Valve Retains Making Quest a Higher PC VR Headset with Continued Enhancements to Steam Hyperlink

Quest has been an more and more fashionable selection for Steam customers for the reason that launch of the unique in 2019, now accounting for over half of all linked VR headsets. Now Valve’s newest 2.8.3 SteamVR replace features a few new options that’s making Quest a greater PC VR headset than ever.

Launched in late 2023, Steam Hyperlink permits customers to simply join their Quest wirelessly to SteamVR to play PC VR or flatscreen PC video games, basically letting you bypass Meta’s personal Air Hyperlink.

Now, the Steam Hyperlink for Meta Quest Beta replace (2.0.11.1197) introduces a couple of new options for the Steam Hyperlink for Quest, permitting hand-tracking passthrough and a few restricted hand-tracking performance too.

Granted, Valve says it’s not the “full hand-tracking” help you’d count on on native Quest purposes, but it surely’s a minimum of letting customers experiment. The replace permits customers to create customized enter bindings through its Binding UI in Controller Settings, so you’ll be able to software round making your personal management scheme based mostly readily available gestures.

Moreover, Steam Hyperlink 2D streaming has been re-enabled within the Steam Hyperlink app for Quest, which you’ll nab totally free over on the Horizon Retailer. You’ll have to opt-in to the SteamVR Beta first to play PC VR video games through Steam Hyperlink, but it surely’s an excellent easy course of.

This follows the discharge of one of the main Steam Hyperlink updates late final 12 months that included ‘Superior Supersample Filtering’, which majorly improved wirelessly streaming video high quality when utilizing excessive supersampling charges. An replace in March additionally introduced a major enchancment to general stability.

Don’t confuse the fixed stream of helpful updates to Steam Hyperlink as a favor to Meta although. Whereas a budget and plentiful Quest 2 now accounts for practically 40% of VR headsets linked to Steam alone, little question protecting Quest customers joyful, Valve is rumored to be full steam forward on releasing its personal standalone headset, codenamed ‘Deckard’, which ought to profit from the entire high quality of life stuff we’re seeing come to Quest through Steam Hyperlink at the moment.