Oculus Quest To Have Strict Game Console-Like Store Curation

A new blog post authored by Facebook’s Chris Pruett announces a stricter process for software approval on the upcoming Oculus Quest Store.Facebook’s standalone VR system should ship in the coming months starting at only $400. Quest is a hybrid of the company’s previous efforts with Oculus Go, Gear VR and Oculus Rift. Like Go, Quest is a fully self-contained VR system. Like Rift, Quest ships with Touch controllers and 6DoF tracking perfect for engaging games like Superhot and Face Your Fears. Oculus Quest is also a departure from earlier VR efforts at Facebook.Efforts like Oculus Share, Concepts, Gallery and the Mobile Game Jam encouraged widely sharing unfinished work. There’s also an Early Access section available on Rift for projects that are in active development. With Quest, though, Facebook aims to compete directly for time against the likes of Nintendo Switch.On Oculus Rift, it is a simple toggle in the menu system to allow unapproved content while on Oculus Go you need to sign up as a developer to activate “sideloading“. This is also how developers can distribute apps among friends and testers. In contrast, game consoles typically limit user access to the operating system. Console software releases also come from a single storefront. We’re still getting a picture of where Quest sits on that “openness” spectrum.