Oculus Link: The Best 10 Rift Games You Should Play On Oculus Quest

Oculus Quest is home to a lot of great VR games but, from today, you can play Oculus Rift games on your headset too thanks to Oculus Link.

Now available in beta, Link requires a type 3 cable to connect to a high powered PC (check the specs here). If you have all of those things, then you can access a bunch of PC VR content. But what games and apps should you be sure to check out?

We already have extensive lists of the best Oculus Rift and SteamVR games, but they have a lot of overlap with games that are already on Quest. You’re of course free to check them out with improved fidelity, but for this list we’ve kept it to experiences that aren’t on Quest natively. With that in mind, here’s 10 Oculus Rift games and apps to play on Quest via Oculus Link.

Note: We’ve tested the first 5 – 10 minutes of each of these games in Quest to ensure they work. If anyone encounters any problems, be sure to let us know!

10. The Lab – SteamVR (Read Our Review)

Three and a half years on from PC VR’s launch and The Lab remains one of the best experiences you can have on the platform. Valve’s collection of minigames offer a taste of its signature brand of humor and, more importantly, a template for incredible VR interactions that separate this new technology from its traditional gaming roots. Plus it’s free, and you can’t really argue with that.

9. Gorn – Oculus Home, SteamVR (Read Our Review)

Gorn’s physics-driven over the top combat would likely struggle to fit on Quest natively, so we fully recommend picking it up for Oculus Link. In this slapstick gladiator combat game you impale, dismember, and bash enemies with a wide array of weaponry. It is ridiculously gory and utterly hilarious, refined through years of Early Access development. Don’t miss Gorn.

8. L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files- Oculus Home, SteamVR (Read Our Review)

Rockstar holds the keys to some of the best virtual worlds out there. L.A. Noire might not rank up there with GTAV and Red Dead 2, but its dedication to authenticity still makes it an essential setting to explore with a headset. The VR Case Files cherry-picks a handful of cases from the original game to reexperience in VR. It’s one of the most polished experiences you can have on the platform.

7. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice VR Edition – SteamVR (Read Our Review)

No one expected Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice to get a VR adaptation. Better yet, no one expected such an adaptation to work so well. And yet Hellblade VR is a shining example of how to get VR ports right, with fantastic visuals and select moments that work even better inside the headset. If you already own the game this is a free update, so don’t forget to download it.

6. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR – SteamVR (Read Our Review)

Turns out the Skyrim of VR is, well, Skyrim! Bethesda did an incredible job porting its legendary role-playing game to PC VR headsets, offering a massive open world to explore with hours worth of quesst to tackle. Plus, when you add in mods, Skyrim VR becomes is own metaverse of possibilities.

5. Wolves in the Walls – Oculus Home (Read Our Coverage)

There’s tons of amazing VR experiences out there right now that straddle the line between games, films and something entirely new. Star Wars: Vader Immortal shows us that on Quest but, for our money, Wolves in the Walls from Fable Studio is the best example yet. This interactive story has you befriending a young girl. Fable goes to great lengths to make the bond between you as natural as it can be. If you’re looking for something other than gaming, this is a great place to start.

4. No Man’s Sky VR – SteamVR (Read Our Review)

An infinite universe of planets to explore, adventures to go on and friends to work with. That’s the promise No Man’s Sky’s ambitious VR update makes and, though launch was marred by technical hitches, Hello Games delivered. This is the entire original game with native-feeling VR support, giving you an endless amount of content to enjoy.

3. Stormland – Oculus Home (Read Our Review)

Insomniac Games makes the list again with its most recent title, Stormland. This is an incredibly slick first-person shooter in which you traverse a series of islands connected by a sea of clouds. A fluid, free movement system makes this one of VR’s most liberating experiences, and the live features and two-player co-op make this worth the jump.

2. Lone Echo – Oculus Home (Read Our Review)

Lone Echo was a pioneer of the now-beloved zero-gravity locomotion system for VR. Not only that but the game delivers incredible visuals, thoughtful pacing and a great story, driven by strong characters and the bonds you grow with them. Plus it’s required playing before the launch of Lone Echo II and you can get in a bit of practice before the release of Echo VR on Quest.

1. Asgard’s Wrath – Oculus Home (Read Our Review)

We recently crowned Asgard’s Wrath as VR’s best game and, though only a month has passed, that still remains true in a busy holiday season. This is the massive, VR-native role-playing game that many fans have been waiting for, taking you on a tour of Norse Mythology and adding in biting melee combat and brilliant animal companions.

