There are many different gaming virtual reality platforms on the market, but three of the most popular are SteamVR, Oculus Home, and Viveport. Each VR platform has its own strengths and weaknesses, so it can be hard to decide which one is right for you.
In this article, we will compare SteamVR, Oculus Home, and Viveport in terms of:
When the looking glass is oriented towards the breadth of virtual reality content, SteamVR has the other two platforms beat. Namely, SteamVR has over 4,000 VR video game titles, whereas Oculus Home and Viveport offer 1,000. The reason for SteamVR’s wider breadth of content is its automated publishing process.
In comparison, Oculus Home and Viveport approve VR content manually, upholding a curated quality control. However, this comes at the detriment of limited options, longer publishing times, and a lower content library.
Oculus Home, combating the effects of SteamVR, launched SideQuest VR to attract independent developers and increase its virtual reality content library.
SteamVR comes out on top when considering its library’s future viability. SteamVR has lower barriers to entry and offers developers the release of either finished VR video games, alpha state content, demos, and/or Early Access.
In short, SteamVR is supported by the market leader in computer video games, Valve Corporation, and enjoys a high level of platform loyalty by gamers and the attraction of independent video games onto their platform.
Again, SteamVR linked with its wider offering of VR content features the broadest compatibility of virtual reality headsets. All that is needed for a headset to be supported by SteamVR is the following minimum hardware requirements.
The adoption and Active Monthly Users of SteamVR are used to analyze the health of the PC VR industry, speaking volumes about SteamVR’s headset support.
Alternatively, Oculus Home only supports Meta/Oculus HMDs, and Viveport is only compatible with HTC headsets, Quest 1, 2, link, Rift, and Rift S, Windows Mixed Reality headsets and Valve Index.
In many ways, Oculus Home is a virtual reality hub more than a video games platform, backed by Meta Platforms. This means you can reserve virtual seats for VR live events such as sports and concerts. Additionally, Oculus Home houses the many Horizon platforms acting as social meeting places in virtual reality.
Like SteamVR’s early access, Oculus Home features an application called Oculus App Lab, where you can find pre-release content.
Additionally, to double the content library of Oculus Home, you can install a third-party app called SideQuest VR store. You will have to sideload the app onto your Quest device, which initially is a bit cumbersome, but afterward, it is user-friendly to operate.
After the partnership between HTC and Valve Corporation ended and Valve released its own headsets, HTC developed and released Viveport. To compete against the VR platform competition, Viveport offers Viveport Infinity, a subscription service providing unlimited access to 1,000+ VR games, videos, apps, and exclusive deals. Viveport Infinity is similar to Xbox Game Pass or PlayStation Plus.
SteamVR’s primary benefit is its vast content library and headset compatibility supported by the market leader within PC gaming: Valve Corporation. It is undeniably the best VR platform for virtual reality games.
Whereas Oculus Home still holds VR games, it is a platform made for more than just gaming. Namely, Oculus Home is a metaverse virtual reality social engagement offering virtual live events.
Lastly, Viveport, with the Viveport Infinity subscription, is the best platform for access to a wide breadth of virtual reality entertainment content.