few weeks or months. These are either small early orders used to test PCB changes before placing large production runs, or remaining parts from the first wave.

There will probably not be any major updates over the next one to three months. At this stage it is mostly about ordering parts and putting everything together.

Pre-orders are now open for everyone who signed up and is not using prescription lenses. Prescription lens support and more countries will follow.

Available countries: USA, UK, EU, Canada, Switzerland, Singapore, Australia, Norway, Brazil, Japan, Iceland, New Zealand, and South Africa.

Before placing an order, please read the setup guide and the FAQ to make sure you are comfortable with the required modifications.

Estimated shipping: April/May 2026.

The final batch of Wave 1 order link emails has been sent. A total of 70 kits have been shipped.

Some cameras failed shortly after first use, typically after about ten minutes, making them impossible to catch during pre-shipment testing. All affected users received replacement cameras. The LED rings appear more sensitive to sweat than expected, with one case observed so far. The preorder version will include waterproof protection for the rings.

Improvements for the preorder version: redesigned LED rings with waterproofing, upgraded power button with securing clips, likely camera change from OV2640 to OV3660, fan speed PWM control replacing the jumper, removal of unused hardware, manufacturing design adjustments, and replacing four of eight embedded nuts with direct screw fastening.

Preorder variants: Black and Transparent (+15 EUR) options without prescription lenses, plus versions for current VR Optician lenses. Black kit pricing remains at 165 EUR.

US shipping at a flat rate of 50 EUR including all tariffs, shipping domestically via UPS or USPS thanks to support from Fovea Labs. For all shipping details see shop.facefocusvr.com/policies/shipping-policy.

Preorders are aiming to start on December 6th with emails sent to all remaining signups from the USA, EU, UK, Canada, and Germany.

The very first non-beta orders have been placed. Over the next few weeks, signups who live in Germany and do not need prescription lenses will receive an email with ordering details. This applies to both early signups (wave 1) and later ones (wave 2). All orders ship within 1 to 2 days.

Once the first batch is gone, the system switches to fully refundable preorders starting likely at the end of November, with estimated delivery in April/May 2026.

The new Baballonia software has been tested and is recommended as the default. Tracking works flawlessly, blinking and winking are reliable with proper calibration. The ESP firmware is done and thoroughly tested.

Total system power draw has been brought down to around 350mA (USB hub, 3 ESPs, 3 cameras, 24 LEDs, fan), which means the USB port can now supply up to 200mA and the fan connector can deliver up to 200mA for more powerful DIY fans.

The shop is live at shop.facefocusvr.com. A full installation guide is available and the FAQ has been updated with all the latest questions.

The beta sets have finally started shipping. 6 people have received a complete set with both eye and face tracking, and 1 person has face tracking only, as the VR Optician IR rings are not yet ready.

The next step is to bring 100 sets to the German market and possibly a few European customers. Instead of selling in small batches, the plan is shifting toward fully refundable pre-orders. Expected pricing is 160 EUR excluding shipping.

Shipping via DHL: 6 EUR for Germany, 16 EUR for the EU, around 29 EUR for the USA. Only one set option will be available, including both eye and face tracking in either black or transparent.

LEDs and cables for the first 100 sets are already ordered. However, the ETVR software is not as consistent as hoped for standardized hardware. New versions of both Babble and ETVR (Leap2) are in development.

The prototype, which already reflects the final version's tracking quality, has been in use for the past week with impressive results. A demo video showing tracking with several avatars has been released.

Watch the demo: youtu.be/B6GysgKKU8w

The video is not staged or edited from multiple takes. It shows an honest and accurate demonstration by putting on the headset, calibrating ETVR, and recording each avatar.

Babble (face tracking) works flawlessly right out of the box. ETVR (eye tracking) is very solid overall with a few minor quirks: eyes sometimes appear more closed than they really are, occasional crossed eyes when looking down, and some behavior when looking sharply up. During typical use, these issues are barely noticeable, especially with face tracking active.

Future software versions like ETVR's LeapV2 and Babble-Avalonia are in development with much more advanced tracking approaches.

The custom cameras are working great at 67fps with the new UVC Beta firmware and stay cool. The safety page has been completely reworked to cover all evaluations required by the standard, including retinal thermal and skin thermal hazards.