Honourary Mention: Edge of Nowhere – Oculus Home (Read Our Review)

Insomniac’s VR debut remains one of the best, most thrilling gamepad-based games in VR. You can think of this as a mix between Uncharted and Dead Space; it’s a third-person action horror game in which you travel to the Arctic in search of a lost expedition. Inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, the game presents a chilling descent into madness you won’t want to miss.

Do you agree with our list of the best Oculus Link games? Let us know in the comments below!

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Oculus Link Launches Into Beta, Bringing Rift Content to Oculus Quest

One of the biggest announcements to come out of Oculus Connect 6 (OC6) in September was Oculus Link, a new feature for Oculus Quest allowing the headset to connect to a PC to play Oculus Rift titles. No release date was ever given, only a November window. Today, that window has closed as Oculus Link is now available in beta form.

Oculus Link

With the rollout of the Oculus Link software, Oculus Quest owners will need to purchase a USB-3 cable to connect to their PC as the Oculus Quest charging cable isn’t up to the task – its only USB-2. It’s not just the correct cable you’ll need, the beta software currently supports only a select number of graphics cards, all of which are NVIDIA’s.

Setting up is fairly simple though. Once the cable is connected to the PC and headset all you need to do is launch the Oculus desktop app to browse Oculus Rift titles and then play them. Obviously, you’ll lose the wireless freedom the headset provides but at the same time, you’ll gain access to some amazing VR experiences. Oculus Rift has seen some major videogame release recently, Asgard’s Wrath and Stormland being the most notable. VRFocus gave Insomniac Games’ latest adventure a full five-star review, saying: “Every Oculus Rift owner need this in their library, as Stormland could very well be the VR videogame of 2019.”

VRFocus got its hands-on Oculus Link back in September finding that while the feature is a natural benefit for Oculus Quest owners – and will probably help sell more of the headsets – the wireless device is still heavier at the front than Oculus Rift S as well as lacking its bigger siblings visual clarity. So if you want the best VR experience a dedicated PC VR headset is still the way to go.

Oculus Quest new image

The Oculus Link update isn’t the only addition Oculus is rolling out today for its mobile headsets. These also include:

Search

  • Improved discoverability to make it easier to find new content.
  • Enhanced navigation functionality to make it easier to scroll and use the search feature.
  • Added an autofill Search bar that populates when hovering over an autocomplete tag.

App Installs

  • Any pending or in-process app installs will now complete before your headset goes to sleep.

Environments for Quest

  • We’ve added the new Environments feature to Quest. Environments allow you to change the world that surrounds you while in your Quest Home.

Experiments

  • New High Score Shelf in VR (Beat Saber) – See high scores from friends in your VR Feed when playing Beat Saber
  • Achievements in VR – See achievements (new levels, trophies, etc. in games) from friends in your VR Feed
  • Personalization in VR – You can now favorite or hide apps/genres, which will either boost or remove them from your Explore Feed.

As further updates are released, VRFocus will let you know.

Oculus Releases Beta Support for Link, Turning Quest into a PC VR Headset

Oculus today announced that Link is officially in beta, the company’s compatibility software so that Quest users can play Rift titles on PC. If you have an AMD GPU, you’re going to have to wait though.

If you have a supported GPU (see more here) and a compatible VR-ready gaming PC, Quest owners can simply plug their headset into a USB 3 port, then use the Oculus desktop app just like you would if you owned a Rift, which includes to Oculus Home and Dash.

Oculus says most high-quality USB 3 cables should work, although you’ll probably want one long enough so you can play unencumbered. Unfortunately you won’t be able to buy the company’s premium five-meter (16+ feet) Link cable just yet, although Oculus says in a blog post it will initially be rolled out in limited quantities in select regions this year; availability in more regions is said to come in 2020.

SEE ALSO
Hands-on: Oculus Link Makes Quest Feel Like a Native PC VR Headset

The company says it’s using the beta period to test, iterate, and validate GPUs. See this article for a full breakdown of Oculus Link minimum specs and requirements.

– – — – –

We went hands-on with Link when it was unveiled back at Oculus Connect 6 in September, and were impressed with the experience, finding that it genuinely felt like using a native PC VR headset.

We’ll be testing Link in the coming days to give you a rundown on just what it can do, and where its limitations lie. We still haven’t had a chance to see if it will work with SteamVR to play non-Oculus platform titles, which would significantly open up the number of games and apps available to it, but make sure to check back soon for the full details.

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Facebook Reveals Official Oculus Link Cord Specifications

Facebook revealed the official specifications for their upcoming Oculus Link cord today, which will be available to purchase for consumers later this year.

