Develop

Installing Unreal Engine

Updated: Sep 24, 2026

Overview

The first step in setting up your development environment is to install the Unreal Engine version of your choice.
Set up your Meta Horizon OS development environment by using one of the following methods:
  • Oculus-VR fork of UE 5.0+ — Meta’s fork of Unreal Engine, built from source. Includes the Meta XR plugin, plus Meta’s VR performance improvements. Required for some Meta Quest features.
  • UE 5.0+ with the Meta XR plugin — the public Unreal Engine build from Epic Games, with the Meta XR plugin installed. No engine build required. May be a better fit for multi-platform releases, such as simultaneous releases on Meta Quest and non-VR platforms.
  • UE 5.0+ — the public Unreal Engine build from Epic Games, with no Meta XR plugin. You can build and ship Meta Quest apps using Epic’s OpenXR support.
These methods do not have feature parity. Before you choose, compare what each one supports in Choosing UE Installation by Feature Compatibility.
Note: All supported Unreal Engine branches can create applications for all Meta Quest headset generations.
Note: UE4 is deprecated. For legacy UE4 installation and compatibility information, see Legacy UE4.

Installing UE 5.0+, Meta’s fork

This installation includes Unreal Engine 5.0+, the Meta XR plugin, and additional features and performance improvements that make UE work seamlessly with Meta Horizon OS. It’s recommended to use this installation for the latest support with Meta Quest features and improvements.
Note: It is not necessary to install the Meta XR plugin separately when installing Meta’s fork of UE 5.0+.
  1. In the Oculus-VR fork of Unreal Engine on GitHub⁠, open the branch list, and then select the Tags tab.
    Note: Remember that to access the Oculus-VR fork of the source code, you need a verified Meta Developer Account, as well as Epic Games and GitHub accounts that are linked. For more information, see Prerequisites for installing Unreal Engine.
  2. From the list, select the UE version you want. The first version number in the tag name corresponds to the Unreal Engine version, and the last version number (prefixed with v) corresponds to the Meta Horizon OS version.
    Note: It’s recommended to choose the latest version for the newest features and bug fixes.
    Screenshot of Tags list in the Oculus-VR fork
  3. Click Code, and then click Download ZIP to download the files.
    Screenshot of Code download zip file.
  4. Unzip the folder to the preferred location on your development machine.
    Important: Paths that exceed the Windows maximum path length⁠ cause build failures. To keep paths short, avoid network shares, which also slow the build. Instead, create a junction point⁠ for the directory.
  5. Build the engine by following the “Getting Up and Running” instructions in the README⁠.
    Note: Building from source requires Visual Studio with the Game development with C++ workload installed.

Installing UE 5.0+ from Epic Games

Install UE 5.0+ directly from Epic Games using the Epic Games Launcher. You’ll need to install the Meta XR plugin separately, and you won’t get the additional features and performance improvements in the fork. To see what differs, see Choosing UE Installation by Feature Compatibility.

Install the Epic Games Launcher

  1. Go to the Download Unreal Engine⁠ page and then click Download Launcher.
  2. Complete Step 2: Install Epic Games Launcher on the same page.
Install the release version of UE 5.0+ from Epic
  1. Open the Epic Games Launcher and log in.
  2. On the Library tab, click the + next to Engine Versions.
    Screenshot of the Library tab of the Epic Games Launcher.
  3. In the Install box, select the version you want to install.
    Screenshot of the version install box.
  4. Click Install. Optionally, click Browse to change the install location or Options to select specific features.
    Screenshot of the Installation dialog.
  5. Click Install.
  6. If necessary, click Yes to allow the launcher to install Unreal Engine.

Install the Meta XR plugin

To install the Meta XR plugin, follow the instructions on Installing the Meta XR plugin.

Next steps

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