How To Use Steam Vr With Oculus Quest 2

How to play Steam VR games with an Oculus Quest 2

Here's how to play the best Steam VR titles with a Quest 2

The Oculus Quest 2 in front of a bunch of Steam Games including Beat Saber

(Prototype: © Futurity)

Quick Steps

Download Steam VR and the Oculus PC app
Connect your Quest 2 to your PC
Open Steam VR while using the Desktop menu option in the Oculus PC app

While there is an incredible library of Meta Quest 2 games to play, they aren't the only VR titles out there.

Earlier the Meta Quest 2 (formerly Oculus Quest ii) showed usa the potential of standalone VR gaming, there was a whole suite of experiences available on PC. This includes some of the all-time VR games – like Half-Life Alyx – that are exclusively available on the Oculus PC app or Steam VR.

Thankfully, even though Valve makes its own Valve Index headset, its Steam VR games are also playable on Meta headsets. And then here's our guide on how to play Steam VR games with a Quest 2.

A PC with Steam, Steam VR, and the Oculus App installed
An Oculus Quest Link Cable (optional)

Steps

Download Steam VR (opens in new tab) and the Oculus PC app (opens in new tab). To download Steam VR you lot'll also need the base Steam (opens in new tab) program installed on your PC.

Connect your Quest 2 headset to your PC. At that place are several ways y'all can do this then rather than take up fashion likewise much space hither, we've separated this step into its ain guide. If you need a manus, here's how to connect your Quest ii to a PC.

The Oculus Quest 2 Link cable on a white background — The Meta Quest 2 Link cable – it can exist used to connect your Quest 2 to a PC (Image credit: Meta)

Sideslip on your Quest 2 while it's connected to your PC and you'll automatically land in the Oculus PC app. If you aren't on the dwelling house screen already, go to it and along the bottom, you should meet a menu with an option for Desktop – it features a symbol shaped like a PC monitor.

This will (unsurprisingly) let you come across your desktop, And from here you can open up Steam and so Steam VR so that y'all play whatever VR game you ain and download others.

How to plow your Quest 2 into a native Steam VR headset

If you want to take things a step further, there is a community-fabricated, open up-source tool that strips back the Oculus App's functions and turns your Quest 2 into "an almost-native Steam VR headset."

Be warned though, that the app (called OculusKiller) is a bit likewise good at its job. Information technology completely disables Oculus Dash which severely limits your ability to launch and get out Oculus games. If yous similar to play a range of PC VR titles across Oculus and Steam, and then you'll want to steer clear of this tool.

Download OculusKiller from GitHub (opens in new tab). This open-source tool is freely available from its creator ItsKaitlyn03 (opens in new tab). You'll too need to have the Oculus PC app installed, too.

Open Chore Manager and stop OVRService in Services. To open Task Manager concord CTRL + ALT + DEL all at the same time in Windows and on the next screen you'll see an option for Task Manager

From here hit the down arrow side by side to More details and go to the Services Tab. Sort by name and coil until yous find OVR Service; then right-click on information technology and hit Stop.

Arrows pointing to the OWS Service option in the Task Manager program — (Image credit: Future)

Open up File Explorer, and become to C:\Program Files\Oculus\Support\oculus-nuance\dash\bin; an easy way to do this is to copy and paste that string into the Address Bar and and then hit Enter on your keyboard.

The folder yous're taken to is the home of fundamental files that allow the Oculus PC app to operate properly, but we're going to need to modify some around.

Rename the OculusDask.exe in this folder to OculusDash.exe.bak, then open up the OculusKiller folder, find ItsKaitlyn03's replacement OculusDash.exe file (opens in new tab) and move it into the same binder as the at present renamed original.

Open up Task Manager and showtime OVR Service once more. Find information technology like you did before but right-click and hit Start instead of Finish.

Last thoughts

Whether yous choose to utilise OculusKiller or not, Steam VR is dwelling house to some truly incredible VR experiences.

One-half-Life: Alyx is i that nosotros won't finish talking well-nigh whatsoever fourth dimension soon. While not quite as immersive on a Quest ii compared with the Valve Alphabetize, this follow-up to the hugely popular Half-Life franchise is nevertheless i of the best VR games. Information technology offers both head-scratching scientific puzzles fans are used to also equally plenty of zombie-infested death pits that volition exam your mettle.

Evil looking figures are turned to attack you in Half-Life: Alyx — Are y'all gear up to play Half-Life: Alyx? (Image credit: Valve)

And so there'southward No Man's Sky. The action-chance survival game offers players the chance to explore an incredible countless galaxy, and playing it in VR in beginning-person is about magical. While at that place are enough of official Star Wars games out in that location likewise, this is i that really makes yous experience similar you're off adventuring in a milky way far far away.

Looking for more Meta Quest 2 tricks? Here's how to extend battery life on your Quest 2, and here'south how to connect your Quest 2 to a TV.

Here are 6 things y'all might not know your Oculus Quest 2 can do

Hamish is a Staff Writer for TechRadar (@Hamish_Hector (opens in new tab) on Twitter) and has been writing about tech for almost v years. He now lends his feel to cover news and reviews beyond everything on TechRadar (from Calculating to Audio to Gaming and the rest). In his complimentary time, y'all'll likely find Hamish humming evidence tunes while edifice Lego or playing D&D with his mates.