The Vision Pro is about to become a legit VR gaming headset

By Luke Larsen Published July 3, 2024

The Vision Pro being used by someone with controllers. — Surreal Touch

Although there are games available on the Vision Pro, there’s always been one missing element: controllers. The reliance on only eye tracking and hand gestures limits a lot of what games can be played. That’s especially true for games that are being ported over from other headsets — or just for more complicated games in general.

But now, Surreal Touch has announced that it’s working on 6DoF controllers built for the Apple Vision Pro. The controllers each come with two buttons and a joystick, coming in two color options: glossy Pearl White or frosted Stellar Grey. Surreal Touch claims the controllers have “omnidirectional sensing” and a “proprietary spatial computing algorithm” that Surreal Touch has developed internally — which it claims will result in the “ultimate precision and latency.”

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Surreal Touch also says that the controllers provide stable performance and efficient battery life, though no specific claims about battery life were made.

exciting news for Apple Vision Pro fans! @Surreal_Touch controllers with 6DoF are coming. they’ve created an SDK that’s being tested in popular games, allowing easy porting from other platforms.

i can’t wait to see how they perform when they are available. pic.twitter.com/oXjx6O2r5a

— Justin Ryan ᯅ (@justinryanio) July 3, 2024

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of what Surreal Touch is doing, however, is the SDK that was created for porting over popular games. So far, there have been videos posted of some of the most popular VR games, such as Half-Life: Alyx and Beat Saber.

Pairing the extreme clarity and quality of the Vision Pro’s visuals with these great games is exactly what VR enthusiasts have been wanting.

Half-Life: Alyx on Apple Vision Pro is absolutely mind-blowing, with Surreal Touch(https://t.co/3kiazmi4hp) pic.twitter.com/vqRDU9EXey

— SurrealTouch (@Surreal_Touch) July 2, 2024

It’s neat to see developers taking the Vision Pro in a new direction, even if it might not be how Apple intended the product to be used.

Surreal Touch hasn’t yet announced details on pricing or release date yet, but it’s definitely something we’ll be eagerly waiting for.

Former Senior Editor, Computing

Luke Larsen is the Senior Editor of Computing, managing all content covering laptops, monitors, PC hardware, Macs, and more.

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