What is SideQuest ?
Sidequest provides developers and players a great platform to try experimental games, mods, and tools that otherwise would not be allowed on the official store. Lots of games & apps that would eventually get official releases started as small projects right on SideQuest. The only downside is that it requires side-loading, which is a pretty straightforward process, but it adds a lot of friction for new users.
What is AppLab?
On Feb 2, 2021 Oculus released AppLab. This was a huge deal for developers wanting to start creating games for Quest platform. This meant that they could finally get their games published on the Quest store. AppLab allowed for an easy way of distributing apps directly safely and without side-loading. These apps are approved and hosted by Oculus, they show up in the store and in the library like any other game from the official store. Only thing is, it's really hard to search for these apps. Games released on AppLab are not listed on the official store. You need to use some 3rd party site like SideQuest or AltLabVR to search for them.
How to install AppLab game?
First, you need to find the game. There are several sites where you can browse for AppLab games like SideQuest, or our AltLabVR. You can use it on desktop, mobile, or directly from the headset. This link will take you directly to the official Quest game detail page.
You will be greeted with a warning that this game may be experimental or still in development. You click OK and proceed as with the regular Oculus game.
You can download it from the web, mobile app, or directly from the headset. After downloading the game it will show up in your library as any other official Quest game.
That's it, this process is really straightforward, the only hard part is to find AppLab games that are worth your time. Hopefully, we can help you with just that. Check out our Discover page for some great recommendations.
