Valve is bringing Steam Link, its local network game streaming software, to Apple’s Vision Pro mixed reality headset, allowing Vision Pro users to wirelessly play traditional games from their Steam library from a nearby Mac or PC.
We say “traditional games” because it’s important to clarify that this isn’t broadcasting VR games—only the kinds of games you can play on a traditional 2D screen like a computer monitor or TV. However, it could lay some groundwork for VR gaming sometime in the future. But to be clear, Valve hasn’t made any announcements about supporting SteamVR games on the Vision Pro.
Previously, there were Steam Link apps for Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. Users can sync controllers with those devices and play Steam games over a local network – not just from other Apple devices, but also from Windows or Linux gaming PCs.
It’s possible to do this in Vision Pro using third-party tools like ALVR, but it’s a simpler, tried-and-true way to the same destination.
If you want to try it, you can sign up via TestFlightApple’s platform for distributing pre-release apps before they are listed on the App Store. Valve he says the current version of the app “allows streaming up to 4K resolutions and dynamically adjusts the curve of the screen in panoramic mode.”
We he complained About the Vision Pro’s limited ability to connect to external gaming and media devices, or access mixed reality content outside of Apple’s walled garden, when we reviewed it at launch a few years ago. Since then, this situation has increased significantly improvedthough it’s still not always as simple as competing headphones.
