Sony says it’s bringing some form of PC VR support to PSVR 2 at some point this year, although it’s not clear when, or even how the company will go about letting users play games like Half-Life: Alyx (2020) or popular social VR platforms equally missing from the headset’s game catalogue. But some won’t have to wait: iVRy, an unofficial project dedicated to the task, is bringing it long-awaited SteamVR driver to PSVR 2 sometime next month.

Exactly one year since the start of the project, Mediator Software announced on X (formerly Twitter) that its iVRy SteamVR driver for PSVR 2 has crossed the last remaining obstacle, positioning the driver to release sometime next month via Steam. That’s great news, although probably not for everyone with a VR-ready PC and PSVR 2 in hand—at least not right away.

One of the many caveats of using iVRy for PSVR 2 is the requirement of a DP-AUX emulator hardware, which is set to be initially offered exclusively to subscribers to the project’s Patreon. The team says however non-subscribers may also be offered the opportunity to purchase the required DP-AUX emulator sometime in April or May. Pricing is also still to be determined.

There are a few other hurdles to jump over too. At the moment, iVRy for PSVR 2 only supports a limited selection of AMD GPUs, which for now includes Radeon RDNA, RDNA2 or RDNA3. As the studio notes, the onus is on Sony to support nVidia GPUs, since there is no known way to circumvent it without GPU driver modifications.

“AMD’s DSC strategy is technically sub-optimal,” the iVRy developer says in a post on X. “Mediatek developed the PSVR2 hardware with AMD and nVidia support, and Sony disabled the nVidia support when they customised the design. There’s no reason for Sony’s change other than to reduce compatibility with non-AMD GPU drivers.”

That’s not all. Controllers are also an issue, as PSVR 2’s Sense Controllers aren’t currently listed as a supported device; the driver only includes support for NoloVR motion controllers and Valve SteamVR (aka Lighthouse) tracked motion controllers, such as Index or Vive controllers. Mediator Software said in January however it was still cracking Sense Controller support, so we may eventually see that too.

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For now, this essentially limits the pool of potential users to only the most ardent hardware enthusiasts who already own a PC VR headset, or those among us who are content with playing whatever games support standard gamepads—also a supported input method. And the creator tends to agree:

“Anyone considering purchasing a Quest 3 or PSVR2 for PCVR, should get a Quest 3. PSVR2 on PC is for existing owners that don’t want to purchase another headset, or those that particularly want a PSVR2 on PC, for whatever reasons,” Mediator Software says in a recent post on X.

That said, most people would probably rather wait and see what Sony has in store with its promised official PC support for PSVR 2, which is said to arrive in some capacity in 2024. Granted, it’s not clear exactly when or how this will be done, however it’s not unlikely that Sony’s implementation could be some sort of Wi-Fi streaming solution akin to Steam Link or Meta’s Air Link, provided the company wants to keep PSVR 2 owners still somewhat tied to the PS5 console ecosystem.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 3,500 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • ViRGiN

    You got to be a nutjob and Meta hater to go through anything to play PCVR with PSVR2 headset.

    Plus, is the communtiy really in favor of gatekeeping technical research?
    This benefits noone but iVRy.

    • kakek

      What ? What are you talking about ? What profits iVry’s dev ?

      Also, the dev themselves say

      “Anyone considering purchasing a Quest 3 or PSVR2 for PCVR, should get a Quest 3. PSVR2 on PC is for existing owners that don’t want to purchase another headset, or those that particularly want a PSVR2 on PC, for whatever reasons,”

      • Garhert

        You will have to pay for the premium edition, no?

      • ViRGiN

        Sorry about that, I talk a massive amount of crap sometimes. As you can tell, I love Meta. A lot. To the exclusion of all other products and companies.

        I often wonder why I do, but then am told it’s because I was kicked in the head by a horse when I was a child. Which was last week.

      • ViRGiN

        It’s a paid product, with a paid app.
        He isn’t going to be around forever. Once he decides he is no longer interested in maintaining iVRy, or it breaks with some headset updates, who will be able to fix it?
        All his research is kept only to himself.

        How is that not beneficial to him? Him giving purchase advice is meaningless. If he said anything else that would be straight out lie.

        Just imagine where things could go if they were open sourced.

    • ViRGiN

      The community would benefit with more companies and hardware in the VR namespace. But of course I am a nutjob, who only wants a Meta headset and Mark to give me a great big kiss on my puckering ring-piece.

  • Man, talk about shopping in an empty supermarket …. lol
    []^ )

  • Andrew Jakobs

    I’ll bet they’ll try too release it as soon as possible now. They hope people will buy it before Sony releases their version (except we still don’t know exactly what it’ll be, native support or only Steam link VR.

