A month ago, Valve launched the beta version of SteamVR 2.0, the next major update for its PC virtual reality user interface. Today, the company is making SteamVR 2.0 generally available for all of its supported devices.
In a post on the Steam site, Valve states:
In this release we’re bringing all of what’s new and exciting on the Steam platform into VR. This is our first big step in a larger ongoing effort to better unify the Steam ecosystem for all users, providing a more consistent experience across devices. This update also allows us to add new Steam features in the future much faster and more frequently.
The new 2.0 version includes a new user interface, and also brings most of the features of Valve's Steam PC service, along with the software features of its popular Steam Deck portable gaming PC, into SteamVR.
It also adds some other features:
- Updated keyboard with support for dual-cursor typing, new languages, emojis, and themes
- Integration of Steam Chat and Voice Chat
- Improved Store that puts new and popular VR releases front and center
- Easy access to Steam notification
The full change log for the new SteamVR 2.0 release, along with the changelog for VR features in the main Steam client, are below:
Release Notes - SteamVR 2.0.8
General
- Fixed crash on exit for some Unity titles.
- Increased the system layer resolution limit. This was previously 1.5x the recommended render target scale, but is now applied to width and height independently.
- Fix a case where controller configuration would not be localized in the user’s preferred language (as configured in Steam).
- Added a prompt to install the Bigscreen Beyond Driver when the headset is detected.
- Improved double click reliability in desktop view.
- Added a button to toggle multitasking view for desktop overlays (Windows 10 and 11 only).
- Fixed scaling issues with floating dashboard overlays.
- Fix for SetSkyboxOverride always showing only the last texture.
- Fix issues caused by running vrstartup from a different SteamVR install when SteamVR is already running.
- Laser pointer smoothing, click, and double-click refinements.
- Added support for dual-laser typing on the new keyboard.
- Fixed a bug where dismissing the keyboard would dismiss it forever in controller binding UI.
- Fixed cases where binding callouts would stay up even when they should be dismissed.
- Desktop windows now show their actual icon in addition to their name.
Dashboard
- Refreshed styling of the VR Settings and Now Playing overlays when using the new 2.0 UI (connected to a Steam Beta client).
- Sound effects are more consistent across SteamVR UI elements.
- Adjusted more UI colors for consistency.
Index Controller Firmware
- Fixed a bug where haptics could stop responding after playing certain repeated haptics events.
- Restored grip input functionality for EV3 developer controllers that was broken in the previous update.
- Only EV3 and older developer hardware will be flagged for this update.
Meta
- Hide the SteamVR IPD slider since Meta already shows one.
- Meta controller dashboard default bindings: B and Y navigate 'Back' through Steam UI, and right clicking in desktop view has been moved to thumbstick click.
Linux
- Transition to the Steam Linux Runtime 3.0 (sniper) for improved compatibility.
- Fix runtime configuration to launch in Steam Linux Runtime 3.0 (sniper), addressing startup issues on some systems.
- Fix vrcompositor to launch under legacy scout runtime, addressing startup issues on some systems.
- Fix SteamVR Home to launch under legacy scout runtime.
Drivers
- For drivers which provide a manifest but don’t specify "resourceOnly", default to true if there is no bin directory.
- Add a manifest entry "showEnableInSettings" which can be set to force a driver to appear in the "addons" settings even if default rules would hide it.
- When a specific driver is forced with the "forcedDriver" setting or the VR_FORCE_TEST_DRIVER, load it even if it is disabled.
- When a specific driver is forced with the "forcedDriver" setting or the VR_FORCE_TEST_DRIVER, only allow an HMD to activate from that driver (even if other drivers are loaded due to "activateMultipleDrivers" and they activate an HMD first). The forced driver always had the first opportunity to activate an HMD before, but now we will wait for it to hotplug an HMD rather than letting another available HMD win.
- The "LastKnown" section in settings (which updates with the manufacturer and model of the last used HMD) now also keeps track of the "ActualHMDDriver" (e.g. "lighthouse") that provided the HMD.
Release Notes - VR Changes in Steam Client - October 25th, 2023
General
- Remove warning messages that came up when you started a 2D game when in VR.
- Fix crash in SteamVR when certain notifications were sent. This fixes the crash that could occur when taking screenshots from within SteamVR.
- Fix notifications not showing up when a game's desktop window was focused.
- Dashboard Tabs are now horizontally scrollable if you add a large amount of desktop windows or dashboard overlays.
- Fixed back button occasionally taking you back twice.
Interface
- Added mouse- and touch-friendly sort and filter buttons in library when in VR.
- Improved reliability of clicking on Dashboard and Steam UI elements with the laser mouse.
- Tab bars now show clickable arrows instead of L1/R1 bumper glyphs.
- Fixed the dashboard UI not working if Steam is in a Logged Out state (e.g. asking you to pick a user.)
- Hide the search bar from the header when Steam is in a Logged Out state.
- Some purchase flows weren't showing up in the Dashboard when started from within a game.
- UI takes up full width of the display in several cases where it was being centered such as the Friends tab.
- Filter options won't show Steam Deck compatibility filters when viewing from VR.
Linux
- Fix an issue that prevented SteamVR from starting on Debian/Ubuntu systems.
Earlier this year, the South Korean government listed a new device from Valve Corporation with a "1030" designation. There's been some speculation that this product could be a new Steam VR headset, but so far Valve has yet to comment on this regulatory filing.
