Quest has been an increasingly popular choice for Steam users since the release of the original in 2019, now accounting for over half of all connected VR headsets. Now Valveās latest 2.8.3 SteamVR update includes a few new features thatās making Quest a better PC VR headset than ever.
Released in late 2023, Steam Link allows users to easily connect their Quest wirelessly to SteamVR to play PC VR or flatscreen PC games, essentially letting you bypass Metaās own Air Link.
Now, the Steam Link for Meta Quest Beta update (2.0.11.1197) introduces a few new features for the Steam Link for Quest, allowing hand-tracking passthrough and some limited hand-tracking functionality too.
Granted, Valve says itās not the āfull hand-trackingā support youād expect on native Quest applications, but itās at least letting users experiment. The update allows users to create custom input bindings via its Binding UI in Controller Settings, so you can tool around making your own control scheme based on hand gestures.
Additionally, Steam Link 2D streaming has been re-enabled in the Steam Link app for Quest, which you can nab for free over on the Horizon Store. Youāll need to opt-in to the SteamVR Beta first to play PC VR games via Steam Link, but itās a super simple process.
This follows the release of one of the most major Steam Link updates late last year that included āAdvanced Supersample Filteringā, which majorly improved wirelessly streaming video quality when using high supersampling rates. An update in March also brought a significant improvement to overall stability.
Donāt confuse the constant stream of useful updates to Steam Link as a favor to Meta though. While the cheap and plentiful Quest 2 now accounts for nearly 40% of VR headsets connected to Steam alone, no doubt keeping Quest users happy, Valve is rumored to be full steam ahead on releasing its own standalone headset, codenamed āDeckardā, which ought to benefit from all of the quality of life stuff weāre seeing come to Quest via Steam Link today.
I thought they stopped making the steam link ages ago. I still have one!
They turned it into an app. Works well on Android and x86 media PCs.
So am I supposed to use a TV that has Android or something? How does that help my TV?
Yeah, that is possible, or you get one of these cheap TV Android boxes etc. RasberryPi also works, but sadly other ARM SBCs with GNU/Linux do not.
Or if you need separate hardware, buy a Raspberry Pi and install the official Steam Link app: https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/6424-467A-31D9-C6CB
Sounds latency inducing.
Less latency inducing that the actual Steam Link hardware. I donāt think Iāve ever enjoyed playing on that thing.
Yeah itās not great, but itās ok depending on dependencies.
Mine worked great. Did you have both the streaming PC and the Steam Link connected with Ethernet?
Yep, CAT 6A.
Besides the Steam Link device and the Steam Link android app, thereās also an app with the same name on the Quest store that lets you stream SteamVR games from your PC.
Is it the same thing? Itās still middle man for display and controller right?
Itās the same idea, and may even share some assets, but itās specialized to VR. Itās kind of similar to the way that steam input and SteamVR input have the same basic purpose but are separate systems.