HTC launching a VR app store for Vive to move beyond games

The HTC Vive VR headset will get its own app store this fall, as the company moves to broaden the experiences available to its users.

Viveport will offer virtual reality experiences in areas like education, communcation, entertainment, shopping and more, said Rikard Steiber, SVP of virtual reality at HTC.

"VR is going to change the world for the better. It will democratize access to experience, anyone can travel anywhere, and learn anything," Steiber told Mashable. "The experiences that were only available to a few are now available to everyone."

Viveport's launchthis fall will bring many more pieces to HTC's virtual reality ecosystem. Currently, Vive owners access VR games and software through Steam, Vive launch partner Valve's PC game platform. Viveport adds an additional layer, with a PC and mobile app to purchase and preview apps, as well as its own home space that acts as both storefront and content launcher.

But Steiber promises much more interactivity from your Viveport VR experience, saying the company will allow users to customize their home menu with skins, apps and widgets.

"My Viveport could be a tropical beach, and yours could be the bridge of a spaceship."

Launching and using apps, Steiber said, will be "a bit like Minority report," with gesture controls reliant on the Vive's two wand-like controllers. Steiber and his team are also encouraging developers to add as much controller support into their apps, despite the fact the Vive is the only headset with included controls currently on the market.

"To get true presence, you need to have interactivity and you need to have room scale," he said. "If you are a developer, I would go for the more immersive experience first, to see how far you can possibly go, then scale for platforms with fewer features."

Developers will get a chance to on the ground floor of Viveport, as Steiber said the beta would be out soon. He also promised that developers who submitted their apps during the beta period would get their apps featured in Viveport when it launches more broadly to consumers this fall.