The reveal of the specifications coincides with the launch of the Oculus Link Beta, allowing owners of compatible PCs to play “Rift-quality experiences” on their Oculus Quest while tethered to the PC with a USB 3 cord.

The Oculus Link Beta starts from today (here are the instructions to get started), and Facebook will release an official “premium, custom optical fiber cable” to use with Oculus Link “later this year”. However, for now, users will need to find a compatible third-party USB 3 cord if they want to use the Oculus Link service.

That being said, Facebook also revealed the specifications of the official cable today “to help our community make informed buying decisions and let other companies evaluate whether to make comparable cables in the future.”

This means that third party companies could produce their own equivalent cable that meets the same specifications as Facebook’s cord. It also means that consumers can compare the specifications of the official Link cable to existing third-party cables that may suffice in the meantime.

The specifications of the official Oculus Link cable:

oculus link cord specifications

Facebook will “start rolling out our cable with limited quantities in select regions this year, and continue to expand availability in 2020.”

The official cable will use the above specifications to deliver “best-in-class experience with maximum throughput while using Oculus Link.” In some cases, the cord will be able to charge the Quest while being used for Oculus Link.

You can find out everything else you need to know about Oculus Link here.

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Oculus Link Beta Doesn’t (Yet) Support AMD Cards Or Older NVIDIAs

The beta for Oculus Link doesn’t support AMD graphics cards or some older NVIDIA cards that normally do support the Rift software.

The graphics cards that officially are supported are:

  • NVIDIA Titan X
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (and all variants)
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 (and all variants)
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 16-series
  • NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20-series

UPDATE: Facebook has added the Desktop GTX 1060 to their list of supported cards.

No AMD cards are currently supported, and the following NVIDIA cards are specifically listed as currently unsupported:

  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060M

Facebook told us that it plans to add support for some of the currently unsupported cards by the time Link exits beta. The company told us it is currently “working directly with AMD” to add support for “as many cards as possible“.

But Why?

Facebook didn’t provide an official reason for why one card is currently supported over another, which may initially seem confusing given these cards work great with the Rift. However, based on how the company’s engineers describe Link as working, we can speculate as to the cause — at least for NVIDIA cards.

Link is able to send the video output to the Oculus Quest over USB 3.0, despite having much less bandwidth than DisplayPort, because the system compresses each frame before sending it over. Most modern graphics cards have a special dedicated video encoding chip for image compression which take this load off the CPU. NVIDIA calls theirs NVENC.

On NVIDIA’s NVENC Support Matrix page, the cards with the NVENC are listed. The supported cards are all listed as featuring the chip, whereas the GTX 1060M (a currently unsupported card) is not listed.

The GTX 1660 series and RX 20-series use a newer generation encoder, which may mean Link runs better or at a higher quality. This newer encoder was also how Facebook improved the quality of Rift’s ASW and Passthrough+ on these cards.

Other Requirements For Link

Keep in mind that you’ll also need to have Windows 10, 8GB+ RAM, and a decently fast CPU suitable for gaming. Facebook specifically recommends an Intel i5-4590 / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or greater.

You’ll also need a free (and working) USB 3.0 (or above) port on your PC. This can either be Type-A or Type-C, as long as it’s up to speed.

Not all USB cables will work with Link, but Facebook officially recommends this $13 cable. Facebook is also planning to sell a high performance cable of its own later this year in limited quantities and released the cable’s specifications so buyers can find alternatives. You can follow these instructions to run Oculus Rift games on Quest over Oculus Link.  

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Oculus Link For Quest Code Already Present In Latest Rift PTC Software

The latest Public Test Channel release of the Oculus Rift software contains references suggesting support for the upcoming Oculus Link feature for Oculus Quest, based on code found by UploadVR.

We are now in the release month for Oculus Link and we confirmed with Facebook the company would issue updates for both its PC-based Oculus software and the firmware running the Oculus Quest as part of the release of an Oculus Link Beta.

Oculus Link was announced at Oculus Connect 6 back in September. The Oculus Quest is a standalone wireless Android-based headset, but Link will allow owners to also use it as a PC VR headset by connecting it to a VR-ready PC via a USB 3.0 cable with a Type-C connector on at least one end.

Most USB 3.0 cables are much shorter than on a standard PC VR headset, and the exceptions tend to be thick and/or not particularly flexible. Facebook will be offering its own custom 5 meter fiber-optic USB 3.0 cable with Type-C connectors on each end for $79 for users wanting the best PC VR experience on Quest. In some cases the official Link cable should be able to charge Quest while in use as a PC headset, which alternatives may not be capable of.

