February 6th marked the one-year anniversary of Oculus Start, a program created for developers new to our platform, who are building the next generation of VR games and applications. With this program, we provide qualifying developers with dedicated support and access to software savings, helping to offload development costs so they can focus on what's really important - creating amazing VR experiences.

Oculus Start benefits include (but are not limited to):

Access

Special access and discounts to Oculus events

Special access and discounts to partner events

Developer kits for existing Oculus hardware

Beta tools and services

Support

1:1 technical support from the Oculus development team

Meetings with technical experts at events

Access to the Oculus Start private forum

Savings

Special discounts and free offerings from our partners

First Year Highlights

In the first year of Oculus Start, we stood proudly alongside many of our Oculus Start developers as they launched hundreds of amazing VR experiences in the Oculus Store. We even saw some members work directly with their clients and end-users to offer bespoke and customized solutions that VR is highly amenable to as well.

In addition, we kept an eye on Oculus Launch Pad this year and were thrilled that several Oculus Start developers' projects were chosen as Oculus Launch Pad finalists and winners!

Over the past year, we have been honored to have so many talented individuals join the Oculus Start community and stoked to have reached far past our original intentions. As these 1200+ developers continue to finesse their VR applications, many have also unabashedly extended themselves to encourage and support others in the program.

“Creating VR is a constant troubleshooting battle and having access to experts in the community as well as having Oculus staff there to help is brutally awesome. It’s a great time to be an indie VR game developer.” - Steve Hinan, Metal VR Pinball

Our Oculus Start forums are just one place where our devs come together to answer questions and connect with other members. We've also met many of you in person at various industry events, including our own.

“The Oculus Start Forum is where we can come together and work as a community on the future of our VR applications. Don’t give up; dig into it and ask questions. Time is our friend and time will let us gain knowledge.” - Neontop

Of course, we also saw a lot of appreciation from developers, including IRL and VR-enabled unboxing videos:

What's Next

Oculus Start was initially launched as a pilot program for one year, what we generally call a cohort. With our first cohort drawing to a conclusion and given how tight-knit the Oculus Start community has become, we thought carefully about our next steps. Therefore, we've decided to not only renew the program for new members but also provide a continuation track for those members approaching their one-year anniversary.

The extension for existing Oculus Start members restarts their 1:1 support instance to 5 new instances this year and they will continue to receive discounts to special events. We will also continue to support access to forums, betas, badging and other opportunities as they arise over the year.

And for new-to-Oculus Start developers, we welcome your application for consideration. To see if you qualify, fill in the appropriate info in the application form. Once submitted, we'll review your submission and get back to you shortly. There are no fees or catches but, be sure to check out the important info and governing terms.

It is our privilege to continue this VR developer program and we look forward to collaborating with you throughout 2019!

- The Oculus Team