Guy Godin, the developer behind VR productivity app, Virtual Desktop, says Facebook’s Oculus is “forcing” him to remove a key feature from the Quest version.
Virtual Desktop was one around 50 apps to launch on the Oculus Quest last month. But users have since discovered an incredible use for the streaming app; playing SteamVR games inside your standalone headset. The combination of wireless streaming to a headset with full six degrees of freedom (6DOF) positional tracking picked up a lot of interest from the VR community.
Steam Steam No More
But, in a Reddit thread posted a few hours ago, Godin said Oculus “doesn’t want the SteamVR streaming feature in their store.”
“I’ve been developing in VR for 5+ years and as some of you may know, I like to experiment and push the envelop [sic] with the tech,” Godin wrote. “I saw the ability to stream VR content from your PC as a very cool idea. I thought it would be a perfect fit for my app since it already gives you access to your computer. Like a nice bonus feature. I worked on this for months and was eager to improve the functionality as I received your feedback over the last few days but according to Oculus, I am hurting Quest.”
We’ve reached out to Oculus for comment on this story. Godin says that, instead of providing the service officially, he’ll look to provide an APK to sideload onto Quest “over the next few days.”
If true, it’s not surprising to see Oculus request the removal of this feature. Quest itself only provides official access to the Oculus Home storefront. Features like cross-buy, which provide you with free versions of a game on both Rift and Quest, also entice players to stay locked into that ecosystem.
Oculus has also drawn critisicm for its curation on Quest. Its strict approach to what can and can’t release on the platform has turned some VR developers away.
Tagged with: facebook, Oculus Quest, virtual desktop
The post Oculus ‘Forcing’ Virtual Desktop To Remove Quest SteamVR Streaming appeared first on UploadVR.
via Mint VR