Developers can now distribute Oculus Quest apps without full store approval or sideloading.
Oculus Quest is a semi-closed console-like platform. The Oculus Store used to be the only official way to distribute apps. However, owners can declare themselves as developers to enable sideloading, with games and experiments available through the remote service SideQuest, which automates the USB sideloading process.
App Lab, available now, allows developers to upload apps to the Oculus platform and share them directly with users via a URL or key. The apps can be free or paid.
Clicking on the URL opens the list of apps in the Oculus smartphone app, where the user can purchase or install them on their Quest.
These apps will not appear in the main Oculus store, but once redeemed, they will appear in your VR library and support automatic updates and platform features such as achievements and leaderboards. You don’t have to call yourself a developer to install an App Lab app and a PC is not required.
The Oculus Store approval is notoriously difficult to come by, which has left some rejected developers struggling to recoup the investment they made in the transfer to the mobile VR system.
App Lab still requires basic approval from Facebook, but the process is much shorter than for the store. Apps must be approved as long as they comply with the Oculus Content Guidelines and Facebook’s Data Usage Policy.
App Lab does not replace SideQuest. In fact, SideQuest now supports App Lab URLs instead of the APK file, continuing its role as the de facto alternative app store to Oculus Quest. Since App Lab does not require a PC, these apps can be installed effectively from the SideQuest website through your phone’s browser.
Developers can submit apps to App Lab in the Oculus Developer Dashboard.