Kyle Barr
The PlayStation VR 2 headset may well be getting its fabled PC connection sometime this year, though you might need to pay for some extra hardware to make it compatible. A filing with the South Korean government for a PSVR2 “adapter” indicates we’ll see some sort of dongle or connector we’ll need to plug into our PCs before we can finally play our favorite PC VR game with the Sony-brand headset.
The PSVR2 felt great and worked great, but its $550 price tag, exclusivity to PlayStation 5, and its inability to play the PSVR1 games meant it was a strange buy for anybody but the most die-hard PS5 fans. Earlier this year, Sony promised users they would eventually gain access to “additional games on PC” in February. A new certification from the South Korean National Radio Research Agency now indicates how PlayStation plans to make the PSVR2 compatible with PC. As first spotted by VR hound Brad Lynch on Twitter, Sony has developed a “PlayStation VR 2 PC adapter.” The certification date is listed as May 27.
That’s as far as the hard facts go on this piece of news. Based on the name “adapter,” one could easily imagine this being a USB dongle plugging into your PC. How and where Sony plans to sell this additional connector is another can of worms. What’s still in question is whether the PSVR2 will have full compatibility with PC, allowing you to load up Steam VR straight onto the headset and go to town, or if users will be restricted to streaming their PC games to the VR headset, much in the way the Meta Quest headsets allow you to play Game Pass or Steam VR titles.
Knowing Sony, it might be something closer to the latter. PlayStation has been far more keen to launch first-party titles on Windows PCs recently, such as the recent, mostly-lauded port of Ghost of Tsushima. Then again, Sony has been on a kick requiring users to sign into a PlayStation Network account for its cross-platform games like Helldivers 2, and it’s probably not in the mood to let customers use their headset without having some hand in how they use it.
The PSVR2 started at $550 when PlayStation first released it early in 2023, but since then, you can find the device for close to $100 cheaper. Sony has reportedly cut production on its VR devices until demand increases. That’s despite the device having some excellent twin OLED displays and pretty good eye tracking for a mid-range VR device. It also has to compete with the $500 Meta Quest 3, which boasts far better AR passthrough capabilities.
But if Sony relinquishes its death grip on its VR platform by just a little bit, it could help turn 2024 into a small renaissance for VR gaming. Last month, Meta shared its plans for Horizon OS, its own operating system for other VR developers to create their own Quest-like VR devices. We already have Lenovo and Asus confirmed they’re making a new VR headset with Horizon OS; depending on how those do, we could see more following in their wake. PlayStation is also adding several of its VR titles to its PlayStation Plus Premium subscription. Still, when the game selection is still relatively sparse, the best way to give VR a leg up is to let players access as many titles as possible, exclusives be damned.
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