Sony released its long-awaited PC VR adapter for PSVR 2 this week, however early reports maintain some user don’t even need the company’s $60 adapter to start playing PC VR games like Half-Life: Alyx (2020).

A number of early user reviews of the adapter are echoing many of the same points right now: some graphics cards with USB-C ports allow PSVR 2 users to directly hook into their GPUs and play SteamVR games. All you need to do is download the PlayStation VR 2 App on Steam, no adapter required.

It’s not just any old USB-C port though, but rather a bit of an oddball that has been deprecated in more modern GPUs: VirtualLink.

Image courtesy NVIDIA

Announced back in 2018 with the backing of both Nvidia and AMD, VirtualLink was meant to simplify PC VR connections by providing both power and data transmission through a single cable.

At the time, it promised to deliver a massive improvement over having to wrangle multiple connectors (USB, video, and sometimes additional power) and breakout boxes. Sadly, it was abandoned in later GPUs as the market largely moved away from PC VR in favor of standalone VR headsets such as Meta Quest.

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The user reports you’ll see on Steam claiming they don’t need the PC VR adapter likely have one of several 2018-ish GPUs: Nvidia GeForce RTX 20 Series cards (Founders Editions) and AMD AMD 6000 or 7000 series reference design cards, as partner cards didn’t include VirtualLink.

While the list below contains possible candidates for VirtualLink support, the easiest way to check is to download the PSVR 2 app from Steam and see if you’re one of the lucky few who fits into that specific Venn diagram.

NVIDIA GPUs

  • GeForce RTX 2060
  • GeForce RTX 2070
  • GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER
  • GeForce RTX 2080
  • GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER
  • GeForce RTX 2080 Ti
  • Quadro RTX 4000
  • Quadro RTX 5000
  • Quadro RTX 6000
  • Quadro RTX 8000

AMD GPUs

  • Radeon VII
  • Radeon RX 6000
  • Radeon RX 7000

Provided you have one of those, some users are reporting right now some very frustrating issues with connecting PSVR 2’s Sense Controllers to Bluetooth.

Another caveat is PC support doesn’t include a number of features unique to PSVR 2, including HDR, headset feedback, eye-tracking, adaptive triggers, and haptic feedback other than rumble.

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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.
  • XRC

    Former 2080Ti user here, had the Valve Virtualink cable on pre-order for the Index

    Valve then withdrew the product claiming it didn't meet their standards (stability) and refunded all pre-orders.

    With the Index abandoning the standard it wasn't surprising it didn't get any traction, only recall using that usb-c port once to connect a monitor otherwise redundant so not surprised my 3080Ti only had DP and HDMI.

    • silvaring

      Virtualink port stability issues? Or maybe its because it required too much extra work from developers to integrate without issues?

      • XRC

        Valve said it didn't reliably establish the VR link between headset and client PC

  • ViRGiN

    I'll be here in a hot minute…

  • guest

    some irony that you have to have an old GPU to have NVLink as Nvidia killed it in the 4090 and others.

  • Adrian Meredith

    Shame they never followed through, would have been a great port even for standard use

    • wcalderini

      And likely an easier path for a "direct connect" for the Quest Series. Software, coding wizardry and stuff.

  • ViRGiN

    The user reports you’ll see on Steam claiming they don’t need the PC VR adapter likely have one of several 2018-ish GPUs: Nvidia GeForce RTX 20 Series cards (Founders Editions) and AMD AMD 6000 or 7000 series reference design cards, as partner cards didn’t include VirtualLink.

    But did you try it? Or Steam Reviews are making news nowadays?
    You would think iVRy "the psvr2 hacker" would get it up and running long time ago then?

    • David Mulder

      Firmware was changed as far as I know as well by Sony to support this.

  • wcalderini

    Well. I have the best card for the job sitting in a closet. (2080ti). Running an EVGA 3090. They would do that. PSVR2 is one of the few VR Headsets I don't own. And now….now I gotta…are those things still on sale? Can I run 2 different Graphics cards at once? The mind and wallet flip-flops.

    • BazookaBen

      Just get the adapter, it's $60

  • It's ironic how VirtualLink is finding its use now, after having basically been ignored by the whole industry

  • david vincent

    Bluetooth support has always been a mess on Windows, Sony should have added it to its adapter… Bad move, Sony…
    "Another caveat is PC support doesn’t include a number of features unique to PSVR 2"
    well no PCVR game support those features anyway so it's no big deal

  • I'm still on a virtuallink 2070, I gotta get my hands on a PSVR2 now I guess! o0o

  • Ardra Diva

    unless you already own a PSVR2 visor, this is just a stupid and desperate purchase, it's so gimped and best features unsupported.