Sony is officially bringing its VR headset to PC
Last summer we reported that some enterprising modders were trying to make Sony’s PlayStation VR2, the company’s second-gen headset for the PS5, work with standard Windows PCs. It turns out that modders weren’t the only ones with the idea. Sony itself is working on allowing PS VR2 owners to plug into a PC and play virtual reality games, no console necessary. The announcement was made on the official PlayStation blog, with availability later this year as a goal.
“We’re pleased to share that we are currently testing the ability for PS VR2 players to access additional games on PC to offer even more game variety in addition to the PS VR2 titles available through PS5,” says Gillen McAllister, Sony Interactive’s manager of content communications. “We hope to make this support available in 2024, so stay tuned for more updates.” The footnote in a longer blog post was spotted by The Verge.
It’s a surprise move from a company known for being rather insular with its hardware and software integration, but not out of line with Sony’s broadening gaming strategy. Sony’s publishing arm has been focusing on bringing its most lucrative franchises to the PC for the last couple of years, with staples like Spider-Man, The Last of Us, and Horizon: Zero Dawn being well-received by PC gamers.
Sony’s latest exclusive Helldivers 2 launched day-and-date on the PS5 and PC and is currently number one with a bullet on the Steam charts. Since virtual reality gaming is still an expensive niche, doubly so because the PlayStation VR2 requires an expensive purchase on top of an expensive console, it’s hardly surprising that Sony felt the need to expand its potential customer base to high-end PC gamers.
Could the PS VR2 find success on the PC? It’s possible. Steam is the most robust PC-based VR platform thanks to Valve’s heavy investment in the Index hardware, but the most popular headset is actually Meta’s relatively inexpensive Quest 2, with the more advanced Quest 3 quickly gaining on it. Their stand-alone capability makes them an appealing entry point for VR, with the ability to connect to a PC being a bonus. Sony’s PS VR2 is neither the cheapest headset ($550 on top of a PS5 purchase) nor the most advanced, but reviewers have praised its high-res screens and comfy controllers.
The VR2’s biggest problem is also a PlayStation problem: a lack of depth in its virtual reality game library. Opening the hardware up to PC players could be a perfect way to fix that, while giving Sony a whole new market to play in at the same time.