A new Oculus policy prohibits cloud VR streaming in the store and in the App Lab.
Facebook lists Virtual Reality Check (VRC) requirements on the Oculus developer website. VRC.Quest.Streaming.2 was added last week:
Applications that stream immersive VR content can only do so from a local source, that is, a device to which the customer has physical access. Streaming from virtual devices or cloud sources is not allowed.
The Virtual Desktop application allows streaming from local (or remote) PCs. When the feature launched in 2019, Facebook rejected it, forcing the developer to make it available as an optional patch on the SideQuest alternative store.
Last week, Facebook reversed that decision, allowing the feature back to the main store.
Last year, Shadow VR cloud PC rental service announced plans to launch an Oculus Quest app for VR streaming in the cloud, and startup Pluto recently announced a managed service. In our brief demonstration of the PlutoSphere service, we asked about distribution plans and were told that he plans to use SideQuest. This means that users will have to register with Facebook as developers – a process that is free, but requires providing Facebook with their phone number or card details – and the application will not receive automatic updates.
We asked a Facebook representative for a comment on the new restriction and received the following statement by email:
“We have seen the value that customers can get from VR titles for PC and we want to enable these types of local PC experiences. Said that, streaming of a remote device is a significantly different proposition, as it can affect comfort. For now, we are allowing wireless VR PC streaming for local PCs and we hope to learn more about the level of quality you can achieve before we consider cloud-based solutions for interactive VR. “
Facebook itself has no announced plans for cloud VR streaming. Last year, an executive described the technology as being more than five years away.