There has been some debate about the Oculus Rift’s ‘walled garden’ for some time. While Oculus VR insisted that they wouldn’t close off the consumer edition from being able to launch software from outside of its proprietary Oculus Home software, many doubted Oculus VR’s intentions. Well, the truth has now been revealed: the ability to ‘sideload’ on the Oculus Rift does exist, and is actually very easy to find.
In order to access content not authorised by Oculus VR (i.e. content from outside of Oculus Home), simply select the options button from the 2D version of the Oculus Home application. Then, select the ‘General’ tab on the left.
Within these options toggle the option stating ‘Unknown Sources’ to ‘enabled’. A warning will appear, and the user should click ‘Allow’ here to enable the loading of external applications.
This process is essential for developers planning to use the consumer version of the Oculus Rift for continued development, however unexperienced users should be wary of using unauthorised software from developers they don’t trust. More information on sideloading is available directly from Oculus VR and VRFocus will keep you updated with any changes to the ability to utilise external applications on the Oculus Rift.
