Oculus Quest 2 continues adding new features following its transformation into the Meta Quest 2, with the VR headset packing 120Hz support, Air Link for wireless PC VR streaming, and even a Lord of the Rings-themed home environment. Now, Meta has introduced ‘Try Before You Buy,’ a new system-level feature that makes providing demos easier for developers.
Available for the Oculus Quest 2 and original Quest, the latest update sees Meta building its case to remain the best VR headset. Bringing back the spirit of demo discs, the program allows players to try a wide range of games with minimal effort from the developers, who no longer need to create standalone applications.
All a developer needs to do is opt-in to Try Before You Buy (TBYB) and the demo will appear through the app’s existing store page. At the developer’s discretion, these demos can last between 15-30 minutes. If you take off the VR headset during this demo, that timer gets paused.
Unfortunately, TBYB isn’t available for App Lab games, Meta’s more experimental VR platform. For apps supporting cross-buy with Meta’s defunct PC VR headsets – Oculus Rift and Oculus Rift S – these trials aren’t available for PC. So, demos for supported games like Bonelab or Pistol Whip are restricted to Quest and Quest 2, alongside VR upcoming headsets like Meta Quest Pro and Oculus Quest 3.
Once the trial’s over, access gets removed until you buy the app in question. However, TBYB retains both your previous progress and any achievements, meaning you can pick up right where you left off. Developers also receive analytics detailing how many players trialled their app, and we’d be very interested to see what effect this has on sales.