The headset season is giving the tech world a head rush. Sony’s CES 2024 presentation came with a surprise — a nameless headset for “spatial content creation”.

The headset appears to be a stripped-down PSVR2 with what appears to be two cameras facing out from the front. There is a controller-wand and a smaller peripheral similar in size to a ring. Powered by the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 platform and outfitted with 4K OLED displays, this is not focused on gamers. Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said that this new headset is made for professionals who work with 3D. Wearers can expand the “creation space by overlaying virtual objects into physical spaces”. He said that the headset will offer a “crisp viewing experience” and “intuitive interaction for 3D design”.

The company showcased mock-ups of a user working with a bipedal robot while wearing the new headset, manipulating the robot’s arm, while two monitors nearby showed things in extra detail.

“With seamless access to virtual objects, creators can work in real space with an immersive development experience,” Yoshida said. Sony is also known for a ‘Spatial Reality Display’ that allows users to see digital objects in 3D using face- and eye-tracking. It is a completely different technology but is also geared towards the creative crowd.

Sony hopes to collaborate with developers of a number of 3D production software, including in the entertainment and industrial design fields. At the moment, Sony is partnering with Siemens to introduce the new solution for immersive design and collaborative product engineering using software from the Siemens Xcelerator open digital business platform.

Sony’s headset appears to have a flip-down design that floats the display tech over the eyes, allowing for some peripheral vision on the sides.

The most interesting bit about Sony’s headset lies in the accessories. A wearable ring accessory and stylus-like pointer tool can be used at once, one on each hand, to manipulate and work with 3D objects. Apple and Meta have not developed any wearable controller accessories for mixed reality yet.