Strange Bedfellows: HTC’s VR Store Now Supports Oculus Rift

HTC today revealed that it is now accepting submissions from developers for Oculus Rift-compatible content on its Viveport virtual reality content store. Rift owners will have access to Viveport in September.

HTC and Oculus are the two leading VR headset companies, and they both offer similar hardware and software compatibility. However, their approaches to software distribution couldn’t be more different. Oculus chose to keep its content store locked down for its hardware. HTC did not.

HTC’s Vive headset operates on Valve’s SteamVR platform, which is open to almost all VR headsets and enables you to access content in Valve’s vast content library. HTC also offers its Viveport store, which includes a separate library of games and an optional subscription model to access the content on a budget. When HTC launched Viveport, the Vive headset was the only device supported on the platform. But shortly after the Vive Focus launched in China, HTC opened the Viveport platform to other mobile VR headsets. Now, HTC is extending compatibility for desktop headsets as well.

In September, Oculus Rift owners will be able to access available Rift-compatible software through the Viveport content store. HTC said that there are over 200 titles on the Viveport platform that could already support the Rift headset because they are compatible with Valve’s Open VR API. Developers must opt in to enable Rift support for their titles, but they can begin doing so now.

HTC is also opening the Viveport subscription service for Rift owners, which would give them access to a rotating selection of five titles for less than $10 per month.