Posted October 18, 2024 by Ethan M.
Quest Games Optimizer (qgo) is an older tool which accomplishes similar goals to Quest Game Tuner.
I've gotten some questions about qgo. Shortly after I launched with the tagline "Unlock the full power of your Quest", they changed their tagline to "Unlock the full potential of your Quest", and updated their page to also use similar language. (qgo's old page, for reference)
UPDATE: qgo previously charged for certain features, but stopped doing so around the time they changed their price to be the same as Quest Game Tuner.
Quest Game Tuner has never charged extra for features or updates, and never will.
In this post, I try my best to objectively describe the difference between both tools.
As the developer of Quest Game Tuner, I am obviously bias. You can view the qgo dev's response in the comments.
Both tools are actively maintained by their respective developers. Information on this page may be out of date.
You can launch, search, and sort all your 2D and VR apps and games from either program.
Only Quest Game Tuner lets you view detailed configuration info for all your apps at once.
Lightning Launcher is the go-to launcher for Quest devices with over 100k downloads. It's lightning fast (get it?) and more customizable than either tuning tool. You can get Lightning Launcher can for free on GitHub or SideQuest.
I made Lightning Launcher! It integrates closely with Quest Game Tuner, but can be used alongside qgo as well.
Both tools can adjust the same tuning parameters, but qgo lacks a default profile and made users pay extra to change settings while in-game.
Quest Game Tuner supports four auto-tuning profiles for every single app & game on the Quest Store and SideQuest.
qgo has user-submitted and dev-approved profiles you can download for many popular games, though support varies by app and devices.
From my (obviously bias) experience, Quest Game Tuner's auto-tuning profiles are generally slightly better looking and more consistent than qgo's community profiles - but qgo's less aggressive settings may lead to fewer dropped frames.
Both apps support video recording settings, and have toggles for features such as on-head detection and guardian boundaries.
Both apps are able to display app usage data, but only Quest Game Tuner can show you daily & monthly playtime info.
Note: qgo previously charged extra for its playtime tracking.
Quest Game Tuner was first to support multiple users on the same headset, but qgo has since added this as well.
Only Quest Game Tuner supports these additional features:
- Three-click setup for multiple users on the same headset
- Full & extended video recording settings with exclusive stabilization options
- Easily toggle system-wide AdBlock for all your apps
- Set your headset to automatically turn off when you're not using it to keep your battery charged
- Detailed playtime charts
All current and future features come with your one-time purchase of Quest Game Tuner.
Quest Game Tuner is secured using industry-standard encryption. (More info on the FAQ) Tuning configs are sanitized and ADB access is limited to the app's necessary functions.
An optional accessibility service is used to allow for fully-automatic tuning without reading logs or storing your activity.
I cannot comment on the security of qgo's ADB implementation, nor it's own use of accessibility permissions.
Update: SideQuest rejected qgo over security concerns, but the details of this are murky. (SideQuest accepted Quest Game Tuner without issue.) qgo's dev claims to have gotten audited by a respected member of the community, and does not wish to discuss this futher.
Quest Game Tuner uses a randomized ID for activation - that's it. I will never collect or share any personally identifying information. Quest Game Tuner lets you toggle AdGuard DNS, which protects your privacy by blocking common analytics and trackers. (Update: qgo has since added an AdGuard toggle as well)
A persistent ADB connection is required for this type of app to function. ADB provides an elevated level of access to your device's software, so security is paramount.
qgo requires your email address. Every time you open qgo, your email, device ID, and software version are sent to their servers for verification. Some versions of qgo have also sent a list of your installed apps.