The update will allow users to launch SteamVR apps that support the Rift headset directly from Oculus Home, according to RoadtoVR. There is no word on when the 1.17 software update will be made available, but a pre-release version has already been released for users who want to test out the functionality immediately.
“We know people sideload apps for a variety of reasons,” read a forum post by Oculus’ community manager Andres Hernandez. “So we’ve included some options to help provide flexibility and control of what’s displayed.”
To access this functionality right now, users need to sign into the Public Test Channel, which they can do from the Beta section of the Oculus Settings app. After they have downloaded the latest pre-release version of the Oculus software, they can use the filter options in the library to show outside titles.
At the moment, there is no way to import all the software you bought on other storefronts at once. Instead, these titles will be added to your library one by one, whenever you open them with Steam for the first time. Once they are added to the Oculus Home interface, they blend in, even being accompanied by their own thumbnail.
When friends see you on their contact list while you are playing a game bought elsewhere, you will simply appear as online, without any information about which title you are enjoying. It’s also possible to remove individual outside titles from your Oculus Home library.
It makes a lot of sense for Oculus to offer up this functionality, as it makes it easier for users to think of Oculus Home as the place to go for all their virtual reality content. With Valve also making improvements to its SteamVR Home app, the two companies look set to go head to head with their rival pieces of software.
