While you can find many free apps and games through Oculus TV or Oculus Browser, when you’re ready to branch out and find new games or experiences the Oculus Store will be your first stop. You can access the store through the Oculus app for your phone, on the web at https://www.oculus.com/experiences/quest/, or through your headset.
To use the store on your headset:
- Select the shopping bag icon on your navigation bar in the Home World to open the store.
- On the left-hand side of the screen you’ll see a list of ways to search, including your “Wishlist” of games/apps you’ve saved for later consideration (see next point for how to save to “Wishlist”).
- When you select a game or app a preview video will show you what it’s all about. Or you can select from the options on the left side of the screen to learn more about it.
- To purchase a game, click the blue box with the price.
- To save a game to your “Wishlist” for easy access later, select the heart icon in the lower right of the screen.
Other Options Besides the Oculus Store for Quest
Only games and apps that meet strict requirements from Oculus/Facebook are allowed on the Oculus Store. And only some of the many games out there are currently available for the Quest/2.
However, there are many other developers out there who have created fun and engaging content that does not meet requirements to be listed in the Oculus Quest Store or is only available for different VR headsets. You can access additional content in a few ways:
- Using SideQuest, a program that lets you sideload apps onto your Quest. You’ll find a wide variety of free and paid apps through SideQuest. Apps sideloaded won’t show up in the main screen of your app library, but can be found by filtering for “Unknown Sources” in the library.
- From the Oculus App Lab, which just launched in early February 2021 and allows developers to distribute their apps without going through the Oculus Store. These apps will show up in your main app library.
- Through Steam, a digital library that has a large variety of games and sometimes has games for lower cost than on the Oculus Store, You’ll need a gaming-compatible PC and an Oculus Link cable (or compatible cable) to connect your computer to your Quest headset. This means you’ll be tethered to your computer while you play.
- Games that you purchase for the Oculus Rift/S can also be played on your Quest headset using a gaming-compatible PC and an Oculus Link. Again, you’ll be tethered to your computer while you play, but you’ll have access to a much wider selection of games with amazing graphics that the Quest just can’t provide in a stand-alone headset.
Click the links above for more information on these other sources of games and apps.