Play Xbox One games on PC with VR glasses: This is how it works
In our guide we explain to you:
- What options are available to play Xbox games with VR glasses
- What you need to play Xbox One games with VR headset
- How to configure your PC for Xbox VR
- Which VR glasses are supported
Xbox One games with VR headset gamble: What you need
Since the Xbox One does not support VR glasses, you unfortunately cannot use your console alone for your Xbox VR gaming sessions. Instead, you will also need a powerful PC (more on that later) as well as compatible VR glasses.
Depending on the method, this can either be an Oculus Rift / Rift S or a / or a y-headset.
Option 1: Xbox One streaming on Oculus Rift / Rift S
If you own both an Xbox One, One S or a PC and VR glasses of the brand Oculus Rift or Rift S, you have a simple solution at your disposal.
Thanks to a cooperation between Microsoft and Oculus, there is an official free app in the Oculus Store for streaming Xbox One games to the Oculus Rift (S) on your PC. All you have to do is make sure that both your Xbox One and your PC are on the same home network.
Simply install the app on your PC and activate the menu item "Allow game streaming to other devices" in the settings of your Xbox under "Preferences / Xbox App Connections". Then connect your Xbox One via cable or to your PC and launch the Xbox One streaming app from the Oculus interface (note that your Xbox One must be turned on).
Once the app has connected to the Xbox, you can use it as you normally would on a giant virtual TV on your Oculus Rift (S). You can choose between three VR environments and even adjust the size of the screen.
Tip: You can adjust the streaming quality in the settings menu of the app. This makes sense especially when one of the devices is connected via Wi-Fi - then you should reduce the streaming quality to get a smooth frame rate.
Option 2: Play Anywhere games with VR goggles and big screen
If you do not own an Oculus Rift (S), you will unfortunately not be able to play all Xbox One games with VR glasses. The Bigscreen workaround takes advantage of the fact that thanks to Microsoft's Play Anywhere feature, many Xbox One exclusive games (and some other titles) can also be played on the PC.
These include blockbusters like Gears of War 4, , Middle-earth: Shadow of War, Sea of Thieves, and also Forza Horizon 4 - and any other PC game for that matter.
So you can use this Xbox VR method even if you don't own an Xbox One. You only need the download version of the Play Anywhere game of your choice - unfortunately, the whole thing does not work with the disc versions. You can find out which games support Play Anywhere on the corresponding official Xbox website.
The last ingredient you need is the free software Bigscreenwhich lets you experience everything from the Windows desktop to movies to games with your VR goggles - not in real VR, but in an immersive virtual movie theater that turns even something as mundane as streaming a sporting event into a VR experience. Bigscreen is available for free on Steam and the Oculus Store.
How to configure your PC for Xbox VR
First, install Bigscreen and your Play Anywhere game. If you are not sure whether your computer is powerful enough, you can also try this method for free with a Play Anywhere-compatible demo, e.g. that of Forza Horizon 4.
Theoretically, you can then start right away, but it is advisable to make some system optimization settings beforehand, since playing Xbox titles with your VR glasses via Bigscreen demands everything from your PC.
General PC settings in Windows
First of all, you should make sure that your PC is running in performance mode and not in energy-saving mode in the Windows system settings - your Xbox VR experience is guaranteed to be a slideshow in the latter.
Then, also in the system settings, deactivate Game DVR, the integrated game recording function of Windows. If you have an NVIDIA graphics card, you can also deactivate the recording function in Shadowplay. Both will only cost you system resources unnecessarily.
Turning off Game DVR will give you better bigscreen performance in Xbox games.
Finally, if you use the Steam version of Bigscreen, make sure that your VR glasses are running in "Direct Mode". Open the SteamVR settings, go to the "Developer" tab and select "Enable Direct Mode". After that, restart SteamVR.
The right graphics settings in the game
The next step is to adjust the graphics settings of your Xbox One game. Go to the corresponding game menu and adjust the settings. The rule here is: less is more. Even if the game runs at full details with 60 FPS in 2D mode, you have to reduce the graphics details significantly to get an acceptable performance in VR.
The biggest resource guzzlers are anti-aliasing (edge smoothing) and supersampling. First, deactivate these two functions. In terms of resolution, you should not select more than 1920×1080 in the game - higher resolutions will not give you a better picture in Bigscreen under the VR goggles anyway.
You should also select a low setting for reflections, shadow details, and anisotropic filtering, and completely disable post-processing effects. You can leave VSync enabled and set the FPS limit to 60/second - 30 is too low, an "unlocked" frame rate often leads to a "jumping" image in Bigscreen, which is very unpleasant for the eye.
Configure Bigscreen for Xbox VR
In the last step, you configure Bigscreen for your purposes. You can read about the options in our corresponding guide. For the Xbox VR workaround, you should also consider a few other things, because video games in Bigscreen put a lot more strain on your system than a movie stream, for example.
The developers of Bigscreen recommend choosing one of the VR environments marked with a green leaf in the program (360 Panorama, "Best for Gaming") as the background for video games, since they consume the least resources. In addition, you can deactivate bigscreen antialiasing and supersampling in the settings or set them to 1.0 or 0.5 - but the effect on the performance is nowhere near as high as with the same settings in the actual game.
Xbox VR on PC via streaming and bigscreen: Conclusion
Once you've done all that, you can launch Bigscreen, put on your VR goggles, and start your Xbox One game from the Windows desktop in Bigscreen. Finally, a few words about what you can expect from both methods for playing Xbox One games in VR presented here.
You should also choose a low setting for reflections, shadow details, and anisotropic filtering, and completely disable post-processing effects. You can leave VSync enabled and set the FPS limit to 60/second - 30 is too low, an "unlocked" frame rate often leads to a "jumping" image in Bigscreen, which is very unpleasant for the eye.
Configure Bigscreen for Xbox VR
In the last step, you configure Bigscreen for your purposes. You can read about the options in our corresponding guide. For the Xbox VR workaround, you should also consider a few other things, because video games in Bigscreen put a lot more strain on your system than a movie stream, for example.
The developers of Bigscreen recommend choosing one of the VR environments marked with a green leaf in the program (360 Panorama, "Best for Gaming") as the background for video games, since they consume the least resources. You can also deactivate bigscreen antialiasing and supersampling in the settings or set them to 1.0 or 0.5 - but the effect on the performance is nowhere near as high as with the same settings in the actual game.
Xbox VR on PC via streaming and bigscreen: Conclusion
Once you've done all that, you can launch Bigscreen, put on your VR goggles, and start your Xbox One game from the Windows desktop in Bigscreen. Finally, a few words about what you can expect from both methods for playing Xbox One games in VR presented here.
- The method via streaming app with Oculus Rift (S) is the one that demands the least from your PC. However, aspects like the low frame rates on Xbox One / One S have a negative impact - you will be better off with an Xbox One X. The connection quality within your home network also plays a big role: You won't be happy with Wi-Fi through two walls.
- You need a really strong PC to be able to use the big screen workaround sensibly. On our test machine (i7700K, 16GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 1080ti), we had to reduce the details significantly to get a smooth frame rate in Forza Horizon 4. So, if in doubt, try the demo of a Play Anywhere game first before you buy it!
- Both the streaming and bigscreen variants do not convert Xbox One games into full VR experiences. Still, it's a pretty cool feeling to play Forza or Gears of War on a giant IMAX virtual cinema screen.
As things stand, VR glasses for the Xbox One will probably not be coming. So these workarounds will likely remain the only way to experience Xbox One games with a VR headset. How well it all works out in the end is mostly up to your home setup.
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