SteamVR support is coming to Windows 10 Mixed Reality headsets this month

Back in August, when Microsoft first began rolling out its wave of Windows 10 Mixed Reality headsets, Valve confirmed that it would be working with Microsoft to enable SteamVR support. With SteamVR enabled, these headsets will get access to a broad range of games and apps currently available to HTC VIVE and Oculus Rift owners via the Steam store. Now, we know when this support will arrive, with Microsoft setting a proper date.

Speaking with the Rolling Stone earlier this week, Microsoft confirmed that a ‘preview program' for SteamVR titles will launch on the 15th of November. There is still some work to be done on the software side, so this will effectively be a beta launch while certain things are finalised.

Right now, Windows 10 Mixed Reality headset owners only have access to around 60 games and apps on the Windows Store. Once SteamVR support rolls out, this number will grow, as there are already hundreds of well made VR apps and games available on Steam.

Whether or not these headsets will work perfectly with all games remains to be seen though. Windows 10 headsets do ship with motion controllers, but there may be some difficulties translating controls from the VIVE's wands over to Microsoft's. This wouldn't be too surprising, as there are also some issues when using Oculus Touch on some VIVE games prior to some tinkering on the user's part.

KitGuru Says: Steam is the front runner when it comes to PC gaming and VR. Oculus Home has a lot going for it, but given the sheer amount of developer support behind Steam, it is certainly the ‘go to' place for games and other apps. Once Windows 10 headsets can tap into that market, we should hopefully start to see adoption increase. 

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