Cardboard launched June 25th, 2014 at Google's annual developer conference in San Francisco. All attendees were surprised to receive an unprepossessing cardboard envelope as they left the keynote, which is when Google traditionally gives them expensive high-tech swag. A companion Android app highlighting VR experiences (an interactive cartoon, Google Earth, a Youtube player, a tour of Versailles, and a 3D object viewer) launched on the Google Play Store, and http://www.google.com/cardboard, which hosts a VR software development kit and free design templates and manufacturing specs for the Cardboard "hardware" went live at the same time.

- Cardboard was a tremendous success at Google I/O—it received (and continues to receive) extensive national and international press coverage

- Making and selling Cardboard-compatible devices has become a cottage industry (1 million+ sold)

- 1 million+ downloads of Google Cardboard app, now the most downloaded VR app ever

- Cardboard viewers were a hit at Siggraph, Sundance, SXSW, GDC, where long lines formed to get one

- 600+ Cardboard-compatible apps on Google Play Store with millions of downloads

- Collaborations with brands and artists (Volvo, Mattel, LG, Converse, Lionsgate, SNL, Chris Milk, Paul McCartney) resulting in constant mainstream visibility

Virtual reality is all the rage in tech circles. Unfortunately, experiencing VR requires a significant investment of time and/or money and considerable technical knowledge. Google designed an ingeniously simple DIY cardboard viewer to allow anyone with an Android smartphone to experience VR immediately—without expensive hardware—and to empower developers to build and try out immersive experiences quickly using familiar Google mobile development tools.

Google created Cardboard to spur growth in VR, making it accessible and useful to the greatest number of people possible. Launching an approachable, open-source cardboard viewer at Google's annual developer conference aimed to generate mainstream press coverage that would awaken interest in VR in a general audience. The accompanying smartphone app provided a taste of VR's many possibilities, making people hungry for other VR experiences, and thus encouraging developers to take advantage of the Cardboard VR software development kit to reach this new audience.