Google Is Letting More Developers Play In The Daydream Game

On November 1, 2016 Google announced their Daydream View VR headset to much fanfare, alongside their new lineup of phones – the Pixel and Pixel XL.

By November 10, the units had already gone on sale and people interested in Google’s delivery of VR were snatching them up.

In the early days, there were a handful of games, along with a fair number of videos on YouTube that worked with Google’s new devices.

As is common with most new hardware platforms, a handful of key developers are brought on in the product development stage to create launch titles – we see this with consoles all the time. This results in a small library of titles, but ones which are worthy of being part of the product’s showcase at launch.

We saw history repeat itself with the launch of Google’s Daydream View headset.

Now, 2 months past the launch, Google has announced they are opening the doors for all developers who want to create apps that follow the company’s guidelines to submit them.

This change in policy could be the key to opening Pandora’s box and become the beginning of the mobile VR app revolution. This is very reminiscent of what happened with mobile apps when Apple finally allowed all third party developers to create apps for the iPhone.

By opening up the platform like this, it should represent a good thing for both consumers as well as the companies that take advantage of the Daydream ecosystem. With more apps, more people will become interested, which will in turn drive more hardware sales, bringing in new users, creating an ever expanding audience for the developers – all in all a good thing.

If you were around when apple opened up their ecosystem, you’ll no doubt recall the plethora of mindless drivel that was created and published by many of the developers. Anyone remember the fart apps? I sure do.

In the short term, it can make it difficult to find the quality apps that we’re all looking for. But, in the long run, it will draw in more top tier developers, giving us the quality we’re all looking for.

At the end of the day, it will be interesting to see what effect Google’s decision has on the Daydream ecosystem. Without a doubt, there are some talented developers that have, until now, been locked out of the ecosystem. This could also bring about a situation where apps that were developed for Google Cardboard or Samsung’s Gear VR get ported into the new ecosystem.

Don’t forget, the Google Daydream View is on sale for a limited time from Google. So now could be a very good time to grab one if you have a Daydream enabled phone, or one that will be Daydream enabled with a future update.

Be sure to stay tuned. We will be keeping an eye on new apps coming out due to this change, and you can always find the latest and greatest in VR news right here.

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