rift s review (12) — Photo by Road to VR

Oculus Rift S Already Works With SteamVR

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May 1, 2019

If there was any question whether or not the Rift S will work with Steam and SteamVR content, the answer is definitely yes. Even though the headset doesn’t ship for another three weeks, the Rift S already works just about flawlessly with SteamVR games, save for a bug which prevents the Rift S controllers from rumbling.

As Valve has committed to keep Steam an open platform for VR headsets, the company has ensured that the original Rift has worked with SteamVR content since day one. That openness will continue with the Rift S, which means that both the Rift and the Rift S will be able to play Valve’s mysterious “flagship VR game” when it launches later this year.

We tested the Rift S with SteamVR and found that it works just about flawlessly even though the headset doesn’t launch for a few weeks still. There’s presently a haptics bug which is preventing the Rift S controllers from vibrating at all, but we have no reason to expect this won’t be fix by (or near) the actual launch of the headset.

Everything else worked as expected, like using the SteamVR menu to browse the content library; games like Beat Saber and The Lab ‘just worked’, though in cases where the Rift S controllers should be shown, the models for the original Rift controllers are still shown instead, though this is very likely to be fixed in the near future.

Oculus Rift S Review – A Good Choice for VR Newcomers, a Difficult Choice for VR Vets

Interestingly, even one of the Rift S’s major new features works just fine in SteamVR already. Passthrough—which allows you to look outside of the headset through the on-board cameras—works perfectly, whether it’s activated manually by double-tapping the Oculus button, and when walking outside of the Guardian boundary when inside SteamVR content. I was also able to call up Oculus Dash and even redraw my Guardian boundary with the passthrough mode without exiting SteamVR.

That’s all good news for Rift S owners hoping to be able to use their SteamVR games out of the box.

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The Rift S became available for pre-order yesterday for $400 and will begin shipping on May 21st. See our Rift S review here.

Tomasz Brodecki

So… if SteamVR has its own Compositor that can handle both type of Touch controllers, does this confirm that I will be able to use new Touch controllers with CV1?
- ritual veality
  
  i do not think so, as it is inside-out tracking..
  - Ivan Romanchuk
    
    You are wrong. new Touch controllers work the exact same way, and CV1 tracks them in the exact same way
    - crim3
      
      Do you mean that the new Touch controllers from Rift S can be tracked with the CV1 external cameras?
    - David Cole
      
      How about buy some and test with CV1
Courtney A Jeff

Road warriovr
Courtney A Jeff

I see oculus owners can use steamvr and vive apprentices can use the oculus store but not as smooth or as friendly.Would like to see also the ability to use the wmr software and M microsoft within the cv1 and vive.It would be nice to be able to use those headsets on a ps4 too.Jesus God’s Son died for you,He is alive !
- Ivan Romanchuk
  
  Oculus software will never be available on any other system. Think of it like a macOS for Mac. SteamVR, on the other hand, is more like a VM
  - JesuSaveSouls
    
    May you be truly blessed by Jesus God’s Son.
ritual veality

Doesn’t that just mean that the rift S is actually the same device as the CV1??
- Manuel Riger
  
  of cource it is the same thats why they said its a upgrade version and not a new cv2.
- Andrew Jakobs
  
  No it’s not the same device, but it uses the same SDK which SteamVR relies on.
Jarilo

I don’t get it, was it not supposed to or something?
- crim3
  
  As the SteamVR support isn’t official (i.e. there is no collaboration from Oculus), is better to have confirmation that it indeed works.
Les Vega

Good to see Cpt. Obvious still has a job.
- Marci
  
  After five years I chose to discontinue my old work which transformed my daily life… I started out working at a job online, for a corporation I found out over the internet, for some hours everyday, and I earn way more than I was able to on my old job… Very last pay-check I got was 9k… Excellent point regarding this is that I have more time for my family. Look it over, what it is about… http://www.bigto.in/K5rdC
David Cole

There was no way this was not going to be supported by Steam and SteamVR. Rift S runs the same games the Rift runs…
RoteNotwendigkeit

So does this means that you can use it with every game that says its compatible with oculus rift
BLUcky

just received my oculus rift s and my controllers do not work properly. They rotate but do not track your arm movements only on the steam platform. So to say that this product is supported on Steam is not true.
- Michael Capozzi
  
  Had the same issue, the non-Beta Steam VR client detects the Rift S as an OG Rift. The Steam VR Beta detects the RIft S as an actual Rift S. I’m hoping this will correct the issue.
- jack black
  
  you got it work work with steam vr? I can’t, just spent hours trying to get it to work and am frustrated beyond measure at this point. If i have to rebuy my entire steam VR library to use this product, back to the store it goes. Should have just gotten another vive at this point.
dsf

how I connect to steam vr