Oculus VR Publishing Aims For Developer Influx

In a power move by the creators of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, the team has hired on former senior vice president of EA, David DeMartini. The exec will be starting a publishing arm for Oculus VR, a piece of the puzzle that's thus far been all but missing, with DeMartini hoping to attract developers to the virtual reality universe.

For those of you that have an Oculus Rift headset, this means you'll be finding more apps and software in the near future. You'll be able to play in new realms and work with non-gaming software before too long as well. DeMartini spoke with Gamasutra this week on what it means to be a developer working with Oculus, pointing out that there's more than just 3D play that the device is good for.

For instance, DeMartini name-checked IMAX movies, educational programs, and live concerts as potential avenues where an immersive-display wearable might be useful. The new division will focus on how to encourage non-traditional partners to work with Oculus; persuading a company working in the travel business, for instance, to install cameras that "let us create a Rift experience of being in, say Barcelona?" he explained.

At the moment there's a lot of cool software out in the wild for the Oculus Rift headset. This platform is essentially at the center of the gaming universe at the moment for interesting conversation on the re-emerging environment. What's missing – and what DeMartini hopes to grow – is the app ecosystem.

Oculus VR will be rolling with everything from immersive movies to streaming live concert events in the future. It's all up to the developers – and people like yourself, even if you're a new onlooker. Like the many (successful for the most part, it seems) such programs that've popped up over the past several years, it looks like the Oculus Rift headset's developer program is about to light up. Stay tuned as the virtual reality app universe expands at a great rate.