I was just at the Google Earth press announcement today in New York. In a back room, they had Google Earth VR running on HTC Vive systems. After asking about whether they had a new version, they revealed they had a new version out which now runs on Oculus Rift (with Touch controllers). Google had done something similar where their 3D Paint program Google Tiltbrush ran first on HTC Vive. Then after Touch launched on Oculus Touch, they soon released Tiltbrush on Rift as well.
The new version also adds the ability to search for a place on a keyboard (using an onscreen 3D keyboard). The first version, released last November, was sadly missing this feature.
You can read the Google announcement here.
About Frank Taylor
Frank Taylor started the Google Earth Blog in July, 2005 shortly after Google Earth was first released. He has worked with 3D computer graphics and VR for many years and was very impressed with this exciting product. Frank completed a 5.5 year circumnavigation of the earth by sailboat in June 2015 which you can read about at Tahina Expedition, and is a licensed pilot, backpacker, diver, and photographer.
The new version also missing Street View