V (App Store)
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| V (App Store) | |
|---|---|
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| Information | |
| Platforms | Oculus Rift[1] |
| Devices | Oculus Rift DK2[1] |
| Operating Systems | Windows, Mac |
| Accessible | Desktop, Mobile, VR |
| Developer | Hello V Inc.[2] |
| Notable Personnel | Tyler Andersen (co-founder)[3] |
| Apps | 20 at the May 2015 beta |
| Website | https://startwithv.com/ |
V was an open platform Virtual Reality App Store and launcher for the Oculus Rift DK2. Users signed in to V inside the headset, browsed its marketplace, and downloaded and launched games and experiences without leaving VR; the same marketplace was also reachable through the V website.[3] The store was run by Hello V Inc., and its client was available for Windows and Mac.[2][1]
UploadVR described V in May 2015, while it was in beta, as a VR-enabled "open alternative" to SteamVR and Oculus Home. UploadVR noted that Steam took a minimum of 30% of sales, while co-founder Tyler Andersen said V's share would be lower and would depend on the size of the developer.[3] Hello V later used the V name for a web dashboard overlay for VR headsets, and by September 2017 the store's address redirected to the dashboard's website.[4][5]
History
Background
V appeared before the consumer launch of the major PC headsets. UploadVR wrote at the time that the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Sony's Project Morpheus would each be tied to its own ecosystem (SteamVR, Oculus Home and the PlayStation Store), and presented V as a store that was not tied to any one platform. It named The Rift Arcade and WeARVR as other open app platforms of the period, but said neither offered V's feature set.[3]
Invitation period and beta
A capture of the V website from 1 January 2015 shows only a sign-in form and an invitation request ("WANT AN INVITE?"), with a copyright notice for "V. LLC" dated 2014.[6] In May 2015 UploadVR reported that V was in beta with 20 VR games and experiences in its marketplace, and gave readers a limited number of beta keys under the code "UploadVR".[3] The same article disclosed that UploadVR would curate a monthly selection of "UploadVR picks" on the V marketplace.[3] A shelf titled "UploadVR's Picks" appears on the store's homepage in captures from September 2015 and July 2016.[2][7]
By September 2015 the homepage carried the line "V unites users with the content they love. Seamlessly." and a copyright notice for Hello V Inc.[2] By July 2016 it advertised a free download of V as "Your virtual reality gateway to the best games, apps, and experiences".[7] A capture from October 2016 still shows the marketplace.[8]
Later use of the V name
In May 2016 Road to VR reported on a product also called V, a dashboard that injected mobile web apps such as Twitter, SoundCloud, Spotify and YouTube into VR games as an overlay, without per-game integration by developers. At SVVR 2016, founders Tyler Andersen and Brian Eppert showed a prototype running inside Colosse, a Unity-based Oculus Rift experience that the company said it had not modified. The pair had recently graduated from the Boost VC accelerator, were raising funds, and planned a private beta for the Oculus Rift in June 2016, with HTC Vive and SteamVR support to follow.[4] In November 2017 Road to VR reported that the dashboard, still in beta and free, had added SteamVR support for the HTC Vive and other SteamVR headsets, after earlier adding support for Oculus Touch controllers. It named Andersen as V's CEO and noted that Oculus had announced its own competing system, Dash, due in beta the following month.[9]
Road to VR linked the dashboard to the hellov.io website.[4] By September 2017 the startwithv.com address redirected to hellov.io,[5] and a December 2017 capture of startwithv.com shows only a default web server page.[10] The dashboard is a separate product from the app store described in this article.
