Oculus Quest will launch with YouTube

A native version of YouTube will be available on the Oculus Quest VR headset when it launches on May 21.

As announced by the company in a blog post, the app will offer both traditional 2D and 360-degree videos. Google has historically taken its time in launching YouTube on third-party hardware. That Quest will have VR from day one is an indicator that both Facebook is keen to shift units, and that Google wants to get as many eyes on their product as possible.

YouTube VR product lead Kurt Wilms said: “We want to bring the YouTube VR app to as many people with a VR headset as possible. With more than 1 million VR videos and experiences on YouTube, we want to make sure all new Oculus Quest users and VR fans are able to able to access the diverse library of immersive content on YouTube.”  

It has been argued that Oculus Quest represents the best opportunity for high-end VR to reach the mainstream. While the unit itself is costly at €449, it does not require any additional hardware, unlike its predecessor the Rift which retailed at a similar price and needed a highly-specced PC to run it.

Oculus will hope that by bringing YouTube to the hardware, it will increase Quest’s chances of success.