Daydream VR platform now open to developers

Google's Daydream headset reference design. (Image courtesy Google.) — Google’s Daydream headset reference design. (Image courtesy Google.)

Google’s Daydream virtual reality platform is now open to the public. The Daydream software development kit came out of beta, the company announced Thursday.

The kit, available here for Android, has native Unity integration and native integration with Unreal Engine 4.

Daydream is coming this fall, and is part of the Android Nougat release. A number of apps are already slated to be available at launch, includingÂ Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Imax, MLB, the NBA, CNN, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Some of these are currently only available for the competing Oculus platform and the Samsung Gear VR.

In addition to the new app, the Daydream platform also promises better performance, graphics, and sensors, and also has a virtual home environment that eliminates the need to take the phone out of the viewer whenever the user wants to switch apps or load up a new video.

Google's Daydream home screen and app switcher. — Google’s Daydream home screen and app switcher.

Google is expected to talk more about the platform at itsÂ October 4 event.

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Maria Korolov

Hypergrid Business editor and publisher Maria Korolov is a science fiction novelist. During the day, Maria Korolov is an award-winning freelance technology journalist who covers artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and enterprise virtual reality. See her Amazon author page here and follow her on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn, and check out her latest videos on the Maria Korolov YouTube channel. Email her at maria@hypergridbusiness.com. Her first virtual world novella, Krim Times, made the Amazon best-seller list in its category. Her second novella, The Lost King of Krim, is out now. She is also the publisher of MetaStellar, a new online magazine of speculative fiction.