Can you play Steam games on the Oculus Quest 2?

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Meta’s Oculus Quest 2 is one of the premier consumer brand VR headsets.

With a price starting at just $399, this is the headset that will inevitably introduce a lot of people to the world of VR.

And the Quest 2 is a pretty versatile device. The base model was previously upgraded to feature a 128GB hard drive, unlike the original 64GB.

And it’s standalone, which means you don’t need to hook the headset up to any other hardware to enjoy what it offers.

Although the Oculus Quest 2 is a standalone device, it doesn’t have to be confined to its own capabilities.

What about VR games and apps on other platforms? Does the Oculus Quest 2 work with Steam?

Can you play Steam games with the Oculus Quest 2?

Short answer: Yes

Yep, you can play SteamVR games using your Oculus Quest 2. Oculus has a feature called Air Link that lets users wirelessly tether their headset to their PC.

If you’re not into the idea of using your Oculus Quest 2 wirelessly with your computer, there’s always the option of connecting it with a wire via the Oculus Quest Link Cable or any standard USB-C cable.

That way, you can still enjoy all the same features without relying on a wireless connection

How to play Steam games on Oculus Quest 2

If you want to use your Oculus Quest 2 with Steam, first, you’ll need to install the SteamVR app on your Quest 2.

While you’re at it, install the Quest 2 desktop app on your PC if it’s not installed already.

Once installed, connect your headset to your computer using the Quest 2 Link Cable. If you’re connecting wirelessly, skip ahead.

How to connect your Oculus Quest 2 to SteamVR

With your headset connected to your PC, launch the SteamVR app from the Quest 2 Home screen.

Launch Steam on your computer and click on the “VR” icon in the top right corner of the Steam window.
Then, you can follow the prompts to set up your VR headset and controllers.

READ MORE: Does the Oculus Quest 2 support quick charging?

Once you get your Oculus Quest 2 hooked up to your computer via Air Link or the Link Cable, you are ready to start experiencing what SteamVR offers on your Quest 2.

So whenever you’re ready, select any VR game from your Steam library and dive in. Here’s what it looks like when all is said and done.

Virtual Desktop is very cool. Easily run Steam VR Game on Oculus Quest wirelessly.
by u/Paragonetwo in OculusQuest

Important to point out: make sure your gaming rig is up to snuff. After all, you’ll rely on your PC to run the games, not Quest 2.

So, make sure your machine has the horsepower to handle the load, as noted by one Redditor’s comment:

I don’t understand why so many say it looks good. It looks terrible, res is super low and bitrate is so low all looks blurry and bad. Latency is good yes but it looks totally crap,” writes the disappointed commentator. However, others feel differently and thought the performance was more than adequate.

“The setup for Virtual Desktop is well polished on windows 10 VR PC running as a hotspot with 5g enabled,”writes Gnekurd. in a follow up comment. I’m using a USB wifi stick Panda Wireless PAU09 N600 Dual Band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) . Tried zombie trainer, project cars 2, thrills & chills, so far i’m very impressed with the play response.”

Oh, one last thing: don’t forget to have a Steam account, too – you’ll need it to access your Steam library and play VR games.

Step up your VR game: play Steam games on Oculus Quest 2

So, there you have it; it is definitely possible to play Steam games on the Oculus Quest 2. All you need is the SteamVR app, a compatible PC, and a Steam account.

Just keep in mind that not all Steam games are compatible with Quest 2, so be sure to check the system requirements before you buy.

Have any thoughts on this? Carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Can you buy a replacement controller for the Oculus Quest 2?
• Does the Oculus Quest 2 have expandable storage?
• Which Oculus Quest 2 should you buy?
• Are Oculus Quest 2 controllers rechargeable?

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.