U.S. social media giant Facebook has announced plans to test virtual reality (VR) advertisements on the Oculus Quest headset lineup.
XR Today reported on how brands are noticing the potential of VR and augmented reality (AR) advertisements, with ecosystems like 8th Wall emerging with fantastic engagement figures prove the power of AR/VR advertising.
The advertisements come as part of the Oculus version 29 update, released on the May 17, which focus on bringing new social features to the hardware.
This is an move by Facebook to support VR developers with applications available on the Quest store.
Facebook sees the advertisements as the first step towards creating a valuable ecosystem for both small and large developers.
The Oculus store has grown significantly since its launch in March 2016, where many applications and games have been released on the platform. Developers must go through a formal review process to become verified for release on the Oculus storefront.
Facebook’s App Labs and Adverts
Facebook also released ‘App Labs’ earlier this year, an extension of the storefront that removes the review process to open up the platform to independent developers with small or early access projects.
According to V29 release notes, developers can run advertisements in their own applications to promote upcoming projects.
The tests will start on the mobile storefront as well as the shooting game Blaston, and is set to appear in two other Oculus apps, according to Facebook.
Facebook is aware the advertisements could appear as intrusive, and they assure the advertisements are in the best of intentions of developers and users.
Facebook are providing full transparency, giving users a “Why am I seeing this ad?” option.
The news comes as Facebook’s advertisement revenue reached 84.2 billion U.S. dollars as of 2021, with over 2 million Quest 2 units sold in the first quarter this year. The Menlo Park, California-based firm’s advertisements could reach a potentially massive user base with the new plans.
