Apple Enhances Open-Source Game Engine with visionOS Support to Broaden Development Opportunities

In a surprising development, Apple is stepping up to add support for its visionOS platform directly into the Godot open-source game engine. This move broadens the toolkit available for developers eager to create content for the new headset.

Similar to well-known engines like Unity and Unreal, Godot offers an array of development tools that simplify the process of creating real-time games and applications. However, unlike the other two, Godot is entirely open-source, allowing anyone to use it and share games created with it at no cost. This openness also means developers can contribute new features and fixes to enhance the engine for everyone.

This marks an unusual step for Apple, as the company integrates visionOS support into Godot. This makes it feasible for developers to craft and share Vision Pro content using the engine.

Ricardo Sanchez-Saez, an Apple software engineer, recently discussed the company’s initiative to incorporate visionOS support into Godot as an open-source contribution. He explained that the feature would be introduced in two key phases. The first phase will enable Godot-built games to operate in flat windows on visionOS, while the second phase aims to support fully immersive visionOS applications.

Given the nature of the open-source process, it will take time for Apple’s contributions to be included in the official version of Godot, and there isn’t a fixed timeline for when the project will be completed.

By doing this, Godot is joining the ranks of Unity, Unreal Engine, and Apple’s own tools like X-code and Reality Composer Pro, offering developers more options for creating applications for Vision Pro.

Moreover, Godot is not limited to visionOS; it’s also capable of developing apps for major VR platforms, such as Quest and PC VR.