All PCBs are basically finished and the latest IR ring version works as intended. 3D models are still being finalized with various test prints.

Ordering for the 10 beta sets should begin by the end of the month, but the OV2640 camera shortage is a roadblock. 10 custom sample cameras have been ordered from a promising factory.

A completely new LED driver circuit has been designed. The previous design used an LM317 voltage regulator in current source mode, which had several limitations: no software on/off control, no dimming capability, required an additional voltage level across the board, and no current monitoring.

The new approach uses a dedicated LED driver IC on 3.3V, controlled by a 20kHz PWM signal. Each LED group (left eye, right eye, face) can be individually turned on/off and fully dimmed via the ESP. The hard current limit remains set in hardware, independent of software. Even if the duty cycle hits 100% or a malfunction occurs, the current stays within a safe range.

Current is measured via a shunt resistor and op-amp, giving the ESP accuracy of +/- 0.1mA. The circuit has been tested and works perfectly, so it will be included in the mainboard from the start.

The first IR ring prototype has arrived and the results are better than expected. IR radiation measured is only a fraction of what was originally calculated, roughly 80 times below the safety threshold. Verification with professional lab equipment is being arranged through the university.

The PCB has been optimized to lower production costs, keeping originally estimated prices accurate. The mainboard is production-ready for 600+ units and is now very likely fully compatible with ETVR V4, meaning existing V4 users can buy just the IR rings or just the mainboard.

Resin (SLA) prints won the comparison against nylon (SLS) for 3D-printed parts, offering much higher quality and better accuracy.

LEDs are hard to find and have long lead times. A new batch is expected at JLCPCB around April 20. A demo video will follow once both left and right IR rings are available.

The possibility of getting the IR ring officially certified (EN 62471 via TUeV or similar) is being explored. The project is now officially licensed under the CERN-OHL-S v2 open source license, with FaceFocusVR protected as a trademark. Details at facefocusvr.com/licensing.

Updated timeline: Mid-April for final prototype order, early May for delivery, end of May for the first 10 beta sets. If all goes well, the first production batch of around 100 sets will follow right after.

The licensing process is complete. The necessary license from Babble has been obtained, and ETVR has given the go-ahead.

Survey results: 75% of users do not use prescription lenses, while 15 to 20% use VR Optician lenses. This confirms the approach of starting with an adapter for non-prescription lenses first. There will not be a mainboard-only option with ETVR V4 LED compatibility since less than 2% showed interest.

The IR ring and its PCB are believed to be finished. Orders have been placed for PCB production of the IR ring prototype and 3D-printed parts in both SLA (resin) and SLS (nylon) to test which method and material works best. Estimated arrival in about 2 weeks.

The mainboard uses different LEDs than ETVR. These emit less IR radiation at the same current, requiring around 4x more power for the same output. A different connector makes it physically impossible to mix them up.

Next steps once the prototype is confirmed: write an installation guide, create a showcase video, order materials for 10 full sets, and distribute to 8 beta testers in Germany. End of April remains the target for larger orders.

ETVR previously used a license that allowed anyone to modify and sell their software. This has changed to a license that prohibits providing a link to the software or even a setup guide, which would make the entire project impossible since the hardware was specifically designed for use with ETVR and Babble.

The company that owns the rights has been contacted with a full presentation of the project along with safety measures and calculations.

Three possible outcomes:
1. Permission is granted and nothing changes.
2. A fee is required which would increase kit prices or potentially end the project if excessive.
3. Permission is denied and the project is over.

The hardware is at least as safe, if not safer, than ETVR's, especially with the IR ring which adds two additional polyfuses and eliminates potential user errors.

Thank you all so much for your interest in this project. It has taken a lot of time and effort to reach this point. A special thanks to MUTE for the incredible work on the 3D models and ongoing support.

Updates going forward are organized via notification roles: Project notifications for development updates and Store notifications for availability announcements.

A FAQ has been set up covering the most common questions received through Discord, Reddit, and the survey. The survey remains open for those who have not participated yet: facefocusvr.com/store

The project has gained far more interest in such a short time than anticipated.