Google Daydream VR Platform, Starring YouTube Celebrities, Rolls out Soon

Google is doubling down on VR with its impending launch of Daydream, an Android-based mobile VR platform that has the potential to revolutionize the industry. So soon after rolling out the Daydream-compatible Android Nougat OS, Google may actually launch Daydream in a matter of weeks, Bloomberg reports.

Daydream apps, along with the controller and ergonomic headgear, will be supported on select upcoming Android-phones. Various Google phone partners have already committed to manufacturing Daydream-compatible smartphones.

Google for its part has reportedly already paid high six-figure sums for many of the games and video content that have been developed for the mobile VR platform. And its largesse may be paying off, attracting a wide array of talent to invest time, effort, and money into storytelling in a relatively new and untested medium.

To promote the platform, Google has press-ganged a cohort of YouTube stars, including the likes of the Dolan twins and Justine Ezarik, into service to make 360-degree videos for Daydream. In addition, Google has inked content partnerships with the likes of Hulu, IMAX, Ubisoft, and the NBA, according to The Verge.

Overall, Google is pursuing a hybrid strategy in which a combination of games, apps, and videos are made available on Daydream, with the intention of making it as ubiquitous a platform for VR as the Android ecosystem is for smartphones.