The other day we mentioned it almost in passing, but it is certainly news that deserves a more detailed explanation. Oculus has announced during the Connect event that the free version of Unity will be compatible with Oculus Rift, something that, until now, was reserved for the Pro version. Therefore, it will be possible to build virtual reality projects without forking out the $1500 of the Pro version.
The idyll that has existed since day one between Oculus and Unity continues to advance and consolidate more and more. The first units of the DK1 included a 4-month version of Unity Pro, essential for developing content for Oculus Rift, and in the end the decision has been made to support the Rift in the free versions. In addition, the Oculus plugin for Unity will include a series of advanced features for virtual reality, such as optimizations for the generation of images for two eyes, support for 3D audio and others.
It seems to us a very successful move on the part of Unity, and that is that somehow they had to respond to the aggressive pricing policies of Unreal Engine, which with version 4 is attracting a lot of virtual reality developers who, until now, only considered Unity. Some of the most well-known experiences for Oculus Rift, such as Lucky’s Tale, Titans of Space or Dreadhalls have been developed with Unity, and it seems that in the future we will have many more. They have not yet given a specific date for the implementation of this agreement, but we will inform you as soon as we know.
