Viveport update adds easier in-app purchases to Unity VR games

By Jon Martindale Published April 18, 2017

Buying updates for your virtual reality game without ever leaving it could become much more commonplace following the latest update for HTC’s Viveport platform. The new Viveport SDK v 1.5.1 lets developers using the Unity engine offer virtual goods and content directly from within the app, alongside new leaderboard and achievement systems.

Viveport is an alternative virtual reality platform to the likes of Steam, for HTC’s Vive VR headset. It has support for all of the same applications but doesn’t have quite the same feature set as the more traditional digital games marketplace. This latest update brings a little more feature parity to the two platforms and helps developers keep gamers immersed, even if they want to buy new content.

Recommended Videos

Another method of monetization has also been added in this SDK release. Known as the VR Ad system, HTC has enabled in-game advertisements that we’re told, “engage with a user without compromising the experience.” It’s not clear what guise these ads will take, but we do know viewing them can be tracked with “verifiable impressions” to help maximize revenue.

We won’t get to see these ads in action just yet though, as this feature is undergoing trials in China as part of its “early launch phase.” Chances are it will be rolled out to other territories and developers, but that may depend on the response of the community following its introduction.

This update wasn’t just about making more money in VR though. Additional features now available to Unity developers include a new achievement system designed to encourage exploration, a unified leaderboard system for displaying global and local rankings, and the addition of new user profiles. That latter feature is what binds many of the others together, unifying the user’s purchases, scores, and stats under one profile.

Although these new features are only available to developers who are building their VR worlds in the Unity engine, HTC has made it clear that it’s also working on bringing that same level of functionality to the Unreal Engine.

If you’re a Viveport user, don’t forget that the new subscription system lets you download and play five full games a month if you’re willing to pay up. It also offers a one-month free trial, to get you hooked.

Former Evergreen writer

Jon Martindale covers how to guides, best-of lists, and explainers to help everyone understand the hottest new hardware and…

Topics

Computing

Mori might be the cutest AI companion robot yet, and it reacts to you like a pet

The Pokémon-like companion can blink, dance, act shy, and respond to what is happening around it.

OKA Mori The Nature Companion AI Home Robot

With AI progressing so fast, it's only a matter of time before we start getting AI companions like the ones we used to see in movies like R2-D2, Wall-E, or Baymax. Now, Singapore-based OKA Technology has unveiled Mori, a cute little AI companion that looks less like a conventional home robot and more like someone turned the Pokémon Foongus into a table lamp.

Mori isn't meant to clean your house or control your smart home, but to serve as what OKA calls a "Nature Companion." It uses subtle movements, warm lighting, nature-inspired sounds, and small reactions to make its presence around the house feel calming rather than distracting. Mori can sit quietly while you read, sway along to music, welcome you when you enter a room, or encourage you to slow down for a moment without requiring a screen or a conversation.

Computing

Arc browser is shutting down in December. Long live, ya trailblazer!

The browser that revolutionizes tab management is finally riding into the sunset.

Arc browser farewell note.

Arc browser is shutting down on December 22, following a long spell of maintenance-only work as the company behind it moves forward with its successor, Dia. Earlier today, The Browser Company announced that the beloved web browser will ride into the sunset in two months, but will continue development of the Dia browser.

"That's not an easy sentence to write. We spent years building Arc and celebrating each and every release along the way: we have so much pride and love for what we made alongside the Arc community," says the company.

Computing

1Password wants AI agents to handle logins without ever taking a peek at your passwords

1Password is expanding its secure login system to Muse, Claude Duet, Dots, ChatGPT Work, and more.

1Password for AI Agents launched

The next chapter of AI is knocking on our doors, as AI agents like Meta Muse, OpenAI Dots, Gemini Spark, among others, are becoming mainstream, and they are genuinely quite useful for a lot of things, ranging from being your personal assistant all the way to helping you manage a small business. However, many are still quite hesitant about giving these agents access to your accounts and their sensitive credentials.

1Password thinks it has a fix for that trust problem. Its new 1Password for Agents platform lets AI agents sign in to your accounts without ever seeing or storing the passwords, sensitive information, or other credentials they need.