PlayStation VR2’s newest firmware replace makes it current as a VR headset to PC graphics playing cards.
Final month Sony introduced it plans “the flexibility for PS VR2 gamers to entry further video games on PC” later this yr. But it surely did not say what type this help will take. Will it contain streaming out of your PC to your PS5 over your own home community? Will it perform with no PC in any respect through the cloud? Or will it work straight with no PS5 concerned, like a local PC VR headset?
Sony Working On PC Help For PlayStation VR2
Sony is testing letting PSVR 2 house owners “entry further video games on PC”, and plans to ship this functionality this yr.
Earlier than this firmware replace PSVR 2 offered as a monitor to suitable PC graphics playing cards, displaying your PC output on a floating digital display because it does with PlayStation 5 in non-VR apps and video games (often called Cinema Mode). With the newest firmware this cinema mode now not works, and it presents as “digital actuality headset”.
To be clear although, this would not imply you may truly use PSVR 2 as a PC VR headset but. To do this you’d want a driver.
The firmware replace might counsel Sony itself plans to supply an official driver later this yr. However even when it would not, there could also be another choice.
The developer of iVRy, who presently gives a PC driver for the unique PSVR, has been engaged on a PSVR 2 driver and has supplied it to only one tester thus far. And earlier than this firmware replace iVRy found {that a} customized {hardware} adapter could be required to trick the headset into presenting as a VR headset, however iVRy now says that is now not required for AMD playing cards, and would not be for NVIDIA playing cards if NVIDIA whitelisted the headset.
However no matter whether or not the motive force is official or third-party, there’s a important caveat concerned with the thought of utilizing PSVR 2 straight on PC.
PSVR 2’s cable has a single USB-C connector and carries 12V energy in addition to DisplayPort and USB3 information. This may very well be dealt with by the now-dead VirtualLink USB-C ports that had been current on some NVIDIA 20-series and AMD RX 6000 sequence playing cards, however that might restrict PSVR 2 help to solely these particular outdated playing cards.
Supporting different graphics playing cards would require an adapter, both a VirtualLink adapter or one other that may cut up the DisplayPort and USB 3 information whereas offering 12V energy through energy provide enter. The issue is that the one VirtualLink adapter was $150-$350, and is now discontinued.
Which means that if Sony’s plan for PSVR 2’s PC help is actually direct to the PC through cable (and that is nonetheless a giant if, to be clear) it must make an adapter to help the overwhelming majority of graphics playing cards. That does not appear out of the query for Sony although, because it made an adapter to make use of the unique PSVR with the PS5 console, and even provided it totally free.