    • Christian Schildwaechter

      Sony’s announced PSVR2 support could make a year of work from iVRy surplus, so releasing now, even in an unfinished state, is pretty much the only option. VirtualDesktop for Quest still survived and thrived after Meta released the free AirLink, by being an already established solution and adding extra features on top of Meta’s barebones solution.

      The same may work for iVRy, who can now only offer a subpar solution, but maybe even enough to persuade some PS5 owners to get a PSVR2, because iVRy provides a backup in case the PSVR2 game development dries up, with a potential improvement later through official support by Sony. With the lack of native controller and ETFR support, this isn’t a particularly attractive option, but iVRy may now gather some early customers and could later integrate the native support from official Sony drivers into their own solution.

      This probably wasn’t their initial plan, and Sony offering their own solution is definitely a threat. But it may turn out to be a blessing in the long run, because based on it iVRy could offer full feature parity and more with the PSVR2/PS5 combo on PC, something they could never achieve on their own.

      • iVRy

        If Sony provides a free streaming solution, great, my solution still has value. If they provide a hardware solution, also great, we can build off that and remove whatever limitations their solution has (because we all know it will have some).

        The barrier to entry (for non-streaming solutions) is a hardware adapter, if Sony wants to develop, market and distribute that, it removes one sticking point: who is going to develop, market and distribute a PSVR2 adapter

        • Christian Schildwaechter

          A streaming solution allowing PS5 owners to play VR games bought on Steam, with no benefit besides a few more PS5 users buying a PSVR2 due to this option, makes no sense for Sony. A hardware solution allows Sony to sell a lot more PSVR2 with a healthy margin to PC users who otherwise wouldn’t buy PS5 games anyway, distributing the development cost over more units. It may also help with their hybrid games strategy by offering AAA studios another porting target/market for VR games that rely on significant ETFR performance gains for VR modes.

          I haven’t looked into the the adapter issues, but the main problems seem to be the 12V requirement with DP and USB combined in one cable, plus PSVR2 using DP 1.4 DSC 1.1 only compatible with AMD GPUs. 12V is optional in the USB-PD spec, often not implemented, but easily converted from obligatory 9V/15V with a boost/buck converter. Merging USB-C and DP shouldn’t be difficult either with e.g. a small FPGA, allowing a company like Sony to build adapters for cheap. No idea why 2018 DP 1.4 is a problem, which e.g. the RTX 20X0 already support. PSVR2 firmware updates should fix incompatibilities.

          • iVRy

            Yes, they can make an adapter, someone else can make an adapter, yada yada.

            We can hypothesize Sony’s plans to death, and it won’t change anything at all. So, until they formally announce something specific, we carry on as if all they’re trying to do is push “Quest 3 or PSVR2” people off the fence.

          • Andrew Jakobs

            Don’t underestimate the streamingsolution, as I do think that is what they are working on, as we already have SteamVR link. It sure will improve the PSVR2 owners who also have a VR capable PC. Games on Steam are soo much cheaper, at least if you keep your eye on bundle sites like Fanatical, humble bundle, and in the past Indiegala. Also on Steam there are way more sales, I even check weekly.
            As iVry mentions, at this time native PCVR support requires an adapter, which I’m told by a few here on RtVR, that it’s pretty pricey.

          • Christian Schildwaechter

            I do not doubt that a streaming solution is useful for PCVR2 owners also having a gaming PC. It just makes no sense for Sony to offer that for exactly the reasons you named. This is different from Meta, who had to allow PCVR streaming for their former Rift users who had bought PC titles from Oculus, otherwise they couldn’t have simply shut down the Rift hardware. But for Sony enabling PCVR streaming mostly means losing software sales.

            And the adapter is pricey because it is an exotic niche product selling in minuscule numbers, not because it would be expensive to produce by a company that orders them in the tens of thousands.

          • Andrew Jakobs

            Meta had to add it because users asked for it and Virtual Desktop proved it could be done and should be a native (free) option.

    • iVRy

      There was never going to be any significant take-up of this in the next 6-12 month period due to nVidia drivers not supporting PSVR2.

      Most people don’t have and can’t get the hardware required to use PSVR2 on PC at all, so Sony’s vague announcement doesn’t really change anything. The people that do want this want it now and are happy to wait until later for controllers, or use other controllers. Patreon subscriptions haven’t decreased, so it seems (amongst those that *really* want PSVR2 on PC) they either don’t trust Sony, or don’t want to wait until the end of the year, or next year. In the meantime, life goes on, and I keep developing the software.

