HTC Vive can already play Rift ‘exclusive’ games

By Jon Martindale Published April 14, 2016

One of the biggest scandals in the lead-up to the release of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets was the news that Oculus was pushing for exclusivity. We even checked in with Valve and HTC to make sure they weren’t attempting the same, but it was definitely something the Oculus camp was seeking. But here we are just over two weeks after Oculus began shipping its headsets to consumers and already there’s a solution to hop the fence of Oculus’ gated community.

The exclusivity itself isn’t complicated, although it is somewhat confusing. Oculus has repeatedly stated that its games aren’t hardware exclusive, just store exclusive — in that its hardware is only compatible with the store.

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That’s not the case now, though, with Redditor CrossVR making it possible to get at least two (and probably more) games and experiences working on the HTC Vive, that should only work on the Rift.

Related: The storm of Oculus Rift pre-order controversy continues with further delays

The patches to make it possible are freely available over at Github and are easy to apply. It’s just a case of installing them in the right place.

It’s not quite the complete crack that some people want, as you still need to run the Oculus store to boot the games up. This patching system just spoofs you having a Rift plugged in, and lets you use a Vive to view it instead. That does mean you get the added benefits of the Vive’s chaperone system though, so make sure not to walk into any walls, please.

The only official support from the creator of the patches extends to foxy platformer, Lucky’s Tale, and Oculus Dreamdeck, with its various environments to enjoy. However users who have been testing it have already confirmed the patches work with Chronos as well.

So be free, Vive users, and enjoy the Oculus ‘exclusives’ while you can. It may be that Facebook and Oculus don’t respond favorably to this, and release an update that “fixes” this potential flaw in its system. Hopefully not, as having the Vive work with Oculus games will only really mean more money for Oculus and a better VR landscape.

Though at this early stage, and with all the problems Oculus has faced with shipping, it could mean more people jump ship to the Vive.

Former Evergreen writer

Jon Martindale covers how to guides, best-of lists, and explainers to help everyone understand the hottest new hardware and…

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