Features
Client and marketplace
After launching V, users entered their login details; each account could be used from any computer, which UploadVR compared to Steam. Once signed in, users saw the marketplace and their library, selected experiences with a cursor, and downloaded and launched them from within V.[3] Store pages for individual apps listed a description, system requirements, download size, developer information and tags for genre, headset and input devices. The VRChat page in October 2015, for example, carried the tags Casual, Exploration, DK2, Keyboard, Mouse and Gamepad, and listed upcoming scheduled events such as a weekly meetup.[11]
Developer terms
V used a sliding revenue share. Andersen told UploadVR: "if you are a indie dev we might land at around 10%, but if you are a big time title from EA we might land at 28%, because you know, why give EA a big break." For games released free with optional donations, V said it would take 5%.[3] The only technical requirement for uploaded content was that it run in "Direct to Rift" mode on Windows, or full screen with no menu bar on Mac. Andersen said the platform was built to "handle any type of content and peripheral. Leap, razor, unreal, unity, native, whatever", and UploadVR added that users would need the relevant drivers installed.[3] According to UploadVR, the submission process would take "only a day or two" from start to finish if there were no issues.[3]
The store's homepage invited developers to "Submit your game, full experience, or film" and told them that publishers would have "access to analytics and feedback/bug reports from users".[2]
Andersen said that building a distribution system was "very challenging" and attributed this to the industry being in its infancy, citing a "lack of open standards", buggy Oculus runtimes, differing display modes, operating system differences and Unity and Unreal Engine deployment requirements. UploadVR added that not every experience uploaded in future would load correctly straight away.[3] He also described plans for a community layer, which he summed up as "think reddit meets Kickstarter meets Steam Greenlight", where developers could gather feedback, gauge interest and collect donations.[3]
Supported hardware and software
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Headset | Oculus Rift DK2[1] |
| Operating systems | Windows and Mac versions of the V client[1] |
| Runtime | Oculus SDK 0.5.0.1 required on both platforms[1] |
| Windows setup | Install the Oculus SDK, set the Rift to "Direct to Rift" mode, then install V[1] |
| Mac setup | Install the Oculus SDK, connect the DK2, and set the Rift as the primary display (or mirror displays)[1] |
| Content and peripherals | Built to "handle any type of content and peripheral. Leap, razor, unreal, unity, native, whatever", according to Andersen[3] |
Catalog
UploadVR listed the 20 titles available in the May 2015 beta.[3] Captures of the store's homepage show titles added afterwards.[2][7]
| Period | Titles |
|---|---|
| May 2015 beta (20 titles)[3] | Radial-G, Guided Meditation, Titans of Space, Windlands, Sunshine, Ethereon, Lava Inc, EvadeVR, VRTS, Battle of Endor, VR Karts, Penthouse, Tron Light Cycles, TNG Engineering, Cannon Ball, Scale Shock, VR Steroids, Space Race, Hack your Couch, VRMT |
| "New to V" shelf, September 2015[2] | Faceted Flight, Tactera, VRChat, Technolust: Thought Crimes, Surge, Quarto |
| Homepage carousel, September 2015[2] | Convrge, Tactera, Radial-G, Windlands |
| Homepage carousel, July 2016[7] | The Night Cafe: An Immersive Tribute to Vincent van Gogh, Storm, The Lost Valley VR, Weightless (a Leap Motion experience) |
Categories
The store homepage grouped apps into themed shelves. The shelf names changed between captures.
| Capture | Shelves |
|---|---|
| September 2015[2] | New to V, Featured, Popular, UploadVR's Picks, Social, Music Based, Meditative, At the Movies, Experimental |
| July 2016[7] | Recent Updates, UploadVR's Picks, Social, Fast & Fun, Take Flight, Rhythm Section, Exploration, Meditative, Experimental |
Reception
In its May 2015 hands-on, UploadVR called the interface "both natural and well designed" and said text descriptions were "clearly legible, even in the DK2". The writer found browsing in V smoother than in the SteamVR beta of the time, and reported that every experience tried during the hands-on loaded correctly.[3] The article also disclosed UploadVR's arrangement to curate a monthly selection on the V marketplace.[3]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "V - Download". startwithv.com (Internet Archive capture of 20 October 2015). Hello V Inc.. 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151020121205/https://startwithv.com/download/download. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 "V - VR Starts With V". startwithv.com (Internet Archive capture of 10 September 2015). Hello V Inc.. 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150910054110/http://startwithv.com/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 Will Mason (2015-05-04). "Meet V - an all-in-one app launcher/marketplace for VR, wants to challenge 'walled gardens' in VR". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/v-vr-app-marketplace/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Ben Lang (2016-05-05). "Meet 'V', the Universal Dashboard That Pipes the Power of the Web Into Any VR Experience". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/v-universal-dashboard-virtual-reality-any-vr-experience/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "HELLO V". startwithv.com (Internet Archive capture of 12 September 2017, redirected to hellov.io). Hello V. https://web.archive.org/web/20170912234104/http://startwithv.com/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "Login/Register". startwithv.com (Internet Archive capture of 1 January 2015). V. LLC. 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20150101192233/http://startwithv.com/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 "V - VR Starts With V". startwithv.com (Internet Archive capture of 16 July 2016). Hello V Inc.. 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160716212640/http://startwithv.com/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "V - VR Starts With V". startwithv.com (Internet Archive capture of 13 October 2016). Hello V Inc.. 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20161013002031/https://startwithv.com/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ Ben Lang (2017-11-16). "Universal VR Web Dashboard, 'V', Gets Support for Vive & SteamVR Headsets". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/vr-web-dashboard-v-gets-support-vive-steamvr-headsets/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "Welcome to nginx!". startwithv.com (Internet Archive capture of 10 December 2017). https://web.archive.org/web/20171210021044/http://startwithv.com/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "V - VRChat". startwithv.com (Internet Archive capture of 20 October 2015). Hello V Inc.. 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151020121049/https://startwithv.com/app/VRChat. Retrieved 2026-09-27.