An update to Valve's Steam Client Beta adds a new experimental virtual mode that will be open to those with an Oculus Rift dev kit.
Though much of the recent news surrounding Valve has focused on its SteamOS and Steam Machines, virtual reality is also on the menu.
Valve programmer Joe Ludwig confirmed the news on the Steam Community website.
"As of the most recent Steam Client Beta steam now supports an experimental VR mode," he wrote. "If you own an Oculus Rift dev kit you can try it out by starting Steam with '-vr' on the command line. Then press the Big Picture button to enter Big Picture + VR mode."
Ludwig warned that first-time users may need to follow further instructions:
- Run Steam in the desktop client without the "-vr" option
- Find "SteamVR" under "Tools" in the library. (If not installed, install now.)
- Bring up properties on SteamVR and opt into and download "Beta Update."
- Quit the Steam Client and restart it with "-vr."
After a few bug fixes, many users managed to access the software and play games, though not without their share of issues—as is expected during beta testing.
"A VERY BIG PROBLEM," a user wrote in the forum. "The roll axis seems to be inverted. So if you touch your left ear to your left shoulder, the view actually shifts to the wrong direction. This makes playing a game pretty much impossible because it is very uncomfortable."
The move comes a month after Valve installed a new search filter on Steam—"VR Support"— that highlights games with virtual reality headset support, according to Engadget.
Valve did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But this weekend's Steam Dev Days conference in Seattle seems like the most logical place for the company to reveal more details.
For more, see PCMag's Eyes On the 1080p Oculus Rift "Crystal Cove" Prototype from CES and the video below.