      Release dates are unaffected, and have been set in motion long before Sony’s announcement. No one can use the driver without a DP-AUX emulator “dongle”, and the release has been waiting on the completion of that development cycle, and the ability to produce it in quantity. The first batch of end-user hardware will be available next month, and that is what determines the timing of the driver release.

      • Andrew Jakobs

        No matter what happens, I’ll bet it still was/is a fun project to get something working on the PC even though it was never meant to work with it.

  • STL

    So, the entire iVRy development was in vain? What a waste of time, energy and money! Anyway, as soon as Sony comes up with a PC connectivity solution, it will be a complete solution, including key PSVR 2 features and controller management. So quite consumer friendly. I hope.

    • Garhert

      If the solution from Sony requires a PS5, there might still be some use cases for the iVRy app.

      • STL

        Who owns a PSVR2 and not a PS5??

        • Arno van Wingerde

          Yeah, does not sound like a huge market. The only scenario I could image would be users who prefer OLED screens or better haptics over Quest3 for PCVR…

          • ViRGiN

            VR users/enthusiasts don’t have the option to “choose what they want”, they get to choose what’s offered to them.
            PSVR2 is dead, and trying to get an outdated headset to run on obsolete PCVR is just mindblowing.

            Then again, this is iVRy, he was also claiming to get tethered USB streaming to run on Quest 1 before anyone else, and at much better performance. And that never released.

    • iVRy

      We figured out 6 months ago that this was never going to be a mass market product, due to the hardware requirements (and the need for adapters). I set out to learn how to reverse-engineer complex modern hardware, and have gained valuable knowledge and equipment in the process, which I will retain regardless of the outcome.

      Best of luck to Sony, they have opened a massive can of worms with this. If it’s anything other than a streaming solution, they have signalled the death of PSVR2 on PS5. The design of the PSVR2 was done without any consideration of use on PC, so if they plan a direct connect solution, they face most of the same issues as non-official solutions do.

      • Leisure Suit Barry

        They signalled the death of PSVR2 when they revealed the price.

        • Christian Schildwaechter

          PSVR2 will not die. It was kept alive to strategically keep Sony in the XR business, which AVP just validated. They aren’t going to drop out because they miscalculated how people would react, instead they’ll adapt and try again.

          No doubt they messed up the price, but they seemed genuinely surprised that people weren’t buying. They had implemented waiting lists in their preorder pages in case people bought more than the could deliver. It’s hard to tell how they got it so wrong. My guess (besides some internal self-sabotage) is that they saw what people were paying for PS5 from scalpers during the previous years of shortages, and (wrongly) concluded that like Nvidia they could significantly raise prices, and people would still pay.

          Shortly after Bloomberg reported that Sony had cut internal sales predictions by half due to disappointing preorders. Sony countered that they hadn’t cut production yet, a non-denial denial to imply they were contradicting Bloomberg, while they actually talked about something else. It worked, PSVR2 fans discredited Bloomberg’s report, which of course turned out to be correct.

          • Leisure Suit Barry

            So if they got the pricing wrong because of what happened with PS5/scalpers, why has there been no price cut yet?

  • Anyone interested in VR should ALREADY have a Quest 3. Outside of a few hipsters trying to look “edgy” there’s no reason you wouldn’t want one. “Facebook’s such a bad company, ew-wuuh”. So is Amazon. So is Google. Apple is about 10,000 times worse then all of them put together.

    It’s great hardware at a killer price. GET OVER YOURSELF. People act like Facebook killed their dog. They sell your information… like every other company on the planet at this point. If you have TikTok on your phone and you’re talk’n about Facebook’s sins, STFU.

    I’m not sure why Sony would want PCVR compatibility. The whole point is to get people into Sony’s ecosystem, not make PCVR more appealing. Sony has some nice controllers and that eye tracking is pretty sweet… and… nothing else. It’s not wireless, stand-alone, and the Quest3 has a higher resolution. The real draw is Sony Studio’s VR content, which will still be locked on the PS5.

    If I had a WHOLE pile of money to burn, I’d get the whole PS5-VR system just to play a few of those sweet titles… but I’m not desperate for it. They are nice, but the Quest’s lineup is also great.

  • Paul Bellino

    I don’t know what was thinking having bought a Sony PlayStation and PSVR2. I should have known not to trust them. They are a very greedy company that wants to put no effort in and reep all the rewards. With that being said I will sell me Sony shit box and shit headset and invest in the Valve Deckard when it releases this year. PCVR is king and always will be. Sony as we can plainly see will always be licking the ball from PC hoping something tasty comes off. Yes Sony is that stupid and retarded.