SteamVR is Coming to Windows Mixed Reality Next Week

Microsoft says that its Windows Mixed Reality platform will gain compatibility with the SteamVR catalog about a month earlier than we had expected. But the initial release will essentially be what Rolling Stone magazine calls an “open beta.”

According to that report, Windows Mixed Reality compatibility with SteamVR is currently in preview with developers. And it will open up to the general public—or, at least that tiny subset of the general public who has a Windows Mixed Reality headset—starting November 15.

This initial release apparently bridges the Windows Mixed Reality “home” interface—literally a VR home in which you launch apps and games—with Steam’s own home experience and, more important, its more voluminous library of VR games.

This is a big deal for those interested in Windows Mixed Reality, of course. But one might argue that it is also a big deal for SteamVR, since headsets based on Microsoft’s platform are still a bit less expensive—and considerably easier to configure and use—than rival VR systems.

According to Rolling Stone—which I think we can all agree is the pinnacle of journalism and the place we go for video game news—the integration is, at the moment, a bit wonky. You can’t just launch SteamVR games from the standard Windows Mixed Reality home experience, and there are “occasional issues.”

So that’s good news. But I wish Microsoft had just provided it to us directly.