How To Use Steam Vr With Oculus Rift S

Although Valve is at present prompting Rift users to install SteamVR, in that location's more steps to actually get the Oculus Rift working with Steam. In a few quick steps you can use your Oculus Rift to play Steam and SteamVR games. Our quick guide will testify yous how.

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Valve wants Steam and SteamVR to be the VR content destination of all VR headsets. Although Valve is working closely with HTC to promote the Vive as the flagship headset for the platform, Steam VR also supports the consumer Oculus Rift and even the older Rift DK2 development kit.

How to Play SteamVR Games on Oculus Rift in 4 Steps

ane. Brand Sure Your Rift is Installed

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The first footstep to getting your Oculus Rift working with SteamVR is actually to brand sure your Rift is installed and working correctly. If you haven't already, go here to download the Oculus Abode setup which will walk you through installing your consumer Rift (you'll also desire to employ this to install Oculus Home fifty-fifty if you're using the Rift DK2). Once installed, check to make sure yous tin can launch into the Oculus Home VR environment with no issues.

2. Enable Unknown Sources

rift unkown sources

Accept your headset off and turn your attending to the Oculus desktop app. At the top right, click the gear icon to access Settings. On the left side menu, click Generalthen tick the Unknown Sources switch, followed by the Allow button. Exercise non shut the Oculus desktop app.

three. Install SteamVR

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Launch Steam (install it from here if yous haven't already). If you aren't automatically prompted with a pop-up to install SteamVR, get to Library > Tools and install SteamVR from the list.

4. Launch SteamVR

Once SteamVR is installed, you'll come across a VR icon at the top correct of the Steam window (virtually the minimize and maximize buttons). Click this to launch SteamVR. Your Rift should now exist detected and y'all should be able to put on your headset and see the VR version of SteamVR. ( Annotation: The Oculus desktop app will likely need to be running in the background.) The Back button on the Xbox One controller (included with the consumer Oculus Rift) will open up the SteamVR menu when y'all have the headset on.

Find SteamVR Games for the Oculus Rift

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Now you've got your Oculus Rift working with SteamVR, but y'all need to know which games support the Rift specifically. Games on SteamVR are designed with different headsets, inputs, and play areas (how much room y'all have) in mind.

Steam Search allows you to sort by each of these factors to find SteamVR games that work with your setup (expand the 'Narrow by VR support' pick on the right).

The typical breakup follows:

Headset

HTC Vive
Oculus Rift

Input

Tracked motion controllers
Gamepad
Keyboard / Mouse

Play Expanse

Seated
Continuing
Room-scale

Some games may be designed to support everything, while others may only be made for seated play with a gamepad, while still more may but support room-scale with motility controllers. Await carefully the specific Headsets, Inputs, and Play Areas supported by each game before running off and ownership everything marked with 'VR Support' in sight.

If you're using a Rift correct now, y'all'll likely be restricted to playing SteamVR games that support the gamepad or keyboard / mouse (since Oculus hasn't launched their Touch on controllers yet) and Seated or Standing Play Areas (since you lot've only got i sensor for tracking, while wide-area 360 degree degree 'room-scale' gameplay requires two sensors).

Play Not-VR Steam Games in VR with Desktop Theater Style

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If y'all're a PC gamer, you've probably got a huge library of non-VR games and wouldn't heed a fashion to bring them into VR. With SteamVR'due south Desktop Theater Mode, you tin can play your entire Steam game library in virtual reality on a virtual big screen TV.

To exercise this, simply put your headset on and jump into SteamVR. Then use the menu to launch a non-VR game in your library. Launching the game this fashion will bring it up in Desktop Theater Mode which will allow you to play it on a virtual big screen Television in a home-theater like setting.

This feature is pretty basic for now, but nosotros hope to meet Valve update information technology over time with more functions (especially social!).