It’s a big day for Quest users. Meta announced that it is granting third-party companies open access to its headset operating system to expand the technology. The tech giant wants developers to adopt the operating system, expand to other frontiers and achieve two main goals: giving consumers more choices in the VR gaming market and giving developers a chance to reach a wider audience.
Among this first batch of partners, some are already working on a Quest device. First of all, ASUS ROG (Republic of Gamers) is reportedly developing “an all-new high-performance gaming headset.” Lenovo is also on the list and appears to be working on three individual models: one for productivity, one for education, and one for entertainment.
Last December, Xbox Cloud Gaming landed on Quest headsets in beta, bringing a wave of new games to the hardware. Microsoft is once again partnering with Meta «to create a limited edition, Xbox-inspired Meta Quest [headset].»
New philosophy
Meta is also making several name changes based on its technology transformation.
The operating system will now be called Horizon OS. The company’s Meta Quest Store will be renamed the Horizon Store and the mobile app will eventually be rebranded as Horizon. To ease the transition, third-party developers should receive a Space Application Framework to port their software to Horizon OS or help them create a new product.
With Horizon at the heart of this ecosystem, Meta aims to introduce social features that development teams “can integrate… into their [software].” They aim to link multiple platforms together to create a network that exists «across mixed reality, mobile and desktop devices.» Users will be able to move their avatars, groups of friends and more to other “virtual spaces”.
This design philosophy was echoed by Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta. In a recent Instagram video, Zuckerberg said he wants Horizon OS to be an open playground where developers can enter and freely create software rather than a walled garden similar to iOS.
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Breaking down barriers
It will be a while before we see one of these headsets launched. Zuckerberg said in his post that «it’s probably going to take a few years for these» products to launch. Currently, Meta is “removing barriers” between its App Lab and its digital storefront, allowing developers to publish software on the platform as long as they meet “core technical and content” guidelines. It’s unclear if there will be any other limitations aside from requiring third-party companies to use Snapdragon processors.
It’s unclear if other tech brands will join in. Zuckerberg says he hopes to see Horizon Store offer many software options from Steam, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and even apps from the Google Play Store – «if they’re willing to do that.» It appears that Google is not yet integrated into Horizon OS.
Rumors have been circulating in recent months that Google and Samsung are working together on an XR/VR headset. Perhaps both are ignoring Meta’s calls to focus on their «so-called Apple Vision Pro rival.»
Don’t forget to check out TechRadar’s recommendations for the best VR headsets for 2024.
