15 Best VR Tools for Game and App Developers

Virtual reality (VR) is one of the hottest technologies in the world today. It has opened up new vistas of opportunities for developers and businesses, and creating apps that work with virtual reality is a must.

Virtual reality is an immersive computer-generated environment that can be simulated by your mind. VR technology has been around for decades, but it’s only recently that affordable and accessible technologies have made it possible for the general public to experience VR. If you’re an app developer or business owner looking for the best tools and resources available to create virtual reality apps or games, this list will help!

1. Unity

Unity is a powerful, flexible and intuitive development platform that makes it easy to create beautiful games and experiences. It’s most known for developing games for platforms like the web, mobile, VR, and consoles. Unity provides the tools you need to build your game or app from scratch or import and use existing models from other sources like Blender.

The Unity tool can also be used to create VR solutions for various industries. For example, it can be used to create virtual reality solutions for the automotive, transportation, industrial, media and entertainment, engineering, and construction industries.

2. Unreal Engine 5

Unreal Engine is a complete suite of game development tools available for free. It creates high-quality games and applications across PC, console, mobile, VR/AR, and IoT platforms. This VR tool can be used by developers to create VR apps for numerous platforms, that include Oculus, Sony, Samsung Gear VR, Android, iOS, Google VR, and more.

Unreal Engine has been used by major game publishers such as Warner Bros., Activision Blizzard, Square Enix, and Ubisoft to make games like Destiny 2 (the sequel to the popular first-person shooter), Gears of War 4 (one of Microsoft’s most successful titles) or Rise of The Tomb Raider (the sequel to Crystal Dynamics’ 2013 reboot).

3. Amazon Open 3D Engine

Open 3D Engine (O3DE) is Lumberyard’s Apache-licensed successor. O3DE is an AAA-capable, cross-platform, and open-source game engine that is available under an Apache 2.0 license. It offers game and simulation developers more choices to collaborate, customize, and control their production pipelines. O3DE is available with a Windows installer and support for Linux.

4. CryEngine (3.8)

CryEngine is a powerful VR software development tool developed by German video game developer Crytek. It has been used in many games and interactive media, including Far Cry 3, Ryse: Son of Rome, Need for Speed Rivals, and The Climb. CryEngine allows developers to create virtual reality programs for major VR platforms such as the Oculus Rift, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and others.

The engine was first developed by Crytek in 1999, originally named “CryEngine” but later renamed to “CryEngine 1” in 2004. In 2006, it was acquired by Unity Technologies and then renamed to simply “CryEngine 2”.

In 2016, the company announced that it would be discontinuing the development of its proprietary engine after 20 years of using it and several other software such as 3D Studio Max and Maya, which would all be replaced by a version called Glassbox (formerly known as Blueprints).

5. Babylon.js

Babylon.js is a free JavaScript library that you can use to build 3D games and apps that run in the browser or on your native device. It’s available for Android, iOS, Windows Phone 8, and more platforms. It also has built-in support for textured models (tessellation), so no external software is required.

The library also includes an easy-to-use 3D physics engine called Box2DLite, which makes it possible to create interactions with objects based on their mass and density properties. This allows developers writing code using BabylonJS to create realistic interactions between characters within their game worlds without having any previous experience working with these types of systems before them, such as Unity3D or Unreal Engine 4

6. Google VR

Google provides various VR development tools that developers can use to create fully immersive VR experiences for their stakeholders. Developers can find these resources on the Google VR developer portal. It is possible to create VR apps using these technologies for various platforms, including Unity, Unreal, Android, iOS, and the web. The Cardboard SDK has been updated with a simpler API and improved device compatibility, as well as QR code scanning for profile creation.

7. JanusVR

JanusVR is a free web-based virtual reality browser. It allows users to explore 3D environments, play games, and share experiences with others in real time.

JanusVR is compatible with most VR headsets, including Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Samsung GearVR. The tool has many useful features that make it ideal for developers who want to create or enhance their virtual worlds. Developers can use it as a platform for building interactive stories using WebGL content or even create custom dashboards for monitoring performance metrics data from their creations without leaving the comfort of their desk chair!

