We have gathered frequently asked questions from the developer community and have provided the answers below for your reference.
App Lab is a channel for developers to distribute apps directly to customers safely and securely. App Lab connects customers to apps without requiring store approval or sideloading. App Lab supports both free and paid apps, which are shareable via a URL or Oculus Keys. While App Lab is distinct from the Oculus Store and App Lab apps won’t appear in the Oculus Store, customers who install apps from App Lab will find them in their Quest library. App Lab apps can also be searched by exact name and found in the “App Lab” section of results.
We’ve taken steps to reduce the technical requirements and Virtual Reality Checks (VRCs) to make submission as simple as possible. In order to promote a safe, secure and positive experience, App Lab apps are required to comply with our App Lab Policies, including our Oculus Content Guidelines, Data Use Policy, and App Policies. Apps submitted to App Lab must support App Sharing as explained in our App Lab Policies. Before getting started, please review our App Lab VRCs. Apps are reviewed at submission and may be re-reviewed as they scale to more people.
To start your App Lab submission, follow these steps:
You can access the majority of standard platform features including automatic update distribution, platform integration and SDKs, app analytics, developer posts, events, release channels, App Sharing and more. Apps in App Lab do not have access to notifications, app install ad optimizations, or App Groupings. Cross-buy and paid Add-ons are not yet available for App Lab. As new platform features become available, we will communicate which are available to apps in App Lab.
Whether the goal is to build a business, create a community, test and experiment with new apps, or get feedback on new ideas, you control how your app is distributed. Apps from App Lab do not appear in the Oculus Store catalog. Apps are shareable via a URL and Oculus Keys, and are discoverable by searching the exact app name and found in the “App Lab” section of results. All approved App Lab apps will have a unique URL and can choose to also generate Oculus Keys. App Lab apps are visible in friends activity such as the "Popular With Friends" feed.
App Lab URL Promotion:
You can partner with an external link aggregator, like SideQuest, to promote your app via your app's URL. However, you cannot collect payment for your app via any mechanism other than those explicitly approved by Oculus.
Oculus Keys for App Lab Promotion:
You can choose to request Oculus Keys for your approved App Lab app. Oculus Keys are unique 25 character alphanumeric codes that are generated by the system. These codes can be redeemed for a copy of your app and can be promoted and distributed as you see fit. Note: A Keys only distribution (or private distribution) is not available for App Lab.
For more information on distribution, visit our documentation here.
Yes, App Lab shares the same payments and advertising policy as the Oculus Store, and a revenue share is paid pursuant to our Distribution Agreement.
With the launch of App Lab and greater Quest application distribution capabilities, the Quest Publishing Access application process is no longer necessary and has been closed. App Lab will provide you with the opportunity to find market fit as you test and develop apps. Developer programs like Oculus Start, Oculus Launch Pad and educational courses like the Unity/Oculus Design, Develop and Deploy course, will continue providing scaled support, savings, and access. You can also check out the VRCs required for distribution in the Quest Store to further improve the quality of your app. We are constantly sourcing high-quality applications for the Oculus Store, and App Lab provides another way for us to identify potential fit.
Oculus Start remains open to developers wishing to join for the community and benefits. Apps in App Lab may be used as the build required to be accepted into Oculus Start.
Oculus Launch Pad is open to all VR developers and creators. Participation in App Lab will not affect your eligibility for or influence your participation in the Launch Pad program.
There are multiple steps involved in the review process, and you should receive notification throughout each stage of the review. If you have concerns about a deadline that you need approved by, we recommend submitting for review four to five weeks in advance.
While it is not a requirement to use the release channels, we recommend that you manage your builds in this way. This is the most effective method of deploying to specific users for testing as well as managing different builds.
Quest
Quest 1
Quest 2
Rift
NVIDIA GTX 970
Intel i5-4590
8GB+ RAM
Sometimes there is a lag between approval of your app and display in the Store. Your app will go live the morning after approval has been granted.
Please contact the store submissions team at submissions@oculus.com to request price changes for your app.
Please contact the store submissions team at submissions@oculus.com referencing the need to suspend distribution of your app.
Check your player settings and make sure "Virtual Reality Supported" is checked and that "Oculus" is in the list of supported devices.
There are two things you can look into to solve this problem:
Check and make sure that you have added both OVRManager and OVRPlatform script files to your scene.
The headset must be on your head for touch haptics to be activated.
Unity’s render statistics report a higher FPS than reality because they track all cameras. You should only take into account the Oculus script’s FPS reading.
The command to set the pixel density in UE4 is 'hmd pd'. You need to detect what phone you're running on and scale it up to increase the quality.
Yes, but not unless you build from source. You can use Wwise and our plugin to render ambisonics and Media Framework to render video.
No. The stereo cubemap won’t line up with 3D content when the user’s head pose has any pitch or roll.
There are two ways to render a portal: rendering to a texture for the content on the other side of the portal and regular render and stencil in the foreground geometry. The second approach is definitely going to work better performance wise on the Gear due to bandwidth limitations.
