The only silver lining is that this will encourage the homebrew scene to take off. The same thing happened with the PS Vita as soon as support started to wane.
Yeee anybody who bought these as an actual standalone headset is in for a rude awakening of how console gaming works and how app store monopolies and vertical integration are able to offer you prices that massively undercut the competition like this.
As always - PC games are forever, piracy is forever. My quest 2 exists to have VD on it and nothing else, and when support is discontinued if the dev keeps updating it - I'll sideload the .APKs myself.
A similar thing will happen with WMR headsets in November of 2026, by the way (they'll work beyond that, but you can't download the software anymore after that date):
Since these depend on Windows itself, I don't think there will be an easy (or even possible) workaround.
Sad news, because these are cheap, high-res, fast to set up, easy to use and generally very decent headsets. Controllers are not top of the class, but good enough for almost anything. Ideal for people interested in tipping their toes into proper PCVR.
Does quest 1 have access to virtual desktop? If so, can you just keep playing off of your computer hardware? Or are those 10kB patches virtual desktop has to download RIGHT NOW five minutes after you start using it really important to the operation of the streamer app?
"Thanks for your support in growing this community without any compensation from us that we will throw in the trash the moment it becomes less than profitable. You can continue your unrewarded work for our new and 'improved' product that will face the same fate in just a few short years!"
With the current pace of VR, the Quest 1 already feels extremely outdated. I'm not surprised that they are dropping support for it, especially when the Quest 2 and 3 have all but replaced it
same thing happened to my Samsung mixed reality headset. I've just said fuck vr entirely if companies are going to do this. reminds me of how Apple used to be where people would patch new fully working iOS version features onto old phones to bypass artificial obsolescence.
Made me wonder how long Apple would support their Vision Pro devices as both devices are similarly locked down by their manufacturers. The Quest 1 was released on 2019, so it got about 5 years of support. Apple might support Vision Pro for longer (maybe 7 years?), but at $3499 (vs Quest 1's $399), it'll going to be hurt for the owners when it's no longer supported.