Today we have many libraries and kits that aid developers in their work when it comes to software development. But when talk about a brand new technology such as Virtual Reality, Are there Dev kits to develop VR apps? And if there are, then what are the best VR SDK options?

Below we cover some of the best VR Development SDK’s of the year:

HTC Vive / OpenVR SDK:

Open VR is a software development kit (SDK) and an API that was developed by Valve in order to support HTC Vive and other VR headset related devices.

Even though HTC Vive platform makes the use of the SDK as its default API it was originally developed to have multiple vendor support without requiring to have any specific knowledge of the hardware they are targeting.

Link: HTC Vive

PlayStation VR / PSVR dev kit:

PSVR Dev kit is used to develop apps and games for Sony PlayStationVR. And in order to have access to the same, one has to become a registered developer. It brings along features like 360-degree vision, stunning visuals, incredible audio, camera, tracking to name a few just so you can immerse yourself into their hyper-real 3D environment and its incredible VR games.

Link: PlayStation VR

Oculus Rift / Oculus SDK:

Oculus SDK is considered to be the best VR SDK for Rift since it includes various engine-specific kits, samples, assets as well as audio packages in order to help build VR apps very quickly and easily in your preferred development environment.

We have Oculus PC SDK, for Windows, as well as Oculus Mobile SDK. This Virtual Reality dev kit brings along lots of features and handles many issues of VR content like optical distortion and rendering techniques.

Link: Oculus SDK

Samsung Gear VR / Oculus Mobile SDK:

It is very natural for one to question as to why the best VR SDK for GearVR is by Oculus? The answer turns out to be pretty simple. The VR headset by Samsung was initially built in collaboration with Oculus, due to which their kit fits nicely to build apps for GearVR.

Oculus Mobile SDK comprises tools and libraries for both C/C++ development for Oculus, as well as for Samsung Gear VR.

Link: Oculus Mobile SDK

Google Cardboard / Google VR SDK:

Google Cardboard is a folding cardboard container that is used by the users to place a smartphone.

It is not only universal but it also supports a wide range of smartphone models. Google Cardboard viewer includes:

A piece of cardboard cut into precise shapes 45 mm focal length lenses Magnets or captive tape A hook and loop fastener A rubber band An optional near field communication (NFC) tag

Link: Google VR SDK