Happy Wednesday gamers! It's time for another WIRED Games newsletter! I've been busy playing Party Animals with my friends—getting thrown off trains and suplexed into raging rivers and body-blocking hockey pucks the size of my body. When I'm not playing with friends though, it's back to Starfield for me, which has been proving more engaging the longer I play. What have you been playing?

First up this week, make sure to read Lauren Goode on Meta's latest virtual reality/augmented reality play, in the form of the Meta Quest 3, which the company hopes will get people just as excited as they are for Apple's Vision Pro (or at least a little excited). The new headset sports augmented reality features that we didn't initially expect, and Meta has announced a number of other devices, including a collaboration with Ray-Ban on some sweet-looking sunglasses. The AR/VR future looks … well, competitive, if anything. Lauren discusses the Meta Quest 3 with cohost Michael Calore, WIRED's Gear editor, on the latest episode of the Gadget Lab podcast.

This week, take some time to read Eric Ravenscraft on why he loves the upgrade options on his Steam Deck and why he thinks it could give other device manufacturers, whether they make game consoles, smartphones, or any other consumer technology, a lesson in hardware design. The fact that it's surprisingly easy to upgrade and repair the Steam Deck is definitely a point in its favor. However, if you're like me and have a Nintendo Switch instead (I know they're not the same thing at all, don't yell at me), Eric also just updated our list of the best Nintendo Switch Accessories. That's worth checking out if you're someone who takes games with you when you leave the house.

Next up, I'm willing to bet that you've already seen ads for EA's new FIFA game … you know, the one without FIFA in the title, or anywhere in the actual game. It's called EA Sports FC 24, and if you've ever played a FIFA game, you'll recognize it. EA took a working formula, and even without the support of FIFA, put together the kind of game that soccer fans the world over know and love, just with different jerseys.

Over on our Gear Team, Christopher Null reviewed the latest iteration of the HP Omen 16 gaming laptop and gave it a fairly impressive 7/10. It's a solid gaming rig, he says, with solid performance and good battery life, and the price is decent for a gaming laptop. Keep an eye out for sales if you want better than decent. Only drawbacks? The keyboard is a little tough to use, and it's definitely not winning any beauty contests.

On that note, I'm going back to the gamer mines. Game Awards season is coming up, and we have lots of titles to test. What are some of your favorite games from the past year? Let me know at [email protected]!