Unity XR platform updates

Amidst a period of innovation for XR, we want to ensure Unity remains the best development platform for creators and our ecosystem partners. We’re excited to announce our new XR plugin framework designed to empower the ecosystem and provide guidance on how this impacts development in 2019.3 and beyond.

Unity XR plugin framework

We have been working to improve our multi-platform offering, enabling direct integrations through a unified plugin framework. The resulting tech stack consists of an API that exposes common functionalities across our supported platforms in a frictionless way for creators while enabling XR hardware and software providers to develop their own Unity plugins. This architecture offers the following benefits:

• Multi-platform developer tools such as AR Foundation and the XR Interaction Toolkit 
• Faster partner updates from supported plugins via the Unity Package Manager 
• More platforms have access to an interface to leverage Unity’s XR rendering optimizations and developer tools

Unity has developed new XR plugins for our supported platforms as part of this shift. Additionally, we have deprecated our built-in platform implementations in 2019.3. 

This framework will influence how we support various types of platforms:

• Officially supported platforms
• Verified Solutions Partners
• Innovators

Officially supported platforms

“Build once, deploy anywhere” continues to be our core principle, and we work directly with our strategic partners to ensure that all creators are fully supported when developing for these platforms. This involves deep platform integration, improvements to our engine, and optimizations to our XR tech stack for the platform. As of 2019.3, Unity officially works with and supports: 

• ARKit
• ARCore
• Microsoft HoloLens
• Magic Leap
• Oculus
• Windows Mixed Reality
• PlayStation VR

Other platform updates

• Gear VR is no longer supported in 2019.3 and beyond, as Oculus focuses on their current generation of hardware. 
• Google VR is no longer supported in 2019.3 and beyond due to Google ending sales of Daydream View and the launch of the Cardboard Open Source Project . 
• OpenVR is no longer a Unity supported platform in 2019.3 and beyond. Valve is developing their OpenVR XR plugin for 2019.3, and they will share more information on where to access it once it is available.

Note: Gear VR, Google VR, and OpenVR will remain supported in Unity 2018 LTS. 

Verified Solutions Partners

As we continue to see new entrants in the XR space, we want to make sure our framework enables better integrations for the whole ecosystem. We are excited to pair the Unity XR SDK with our Verified Solutions Partner program, which is designed to help third-party providers deliver direct value to their creators. The program offers various levels of support, including test verification and promotion of the plugin once released. Being a Verified Solutions Partner helps establish developer trust and improve adoption of your plugin. 

Learn more about the program and how you can join our network of Verified Solutions Partners. 

Innovators

Unity would not be the platform it is today without our community of creators and innovators. To enable our ecosystem without getting in the way of innovation, we’re excited to announce that users who want to experiment can now develop their own Unity plugins for our interface, though these solutions and partners are not supported directly by Unity. 

Sign up for access to the headers, documentation, and test suites of our XR SDK . 

Migration to XR plugins

As mentioned earlier, built-in XR support has been deprecated in 2019.3 and we recommend using our supported XR plugins.*

See the table below for our latest guidance on how to develop for each platform.

*Deprecation means built-in support is still functional and available in the 2019 TECH stream and will remain in 2019 LTS. However, bugs and issues may not be prioritized, and the packages will be removed in future releases.