Quest APP LAB

In 2020, the #1 recurring complaint from Oculus Quest owners was wanting “more VR content, and more kinds of VR content.” This has perpetually been an issue for virtual reality platforms, and my team at Oculus was tasked with tackling it.

We couldn’t just force developers to make more games, and we also couldn’t change the Oculus Store’s rigorous approval process (designed to guarantee a high-quality VR experience, and to keep the Store from getting bloated with buggy shovelware).

We created a new, far more open publishing channel to democratize VR app creation — and allow just about anyone to publish their own apps on Quest outside of the Oculus Store. We called it “App Lab.”

Within its first 6 months, App Lab more than tripled the number of VR apps and games available on Quest, and massively growing the Oculus library and giving rise to genre-bending sleeper hits like Gorilla Tag (“this year’s hottest VR game”).

Users and developers embraced it, as it commanded more 60%+ of off-store month active users — while press celebrated as being “long awaited” and a deciding factor in “Oculus becoming the must-use VR platform.”

Across the project, I led naming and branding for App Lab, collaborated with designers, user researchers, and legal counsel to shape the UI/UX, and updated all the associated developer tools to make VR app publishing as simple and straightforward as possible.

PRESS

Road to VR / Quest App Lab Passes 500 Apps, Nearly Doubling Those on the Main Store

Upload VR / Developers Speak On Why Oculus Quest App Lab Is A Big Deal For The Future Of VR

The Verge / Oculus’ App Lab offers a new way to try early access VR apps without sideloading

VR World Tech / App Lab launch promises virtual reality boom for Oculus and developers