VorpX is a 3D driver which allows users to play their non-VR game library immersively through an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive headset. Version 17.3.0 brings a new ‘Direct VR Settings Optimizer’ feature which automatically tweaks many titles for optimal VR performance.

While there’s many awesome made-for-VR games now on the market, VR has a tendency to spoil us with its immersion, and make us yearn to be able to step inside of our favorite non-VR games too. While games built from the ground-up for VR are always going to yield the best VR experience, VorpX is a longstanding option that adapts DirectX 9, 10, and 11 games for playing through a VR headset, giving players an immersive taste of their non-VR game library.

VorpX, which first became available back in the days of the Rift development kits—and now supports the Rift CV1 and Vive—has been updated to version 17.3.0 which makes it easier to dial in each game’s settings for ideal immersion and performance in VR.

The ‘Direct VR Settings Optimizer’, as it’s called, offers one-click configuration for a range of game-specific settings, including FOV and resolution. 90+ games are said to support the automatic optimizations, and have seen improved and expanded settings profiles to take advantage of the new feature. The Optimizer can also undo the adjustments with just a click, for when you want to switch back to your non-VR settings.

For games that support it, the Optimizer can achieve “perfect FOV,” according to its creator, and smartly adjusts game resolutions to a square aspect ratio to better fit the displays of each VR headset and reduce unnecessary rendering.

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VorpX 17.3.0 also brings a new ‘Immersive Screen Mode’, a preset for the Cinema Mode which displays games on a virtual monitor that’s been dialed in for maximum immersion (size and distance from the screen). The creator says this mode is ideal for third-person games and those which lack variable FOV.

VorpX boasts varying levels of support for more than 200 games, with new profiles just added for major titles like Battlefield 1, Star Wars: Battlefront IIHellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and more. See this list for compatibility details.


Disclosure: Road to VR has an affiliate agreement with VorpX

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Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • Papias

    Does anyone know if this works with Windows MR?

    • Griffin

      i have a MR headset and can confirm Voprx works with it

  • MechMouse

    Also want to know about windows mr

    • Griffin

      i have a MR headset and can confirm Voprx works with it.

      • MechMouse

        Using SteamVR or through native functions?

        • Griffin

          i almost exclusively use steamvr which works flawlessly. just tried without and it does *not* work natively with MR

  • Paul Lynch

    Windows Mixed reality works fine with vorpx. You have to launch the Mixed reality portal, launch steam vr , launch vorpx and then the game you want to play. It’s an awesome piece of software but you have to be prepared to tweak some settings to get things right. Well worth the money just don’t expect full 3d vr from every game you try.

  • q23main

    Crysis is on the list. Day saved :)

  • Lucidfeuer

    As a long-time supporter of Vorpx, the criticism I hear the most is about how “you have to waste time tweaking or fiddling with code (.plist)” and “it works like crap otherwise”.

    It’s not too early that they offert per-game custom optimised settings given how very few standard headset configurations there are, in fact it would have been great if there was crowed-sources so that different best settings and fiddlings for any game even unsupported ones were available.

    • Raphael

      Vorpx has had such a hard time from fools with totally unrealistic expectations. People buy it expecting native vr.. they hate and rant and bitch when they realise it doesn’t make non-vr native.

      It’s the best injector.

      • Lucidfeuer

        It’s the best injector, which does not make it great. In fact I’d rather compare it to an emulator…which they’re far from even though it’s a paid solution. My point being that when you create any sorts of emulator, meaning your are not using a native solution but an emulated adaptation, it goes without saying that you’ll have to fine-tune the base settings of each game so that the experience is correct on 80% of hardware (between the Oculus and Vive it’s not that hard).

        I remember testing it with HL2, the result was so much obviously crap and unusable as such for anyone who would want to play it, that I understand people saying it doesn’t do what it says out-of-the-box.

        I abandoned using VorpX too because of the time I had to waste fine-tuning or finding scripts/plists to even have the obvious, correct focale, FOV, scale solution. In fact as I just mentioned, it’s pretty obvious that such a solution should have been open-source, this is the only to run these kinds of project because of all the challenge it applies on a per-game basis. 30$ is pretty steep for a basic injector (with a straight-forward UI sure).

  • OmarFW

    nvidia shadowplay already does this. vorpx is just an overpriced glorified virtual monitor.

    • benz145

      Shadowplay? That’s their screen-capture software.

    • Dave Graham

      What can Shadowplay do? Please explain?
      But yeah I hate VorpX, I have not been able to play a single game with an acceptable VR experience, its just crap.

  • Courtney A Jeff

    Vorpx doesn’t work as anticipated but it does bring gta 5 into a full vr experience…that alone was worth the money.Future updates I anticipate will get more adaption’s of non vr games into vr.Their always good about getting the software on old and new pcs too.You need grand theft vr a free software file.If you use only Vorpx for gta 5 it works but no positional tracking unless you use gta vr.Praise Jesus!

  • 3dLord

    Vorpx is total crap. Used it couple of times. Like as an example the Alien isolation in vorpx and some Scuba mask is visually and atmosphericly merely a fainth shadow of the S3D version for the 3d vision fixed by mike_ar69 and bo3b.

    • dextrovix

      I’ve used VorpX and played Alien Isolation several times through- not sure why you’re having problems as I’d say the 3D was on par with the DK2 experience when enabled. In case you’re not aware, Alien Isolation has a wrapper written by Nibre called MotherVR which supports the Oculus CV1.

  • Courtney A Jeff

    I actually played most of fallout new Vegas in great vr with positional tracking over two years ago.It may not work as smooth as official narrative support as fallout 4 vr I however do think it’s not a waste of money.I love Jesus!

  • Pre Seznik

    VorpX was a big waste of money. It just doesn’t do what it says on the box.

    • Raphael

      I’ve got many hours out of it but i tend to research before i buy and dont have unrealistic expectations. Perhaps if you didnt have a box for it you might have been happier. I don’t give a crap what “the box” says… vorpx is the best injector. Results vary from game to game… unavoidable limitation of realtime vr emulation.

  • Ene Marian Aramis

    Vorpx needs to support 90 fps

  • ummm…

    haven’t touched my vorpx for like 2 years. once i realized via arma 3 that it wasn’t going to be what i expected i put it aside. is this really the holy grail they speak of?

  • Marco Dena

    I like this application but the first person VR on VORPX will give you motion sickness soon or later because of a sum of reason related to lack of optimization within the games. However, i think the application will shine again on Vive 1.5 as the new screen resolution will allow for a better 3D Virtual Cinema which may totally worth it.