Now that the App Lab is officially active for Oculus Quest, it means that consumers have a more streamlined way to access content outside the store on their virtual reality headsets. So, what does this mean for the future of SideQuest, the original third-party independent platform for unsaved content?
In short, it is a good thing. At least, that’s what SideQuest creator Shane Harris and the official Facebook blog post about the App Lab say.
When App Lab was unveiled yesterday, the blog post mentions SideQuest in the opening sentence as one of the ways developers can use to provide direct links to App Lab content. He goes on to say that they “worked closely” with SideQuest at the launch of App Lab and incorporated this link for developers to submit App Lab projects for listing on SideQuest.
Since App Lab apps do not appear in the Oculus Quest store and are not detectable by traditional means on the headset or the Oculus app, platforms like SideQuest will actually end up being even more important than before.
The platform will serve the same purpose functionally. Now, instead of sending users to itch.io to buy something or asking them to plug in their headphones to sideload the app, they are directed to the App Lab page.
“I think this will be good for the SideQuest community,” said Harris. “App Lab doesn’t offer any kind of discovery, so SideQuest is still the best chance that developers have to be discovered with our nearly 1.5 million monthly active users.”
In fact, starting today, SideQuest already has an App Lab category on its platform. When you visit the SideQuest page for a game that is on the App Lab, there is now an “Oculus App” button in the top right corner of the page, as well as an “App Lab” label in the top corner of the asset library. Click the button and you will be taken to the App Lab page.
“We are happy to see more options for our developers, in addition to sideloading,” said Harris. “If the App Lab delivers on what it promises, we hope it indicates that Facebook has taken a turn and will embrace the indie community. We will continue, as always, to offer discoveries to developers inside and outside the Oculus Store and we hope this is a step in the right direction. “
Are you an RV developer who is working on something for the Quest that you submitted or plan to submit to the App Lab? Let us know in the comments or send us an email to [email protected]!