If the recent news of Oculus setting a high bar for content quality on the Oculus Quest Store has got you worried, do not panic because Oculus is allowing the ability to sideload unofficial content and allow development on its Oculus Quest VR headset.
Just like on the Oculus Go, Oculus and its CTO John Carmack has confirmed that the Oculus Quest will allow sideloading of content.
Same process as Go
— John Carmack (@ID_AA_Carmack) March 5, 2019
This was also confirmed on the Oculus blog by publishing director, Chris Pruett, who wrote that the “Oculus Quest can be used for development” and that “you will be able put the device in Developer Mode.” After which you will be able to deploy game/app code onto the headset for testing and/or sharing with others.
This is one way to get unofficially granted and/or modded content onto the Oculus Quest, however, the process isn’t as easy for people not so tech savvy. Much to many people’s disappointment, it isn’t as simple as connecting the headset and installing an APK file on to the headset. You have to register as a developer, install ADB software and type in commands into a command line to send the application to the headset – something your average player may not be too comfortable in doing.
The sideloading ability is more focused on development, in that developers do not require a development version of the headset. Instead, they can pick up a consumer-grade headset, tick a development mode box, and be able to install their creation onto the headset with some ease.
Overall, this is good news for consumers and developers alike.
