Quest has been an increasingly popular choice for Steam users since the release of the original in 2019, now accounting for over half of all connected VR headsets. Now Valve’s latest 2.8.3 SteamVR update includes a few new features that’s making Quest a better PC VR headset than ever.

Released in late 2023, Steam Link allows users to easily connect their Quest wirelessly to SteamVR to play PC VR or flatscreen PC games, essentially letting you bypass Meta’s own Air Link.

Now, the Steam Link for Meta Quest Beta update (2.0.11.1197) introduces a few new features for the Steam Link for Quest, allowing hand-tracking passthrough and some limited hand-tracking functionality too.

Granted, Valve says it’s not the “full hand-tracking” support you’d expect on native Quest applications, but it’s at least letting users experiment. The update allows users to create custom input bindings via its Binding UI in Controller Settings, so you can tool around making your own control scheme based on hand gestures.

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Additionally, Steam Link 2D streaming has been re-enabled in the Steam Link app for Quest, which you can nab for free over on the Horizon Store. You’ll need to opt-in to the SteamVR Beta first to play PC VR games via Steam Link, but it’s a super simple process.

This follows the release of one of the most major Steam Link updates late last year that included ‘Advanced Supersample Filtering’, which majorly improved wirelessly streaming video quality when using high supersampling rates. An update in March also brought a significant improvement to overall stability.

Don’t confuse the constant stream of useful updates to Steam Link as a favor to Meta though. While the cheap and plentiful Quest 2 now accounts for nearly 40% of VR headsets connected to Steam alone, no doubt keeping Quest users happy, Valve is rumored to be full steam ahead on releasing its own standalone headset, codenamed ‘Deckard’, which ought to benefit from all of the quality of life stuff we’re seeing come to Quest via Steam Link today.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • ViRGiN

    Clickbait headline.
    The correct one should be "Giant monopolistic Valve catches up to Guy Godin's indie app Virtual Desktop"

    • Hey whaddaya know — VRs most annoying incel has an opinion.

      • ViRGiN

        Gayben

        • Boxwerf

          You really are a pox on this community. So many incongruous complaints you should be seeing a therapist.

          • ViRGiN

            Are you happy with the one you are seeing now?
            Can I get a number?

          • Jonathan Winters III

            But he's basically an attention whore that's been trolling here for years. Just ignore, and don't give him a thumbs up or down as he feeds on it.

          • DjArcas

            The block function is great.

    • Nevets

      Godin did a great job pioneering a necessary app, but Godin also thought he had a monopoly on this concept, which he does not. Indie devs often release functionality that the behemoths ought to have baked in to their own software, but it does not behove them to react peevishly when the behemoths catch up.

      • *-behoove.
        []^ )

      • ViRGiN

        Did he react to this update or something?
        Godin is no Saint, but hand tracking as controller been out for what feels like ages. At least 2 years i think.

      • Jonathan Winters III

        Considering Virtual Desktop has sold in the millions, I don't thing the dev is hurting financially, at all. He was lucky to get the opportunity and he met that opportunity with the "right stuff".

  • Nick

    I'm looking forward to the day that it matches the quality of display port native connections with absolutely no artifacting or compression

    • NL_VR

      Yes you could wish, beeing wireless beat beeing connected with displayport 9 times out of 10. the only i can think of is racing and there you are seated anyway so no problem beeing wired

      • Nick

        as an owner of a high end pc and a Quest 3 , being wireless absolutely does not beat the crisp beautiful and smooth experience of display port native vr with a much lighter headset

        • NL_VR

          As an owner of high end pc and a Quest 3 is can say i never use the cable and would never again buy a headset that is cable only. i can go so far and say Quest 3 is the best vr headset i have used today

    • ViRGiN

      I'm looking forward to the day PCVR games that matches the qualitym depth and complexity of decade old PC games that would actually justify connecting to PCVR in the first place.

      • Nick

        Definitely -we need hybrid games -1:1 with flat games and released simultaneously

      • ViRGiN

        "I'm very happy buying into Quest and the Meta walled garden, and playing games that look like 10 year old PC flatscreen games."

        "I also admit I am an incel who claims I really have had sex. With a woman."

      • kakek

        Me to buddy.
        Alternatively, I would be fine with mobile VR game reaching that level. But as things are going, that won't be for another 10 years.

