Oculus today announced that Link is officially in beta, the company’s compatibility software so that Quest users can play Rift titles on PC. If you have an AMD GPU, you’re going to have to wait though.
If you have a supported GPU (see more here) and a compatible VR-ready gaming PC, Quest owners can simply plug their headset into a USB 3 port, then use the Oculus desktop app just like you would if you owned a Rift, which includes to Oculus Home and Dash.
Oculus says most high-quality USB 3 cables should work, although you’ll probably want one long enough so you can play unencumbered. Unfortunately you won’t be able to buy the company’s premium five-meter (16+ feet) Link cable just yet, although Oculus says in a blog post it will initially be rolled out in limited quantities in select regions this year; availability in more regions is said to come in 2020.
The company says it’s using the beta period to test, iterate, and validate GPUs. See this article for a full breakdown of Oculus Link minimum specs and requirements.
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We went hands-on with Link when it was unveiled back at Oculus Connect 6 in September, and were impressed with the experience, finding that it genuinely felt like using a native PC VR headset.
We’ll be testing Link in the coming days to give you a rundown on just what it can do, and where its limitations lie. We still haven’t had a chance to see if it will work with SteamVR to play non-Oculus platform titles, which would significantly open up the number of games and apps available to it, but make sure to check back soon for the full details.