Oculus provides several options for selling and distributing apps on our platform. Review them to find the distribution options that best meets your needs.
Distribution Option | Description | Discovery | Oculus Quest | Oculus Rift |
---|---|---|---|---|
Quest Store | Comprehensive QA. Curated by Oculus. | App discoverable in Oculus Store catalog across all supported Oculus platforms: VR, mobile, and web. | ✓ | |
App Lab | Limited initial app review. Open to all developers. | App PDPs discoverable by means of a direct URL or exact search. Developer is responsible for marketing the URL. | ✓ | |
Rift Store | Comprehensive app review. | App discoverable in Oculus Store catalog across all supported Oculus platforms: VR, mobile, desktop app, and web. | ✓ |
Apps in the Quest Store, App Lab, and Rift Store also include:
For more information on creating apps in the Oculus Developer Center and get started, see Create and Group Apps.
Quest Store apps are curated by Oculus as examples of the best Oculus Quest apps VR has to offer. The Quest store provides an easily discoverable method of public distribution, but it also has the highest quality bar and standards for distributions.Oculus approves apps for the Quest Store from various sources, including the Oculus Start program and App Lab.
App Lab is a distribution option for Oculus Quest apps that do not require Quest Store approval. App Lab apps are hosted on the same Oculus infrastructure as Quest Store apps, allowing customers to purchase and run App Lab apps in the same way they do Quest Store apps. The difference is that App Lab product detail pages are discoverable by means of a direct URL or exact search only.
Apps can qualify for App Lab distribution by complying with the applicable policies and passing a limited initial technical review. Oculus may require additional technical reviews and higher standards, for example, in response to complaints, policy violations, or other thresholds Oculus may apply.
The Rift Store is where Oculus Rift apps are available publicly for download. It provides an easily discoverable method of distribution for Oculus Rift apps, but requires a thorough review of your app by Oculus. To distribute an app in this form, you upload your app to the Oculus Developer Center and submit it for review by our Store team. They review your app to ensure it meets the technical and content criteria outlined in Store Review Policies. Once your app passes this review, it will appear in the Oculus Store in one of the following sections:
Oculus Keys are 25 character alphanumeric codes that you can generate as needed after your app has been approved. Once you are granted the ability to generate Oculus Keys, generating and distributing the key allows users to download your app or in-app purchase items by entering the key into the Redeem Code section in the Oculus app. You may distribute the keys as you like: sell them, give them away, or print them out and distribute them offline. Keys can be useful for giving review copies to the media, for example.
After you have obtained Oculus keys for your app, you can distribute the keys yourself or through other stores and websites such as Amazon’s Digital Software store.
To create Oculus Keys:
You must provide your public PGP key so that the Oculus keys can be delivered to you securely.
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.Release Channels are another form of limited distribution and useful while your app is in development.
When you upload your app to the Developer Dashboard, you are given the choice of uploading into several “channels”: Production, ALPHA, BETA, and RC. With the exception of the Production channel, you can grant or revoke user-level access to each by adding or removing a test user’s email address (tied to their Oculus ID) to or from specific channels.
Note: Production is a special channel which should be used only when submitting your app for review.
Each Release Channel can have up to 100 users assigned to them. Since distribution through release channels do not require review, it comes in handy for testing or closed beta. That said, all apps hosted on Oculus in a Release Channel must still comply with our Content Guidelines, Platform Abuse Policy, and App Policies. Developers are also responsible for ensuring their end users abide by the Oculus Code of Conduct. We reserve the right to take down any app that violates our applicable terms.
When your app is ready for distribution to the general public, you copy it to the Production release channel and submit it to us for consideration.
For more information, see Release Channels section.
You can distribute your app outside the Oculus platform by a method known as sideloading. To run sideloaded apps, users must enable Unknown Sources in the Settings menu of the Oculus app. For more information, see Games and Apps From Unknown Sources.
Sideloaded apps are not updated through our platform. They do not appear in anyone’s Oculus Home Library or have access to any other Oculus features or services.
Enabling Developer Mode and sideloading is not intended for piracy. For more information, see the Oculus Platform Abuse Policy.
Note: Off-platform builds must still meet our SDK license requirements. In particular, all reserved functions called out in the SDK license, such as home button functionality and menu operation, must be respected.