App Lab has now been integrated into the Meta Horizon Store, the new name for the more open Quest Store.
Apps that were previously in App Lab have been moved to the main store, meaning they are now publicly discoverable in search and appear in categories and algorithmic feeds.
Meta says store apps will still have to meet “basic technical, content and privacy requirements,” but will no longer be rejected based on subjective preferences or quality.
Meta first announced the move in April. Last month, the company said the switch would happen on August 5, but in reality that date marked the beginning of a gradual transition. Today, Meta sent emails to App Lab developers to confirm that the switch is complete.
For developers who still want to signal that their app isn’t quite ready for a wider audience, Meta has added a new “Early Access” tag for developers, a similar strategy to Steam.
Meta Horizon OS runs on headsets from ASUS and Lenovo
Meta is renaming its Quest software platform to Meta Horizon OS and opening it to third-party headset makers including ASUS and Lenovo.
The renaming is part of the broader transition of the Quest software platform to “Horizon”, which will see the operating system made available for third-party headsets under the new name Horizon OS.
Horizon Store’s more open approach will be a huge relief for independent XR developers currently struggling to get their apps to reach, and will help Meta live up to its lofty claims of being the “open alternative” to Apple’s Vision. However, it could also hurt the discoverability of existing store apps as a wave of new listings enter the market to compete with them, making content recommendations from providers like UploadVR more important than ever.