      • I love it when armchair developers who obviously know nothing about what really goes into making video games makes stupid-ass comment like this. Here's the basic facts, stable genius — games from 10 years ago were being rendered at standard HD levels of video … that is around 1920x 1080 pixels based on the monitor being used. Oculus headsets render everything TWICE — once for each eye — at a resolution around 4k. So you are talking 4x the amount of data being pushed through and rendered by the system. Now tell me again how flat screen games 10 years ago had better graphics than today's games — so that I can smack you across the face with your keyboard.

        • ViRGiN

          I love it. Please continue.

  • Andrew Jakobs

    If only they would also release Steamlink for the Pico 4. But then again, I have even problems with streaming on the FireTV 4K stick.

  • ApocalypseShadow

    You mean, Valve keeps making it easier to make more money no matter what headset is connected to Steam? Who would have thought… Rolls eyes…

  • Itakis

    Steamvr is far far far away of what it could be. It can be a meeting point with voice and doors to others libraries or at least to common games. The interface is terrible and confusing, and yes, I love steamvr, but please we need much more from Valve, it was 2016 when I started using it, and it is mostly the same, not technically at least.

  • Hussain X

    "Valve Keeps Making Quest a Better PC VR Headset with Continued Improvements to Steam PCVR games library via funding PCVR titles."

    That's the headline I wanted to see at least twice every year since Quest released in 2019, where I would've then partially praised Valve. But we only ever got, to date, one major funded PCVR title in HL Alyx.

    Praising Valve for improving Steam Link for Quest is like praising the government for starting to improve its tax collecting website many years later once another company had decided to foot the bill to build up the internet infrastructure & gave away computers at subsidised cost so citizens can enjoy the internet. Now the government can continue collecting ever growing citizen tax through those company supplied computers & company built internet infrastructure without the government spending the citizen tax to build anything much for the citizens in return (apart from one made for profit high margin now outdated computer along with one major internet fibre network installed (Alyx)). Instead the government decided to pocket most of the tax money the citizens preferred to give it to enjoy the internet, over the company actually growing the internet (Meta), with the government only recently deciding to improve the tax collecting website once those tax paying citizens had grown in number with more access to the internet and became large enough to be recognised as contributing tax paying citizens, then getting praised.

    Now imagine your own government was like Valve. How much you'd be really praising your government to be recognised at last somewhat by it improving the tax collecting website, so you can better experience paying your internet tax so you can enjoy the internet that you so much enjoy, but built by another company using that company's subsidied computer, whilst the government itself uses all your money to pay itself a massive wage? But such a government only exists in the PCVR world, & as a citizen of PCVR first, I'm dissapointed in the current government's spending who appears to have been elected for eternity. Others tried to break through, with some spending heavy during elections (including the government itself out of fear to not lose its seat) but the others then left many years ago as the elections felt like a waste of effort & money (but some like Meta continue to do spend in other areas that greatly help the government & its citizens). Would've been great to see continued elections with would be governments spending money to earn the right to govern the PCVR citizens. But PCVR players have chosen the ONE, where it improving only a tax collecting website many years later so it can pay itself more is worthy of a celebration & praise. Let's also not forget the chosen ONE also got praised by another citizen here a few weeks back for a superior $500 computer supplied by Meta to replace his aging $1000 government supplied computer.

    • ViRGiN

      I'll celebrate when Lord Gayben finally passes away. The worship of him and Steam is so unhealthy. No other company that does absolutely nothing is loved so much.

      • Hussain X

        Apart from wanting to see Gabe pass away, I totally agree with your other statements.

        • ViRGiN

          I don’t see anything ever changing for as long as he is alive.
          He is currently 61. If he lives another 20 years, that’s 20 years extra of people absolutetly being tied down to their by-then roughly 40 years accounts, many of which will be ‘inherited’, even though it’s technically against TOS of Steam. How do you undo roughly 40 years worth of brainwashing and collected e-waste digital products?

      • Wishing death on anyone is hateful. I have never seen anything but vitriol and hate spewing from your account. Seek help — seriously.

        • ViRGiN

          Oh hey look, it’s the biggest VR incel incest again.

          At no point i wished death to anyone. Are you still looking for therapist?

  • Ardra Diva

    i still had to disable supersampling and put it at 100% in the video settings of steam VR for it to work right. Most games worked fine, but No Man's Sky was a challenge.

  • Mick Cutter

    The last time I tried it, it was a stuttery mess compared to the built in option, hopefully it's been improved since then.