It looks like we’re closer to seeing a workable workaround that could allow PSVR 2 owners to play PC VR games. iVRythe most promising project dedicated to the task, is progressing well unlocking the headset’s external cameras for room-scale tracking.
The effort to hack the PSVR 2 was initially put on hold earlier this year, which was understandably a disappointment for anyone hoping to play PC VR-exclusive titles such as Half-Life: Alyx (2020), or social apps like Big screen Or VRCchat.
The indefinite hiatus on development didn’t last long, however, as serious efforts resumed soon after when the project opened a Patreon to help support development.
In a recent tweet, iVRy Creator Mediator Software outlined a few new milestones achieved after 143 days of development, which were unlocked recently by accessing the PSVR 2’s camera. As a result, the project now has access to the headset’s 6DOF SLAM tracking, 3DOF IMU tracking, proximity sensor, stereo camera raw data, and distortion-corrected passthrough stereo camera data.
Mediator Software says they are now focused on “understanding PSVR2 data and putting code into the driver to interpret it.”
And now it’s pretty clear that Sony isn’t making it easy. The creator says in a recent tweet the project cost “more than $13,000 in equipment and software to date, as well as hundreds of man-hours”. This includes things like custom sniffer cards and emulation cards.
While the iVRy creator has successfully started 6DOF PC VR content on PSVR 2 in the lab, integrating this feature into a future widely available software release will be a big challenge.
“Any use of the software requires a [hardware] adapter that doesn’t exist yet, so an early access version of the software wouldn’t be usable by anyone,” says the creator. “There may be some sort of limited run (maybe 100) of the reference adapters that we make, which may be offered through Patreon.”
To boot, work on PSVR 2’s optical-tracking Sense controllers has only just begun, with the studio noting that reverse-engineering the controllers “won’t be easy at all.”
“Working on the controllers at this point means there’s nothing more we can do with the headset part right now, not that there’s nothing more we can or need to do with the headset part. There’s still a lot to do there, including a lot of unknowns,” the creator said.
So, while we’re closer than ever, we may still be waiting a while on that “one-and-done” software download that could potentially separate the PSVR 2 from the PS5 for good. In the meantime, the bulk of project updates are released through the Patreon, which offers a minimum monthly subscription of $10. You can also follow via iVRy’s Twitter for larger strokes.