8. WebVR Starter Kit

WebVR is a JavaScript API that provides access to Virtual Reality devices such as the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. It allows developers to create an immersive web experience for users of Virtual Reality headsets, allowing them to experience their content in 3D.

WebVR is a JavaScript API that enables users to create 3D virtual worlds on any browser through HTML5, CSS3, and WebGL code (using Canvas). This can be used with existing websites or applications using other technologies like WebGL or Web Audio APIs.

The toolkit includes:

• A collection of demos showing how different kinds of content can be created using this technology.
• Documentation on how developers should build VR experiences using HTML5 templates provided by Mozilla; along with some example files for each template.
• Tools like REACT Native allow developers who already know ReactJS well enough but might not want/need its complexity when building apps around this technology!

9. Blend4Web SDK

Blend4Web is a free and open-source framework for creating interactive 3D web experiences. It provides a set of tools to create 3D applications that work in all modern browsers without the need to install any third-party plugins or additional software.

Blend4Web supports creating 2D and 3D applications using JavaScript, C++, JavaFX, and WebGL technologies. As such, it can be used on any modern browser supporting WebGL 2 (Chrome v57+ Firefox v58+ Edge v27+, Opera v38+) as well as Android devices with Vulkan support (Chrome 70+ Safari 12+)

10. Vizor 360

Vizor is a browser-based editor and publishing platform for creating and sharing VR. Users can create beautiful VR visualizations in no time, even if they have no 3D or coding experience. Vizor lets users publish their content to the web, mobile and desktop devices, Samsung GearVR, and Oculus Rift headsets. Vizor 360 can be used for VR storytelling, VR presentations, video games, education and training, rapid prototyping, and game development.

11. PlayCanvas Engine/Editor

PlayCanvas Engine/Editor is a free and open-source game engine that can be used for 2D and 3D games, VR games, AR apps, and web apps. It’s easy to use, cross-platform and supports both Unity (for the PC & Mac) and Unreal Engine 4 (for the PS4).

The PlayCanvas Editor has been around since 2014, so it has already seen some improvements over time. You can download it from GitHub here: https://github.com/playcanvas/engine

12. EaselJS or CreateJS Suite of Libraries and Tools

EaselJS is a JavaScript library that makes working with Canvas elements and their contexts easy. EaselJS can be used to create 2D media, such as images and video, or 3D graphics using the HTML5 Canvas element.

On the other hand, CreateJS is a suite of modular libraries and tools that make it easier to create rich interactive experiences in HTML5. The project was started by Ben Galton, who later joined Google as Lead Engineer for WebGL 2 and 3 (partly because he wanted to use some of these tools).

13. Three.js Javascript Library for 3D Graphics

Three.js is a Javascript library that makes it possible to create and display animated 3D computer graphics in a web browser. It is used by thousands of developers daily, including the creators of some of the most popular VR applications available today. ThreeJS was created by Josef Kvánek in 2009 as an open-source project under the MIT license (MIT License).

14. Maya

Autodesk Maya, also known as MAYA software, is a 3D computer graphics program. This software is used to create 3D models, 3D applications, animated movies, TV serials, commercials, 3D video games, visual effects, and many other things. Before using advanced tools like Autodesk Maya, traditional animation was done in 2D. But today, most of the film industry uses Autodesk Maya to deliver high-quality 3D animations. Many industries today use Autodesk Maya to create realistic 3D images and visual effects, including film, video games, real estate, automobiles, and more.

15. Blender

Blender is a free, open-source 3D modeling software. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing, motion tracking, and video editing. Blender’s development is overseen by the Blender Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the public good.

Conclusion

This was all about the best 15 VR tools for games and app developers. With these VR tools, developers can create virtual reality experiences that are completely immersive. They use 3D models and textures to create realistic environments that feel like the real world. These tools allow anyone with an Internet connection to create content that could be used in businesses or even entertainment. Events like concerts or sporting events in which they would want attendees at their venue to have a 360-degree view of what’s going on around them.

I hope this article helps you understand the topic in-depth!