Can You Use PSVR2 On PC? Here's What Happens If You Try
Ever since consumer electronics entered the market, corporations and customers have in a quiet cold war. Customers try to get maximum utility out of their often pricy tech purchases while companies try to limit use cases in the name of increased profits and control of the product ecosystem. Gaming can be particularly fraught. Various attempts at streaming models, software "stores" that limit play to their private portals, and games-as-a-service have, with varying success, tried to change what it means to "own" a game or console. Meanwhile, players hack, build workarounds, and generally mess with the process with the goal of more gaming for less money.
That cold war is notably heating up with VR. As multiple companies sell products that do similar things – rendering virtual reality versions of popular games – customers wonder just how many headsets and hand thingies they're going to have to buy before they can jack into the Matrix already.
To that end, some gamers have wondered what happens if they plug Sony's new PlayStation VR2 into a PC. Here's what we know.
Progress, problems, and patience
According to The Verge, the short answer to the question "can I use my PSVR2 to play VR games on my PC?" is "not really." While PCs can pick up PSVR2 controllers via USB, the drivers for the actual system don't exist. PC games simply aren't coded to read the PSVR2 as a VR headset. The best they could do was use the headset as a second screen, The Verge found.
There is hope, however. Skeptical market observers might assume that Sony would build their peripherals to work solely with their extremely profitable flagship console. The fact that the controllers work suggests otherwise. The Verge quotes Sony representative Beca Truong in saying that "the PSVR2 is created for use with the PS5 console," but also notes that she avoided the question about whether Sony might explore PC compatibility at a later date. Given that the original PSVR received unofficial support in SteamVR via third-party apps, gamers have reason to be cautiously hopeful.