Google's free PC VR app for flying over cities, mountains and coastlines in 3D and dropping into Street View. It is still downloadable on Steam and the Meta store but has not been updated since 2018.
Google Earth VR is a free PC VR app from Google that puts the 3D globe of Google Earth around you, and a long-time favorite in the Travel & Exploration category. It launched on Steam on November 16, 2016, first for the HTC Vive, and came to the Oculus Rift with Touch controller support on April 18, 2017.
It is no longer updated. The last update Google announced on Steam came on February 13, 2018. The app still downloads and runs today, but its interface, features and headset support have not changed since then, and some users report that parts of it, such as Street View in certain areas, no longer work as well as they once did.
What it does
You fly over cities, stand on mountain peaks and zoom out into space, using Google's 3D imagery of the planet. Cinematic tours and hand-picked destinations, such as the Amazon River, the Grand Canyon, Manhattan and the Swiss Alps, give you a starting point, and a search box takes you to any address you type.
A December 2017 update added Street View: spheres in the flyover view mark spots with 360-degree photos, and you can step between neighboring photos to stroll along a street. The February 2018 update made that easier with navigation in Street View's peek mode.
Comfort
Flying fast over terrain can be intense, so the app includes a Comfort Mode that briefly narrows your field of view while you move, a technique Google calls tunnel vision. The stores show no comfort rating.
Platforms and what to know before buying
- It is free on Steam for SteamVR headsets with tracked controllers. Recent Steam reviews are Mostly Positive, and all-time reviews are Very Positive (94% of about 3,200).
- It is also free in the PC VR section of the Meta Horizon Store, rated 3+. There is no standalone Quest version; on a headset such as the Meta Quest 3 you need a gaming PC and a Link or Air Link connection.
- Steam lists at least an Intel Core i5-6400, 8 GB of RAM and a GeForce GTX 970 or Radeon R9 Fury GPU, plus a broadband connection, since imagery streams from Google's servers.
- The app is available in English only.