Here are some helpful links:
https://wiki.unrealengine.com/Portals
https://answers.unrealengine.com/questions/49911/recreating-udks-utportals.html
We currently do not recommend using HDR on mobile platforms. This is because HDR consumes far more texture bandwidth than the regular pipeline.
In unreal engines 4.13+ there is the ability to use a cubemap overlays to perform this function.
You will need to tick the LeftTexture box in Cubemap Overlays Properties to enable it.
See the documentation here:
https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/game-engines/latest/concepts/unreal-overlay/Yes. See the following instructions: All the parameters that in blueprint are given to AddLoadingSplashScreen can also be written in the DefaultEngine.ini file of their game (Config/DefaultEngine.ini), as shown:
(most of those parameters are optional)
[Oculus.Splash.Settings]
TexturePath=”path”
DistanceInMeters=translation (vec3)
Rotation=rotation (quaternion)
SizeInMeters=size (vec2)
DeltaRotation=delta (quaternion)
Starting October 8, 2020, all Oculus developers will need to verify their accounts by providing a payment method and/or phone number.
If you’ve set up 2-fac with your Oculus account, you’re already in compliance and do not need to verify. To check whether your account is verified, please visit https://developer.oculus.com/manage/verify.
If you’ve already added a payment method (excluding Paypal), you’re already in compliance and do not need to verify. To check whether your account is verified, please visit https://developer.oculus.com/manage/verify.
Developers in organizations with bank account information (i.e. published apps) will be exempt. If you belong to multiple Orgs, all Orgs will need to have bank account info, otherwise the individual will see the verification prompt. To check whether your account is verified, please visit https://developer.oculus.com/manage/verify.
Please verify that your phone carrier and country are supported for SMS two-factor verification by visiting our help page: https://www.facebook.com/help/130694300342171. If your phone carrier and country are not listed, you are not eligible to use SMS two-factor verification and will need to add a payment method (excluding Paypal).
Existing developers will have until February 1, 2021 to add verification. New developers will be required to verify starting October 8, 2020.
As of February 1, 2021, if you do not verify your developer account, your account will be locked on Developer Dashboard, which means you cannot make updates to your apps or access information about your apps until you verify your account. As we continue to improve our tools, we may apply additional restrictions in the future, including locking your account on other Oculus surfaces.
No. Only developers requesting access to those platform features that require oversight, which include User ID, User Profile, Avatars, Deep Linking, Friends, Invites, Matchmaking, In-App Purchase, and Parties.
You will receive a notification via email and also be notified within the Oculus Developer Dashboard upon login. If you know your app uses any of the platform features that require oversight, you can proactively complete the checkup beginning October 8, 2020. If your app does not use any of the platform features that require oversight, you do not need to complete Data Use Checkup.
Starting October 8:
You will need to renew your certification on an annual basis, starting from the day the first certification was approved. You will receive a warning 90 days before the certification renewal is due.
If your application is live in the Oculus Store, you will have 90 days to complete the Data Use Checkup process once notified. Notifications will be sent via email to the email address associated with your Oculus account. If you do not complete Oculus Data Use Checkup within the 90-day window, your app will be removed from the Store until the checkup is completed. If you still haven’t completed it by October 1st, 2021 your access to Oculus Platform features will be revoked.
Going forward, you will need to renew your certification annually starting from the day your first certification was approved. You will receive a warning 90 days before your certification is due. If you have not completed the certification by that deadline your app will be removed from the Store. If you have still not completed the certification by 30 days after that deadline, your app’s access to Oculus Platform features will be revoked.
Oculus App Review ensures that your application meets all of our Virtual Reality Checks (VRCs), Content Policy and Publishing Asset Requirements. Data Use Checkup ensures your access to platform features and data use comply with the Oculus Developer Data Use Policy.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which goes into effect May 25, 2018, creates consistent data protection rules across Europe. It applies to all companies that process personal data about individuals in the EU, regardless of where the company is based. Processing is defined as anything related to personal data, including how a company handles and manages data, such as collecting, storing, using and destroying data.
Each company is responsible for complying with the GDPR, just as they are responsible for complying with the laws that apply to them today.
Developers must implement and disclose their own complete and accurate privacy policy explaining how they collect, use, and disclose data as required by applicable law. Because each developer has different practices and uses information in different ways, using Oculus's privacy policy would not be appropriate.
Your privacy policy must explain your practices regarding the collection, use and disclosure of data, and we cannot write it for you. We suggest you contact your legal team or seek external counsel
Whether or not your app is compliant depends on many factors that we cannot evaluate for you. It is your responsibility as the developer to make sure that your app complies with the GDPR.
In light of the GDPR, we are offering new tools and information to people who use our services to help them better control their privacy and understand how Oculus uses information. For information about some of the efforts we're taking to make sure we are complying with the GDPR, see our blog post here.