Meta is opening up its VR ecosystem. The operating system that powers Meta Quest devices is being opened up to third-party hardware manufacturers, as is the app store. The company wants to give consumers more choice and developers a bigger ecosystem to build for.

The operating system that powers Meta Quest devices, called Meta Horizon OS, is open to other hardware manufacturers. "As we've seen with the PC and smartphone industries, consumers are best served by a broad hardware ecosystem producing both general-purpose computing devices and more specialized products, all running on a common platform," states Meta. The Meta Quest Store will be renamed the Meta Horizon Store, and the mobile companion app used by Meta Quest owners will be called the Meta Horizon app. Meta Horizon OS devices will use the same mobile companion app that Meta Quest owners currently use.

Meta: "Developers and creators can take advantage of all these technologies using the custom frameworks and tooling we've built for creating mixed reality experiences, and they can reach their communities and grow their businesses through the content discovery and monetization platforms built into the OS. (...) The Horizon social layer currently powering Meta Quest devices will extend across this new ecosystem. It enables people's identities, avatars, and friend groups to move with them across virtual spaces and lets developers integrate rich social features into their apps. And because this social layer is made to bridge multiple platforms, people can spend time together in virtual worlds that exist across mixed reality, mobile, and desktop devices."

Three companies are already working on new devices based on Meta Horizon OS. Republic of Gamers by Asus will develop a new high-performance gaming headset. "We've been inspired by the incredible gaming community that has formed around virtual and mixed reality, and we know that the most passionate gamers want high-performance hardware. With Meta Horizon OS, ASUS and Republic of Gamers will build the gaming headset of the next generation," says S.Y. Hsu, Co-CEO, Asus. Lenovo will develop mixed reality devices for productivity, learning, and entertainment. Xbox and Meta will create a Limited Edition "Meta Quest, inspired by Xbox". The two companies teamed up last year to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) to Meta Quest, to play Xbox games on a 2D virtual screen in mixed reality. Companies building hardware for this "new" ecosystem can rely on Qualcomm Technologies Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 platform launched with Meta Quest 3 and custom software enhancements. "Our collaboration with Meta has produced extraordinary experiences that have become the benchmark of the industry, and we’re excited to see this new ecosystem taking shape," says Cristiano Amon, President and CEO, Qualcomm Inc.

Meta will also break down the barriers in the App Store and is directly asking Google to bring the Play Store to the platform. Excerpt from the blog post: "As we begin opening Meta Horizon OS to more device makers, we're also expanding the ways app developers can reach their audiences. We're beginning the process of removing the barriers between the Meta Horizon Store and App Lab, which lets any developer who meets basic technical and content requirements ship software on the platform. App Lab titles will soon be featured in a dedicated section of the Store on all our devices, making them more discoverable to larger audiences. Some of the most popular apps on the Store today, like Gorilla Tag and Gym Class, began on App Lab. (...) Developers and creators can take advantage of all these technologies using the custom frameworks and tooling we've built for creating mixed reality experiences, and they can reach their communities and grow their businesses through the content discovery and monetization platforms built into the OS. (...) Along with a more open app store, Meta Horizon OS will continue to give people more choice in how to access apps. Because we don't restrict users to titles from our own app store, there are multiple ways to access great content on Meta Horizon OS, including popular gaming services like Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, or through Steam Link or our Air Link system for wirelessly streaming PC software to headsets. And we encourage the Google Play 2D app store to come to Meta Horizon OS, where it can operate with the same economic model it does on other platforms."

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Written by

Marcel Kleffmann
Marcel Kleffmann