SteamVR Driver for Vision Pro & Controller Support Now in Development

SteamVR Driver for Vision Pro & Controller Support Now in Development

Time Stamp: February 8, 2024 11:51 AM
SteamVR Driver for Vision Pro & Controller Support Now in Development PlatoBlockchain Data Intelligence. Vertical Search. Ai.

The developer leading the push to make PSVR 2 compatible with PC VR games says they’re working on a SteamVR driver that aims to bring unofficial SteamVR support to Vision Pro, controllers and all.

You may have heard earlier this week that independent programmer Zhuowei Zhang had installed a modified version of Wi-Fi PC streaming app ALVR on Vision Pro, which gave users the first look at SteamVR compatibility.

Now iVRy, a project dedicated to bringing SteamVR support to officially unsupported headsets such as PSVR 2, says they’re turning their gaze to Vision Pro as well.

Since iVRy’s announcement yesterday, Valve has actually approved the iVRy Driver for Vision Pro, a paid app that the creator also hopes to offer through Apple’s App Store.

There’s no word on when we can expect it. As UploadVR notes, it may take quite a while until it’s at a functional state. Guy Godin, developer behind Virtual Desktop, maintains Apple’s tech makes support “a lot more complicated” than Android-based standalones such as Pico, noting he expects multiple months of work.

Another issue is bringing motion controller support to Vision Pro, which doesn’t support them natively. iVRy Driver supports various VR controllers, so while we can expect it to open up the usual ecosystem of devices to Vision Pro too, which was a major sticking point with the ALVR Wi-Fi streaming app, it’s not without its issues.

The team says in a post on X that support is being added to iVRy Driver for Quest Pro controllers, however it will require Quest 2/3 as a sort of ad hoc controller hub. The software also supports other controller ecosystems, such as SteamVR (aka Lighthouse) tracking, which critically requires not only its own base stations to run, but either a headset to work as a controller hub, or a special dongle to bypass that need, like the one from Tundra Labs.

That said, iVRy for Vision Pro isn’t exactly promising a plug-and-play experience. If you’re just looking to play Half-Life: Alyx (2020) on the $3,500 device right now, you may as well just buy a separate headset that’s officially SteamVR supported (Quest 2/3/Pro, Pico 4. Valve Index). Otherwise, you’ll not only be left waiting, but probably need to be passionate about kitbashing VR ecosystems too.

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