Facebook suggested Link should work with Rift-compatible content offered through Steam, as well as Oculus content bought outside the Oculus Store. On the Oculus Store, however, developers should be able to opt out to their games being playable on Quest via Link. This might be used by developers which don’t support cross-buy between Rift and Quest.

Want to know more about Oculus Link? Check out our article on what to expect.

Code Found

We found several references to Link in the Oculus code, including functions which check for issues and check if an app has opted out.

When trying to use a USB 2.0 connection, or a USB 3.0 port isn’t providing enough bandwidth, the software will display the following message to the user: “Try using a different USB 3 port. If that doesn’t work, you may need to use a different cable. Note that the charging cable that came with your Quest is not compatible with Oculus Link (Beta). Visit the Oculus Support Center for more info.

If your headset is connected properly, the software should prompt “Add your Oculus Quest to your PC to access Rift apps, games and experiences.”, which should bring you to a setup wizard in the Devices tab — just like the Rift and Rift S. From there, it should act just like a regular Rift family headset.

If trying to use Link with a Quest running an older incompatible firmware version, the software would display: “Oculus Link (beta) requires the latest Quest software version. Please put on your headset and go to Settings to install the software update.

We also found a function that checks if a developer opted out of Link support. If so, the software should display the warning “This app is not compatible with Oculus Link (beta)“. We believe this code only checks Oculus Store apps.

We only tested a couple individual pieces of software with Oculus Link at OC6 and we don’t yet know how the software will function with content from “Unknown Sources.” We’re looking forward to testing Oculus Link over an extended period of time and we know our readers are looking forward to the update as well. We’ll bring you the latest on Oculus Link as soon as we have it.

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Oculus Link Beta: Everything You Need To Know About Oculus Quest’s PC VR Headset Makeover

Oculus Link addresses one of the most requested features for the Quest standalone VR headset from Facebook.

Facebook announced the upgrade at its Oculus Connect 6 VR developer’s conference in September and, as of today, the Oculus Quest all-in-one wireless VR headset is able to convert into a PC-powered mode over a new wired connection that runs Rift games.

We know a lot of our readers were highly anticipating the release so we’ve broken down everything you need to know, and confirmed a few extra details, to get you ready playing PC VR games on your Oculus Quest. We’ll update this post periodically as more information is confirmed about Oculus Link.

What is Oculus Link?

Oculus Link is a software update coming for Oculus Quest that will allow Quest owners with a VR-ready PC to use their Quest as a Rift — while tethered by a cord to their computer. In the words of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg during the OC6 keynote, “this means that starting in November when we ship this update, your Quest is basically a Rift now too!”

So you should be able to play graphics and processor-intensive Rift games like Asgard’s Wrath and Stormland on the Quest via Oculus Link, as well as access Rift services such as Oculus Home and Oculus Dash. We went hands-on with an Oculus Link demo at OC6 and you can read our impressions here.

For those unfamiliar with Facebook’s VR efforts, the company essentially operates two VR platforms. One runs on Windows gaming PCs and the other is an Android-based standalone platform. 2016’s Oculus Rift and 2019’s Oculus Rift S run on high-end (and expensive) gaming PCs with powerful desktop-class processors designed by NVIDIA, AMD and Intel. 2018’s Oculus Go and 2019’s Oculus Quest are the standalone systems which pack processors and battery into the headset itself.

Oculus Link, then, essentially aligns these two Oculus VR systems for Facebook around the Oculus Quest hardware. For owners of a compatible PC and a Quest, it’ll be like a new mode for the Oculus Quest that turns it into a kind of Oculus Rift Q. Link allows Quest owners to exchange wireless freedom for higher end graphics and simulation that only a wired PC can provide right now.

When will it launch?

The Oculus Link Beta launches today. However, not all computers will be compatible with Oculus Link and your Quest and Oculus PC App software will both need to be up to date, on versions 11.0 or higher and 1.34 respectively. You can read more details on compatibility below. 

In terms of the exact launch time of the beta today, Facebook said “Once the updates are released to all customers, we’ll begin rolling out the remote rendering feature enabled by Oculus Link.” 

A full release for Oculus Link will come after the beta, with wider compatibility for different systems and GPUs. 

PC Requirements

Oculus Link essentially makes the Quest act as if it is an Oculus Rift Q. This means, first and foremost, your computer will need to have specifications that make it ready to run PC VR games. The required specifications can be quite intensive and you can refer to our guide on ensuring your computer is ready for PC VR for more information.

However, the Oculus Quest Beta that launches today only supports certain GPUs. The NVIDIA Titan X and all NVIDIA GTX 1070, 1080 and 16-series cards are supported. Likewise, all the new NIVIDIA RTX 20-series cards are also supported.

No AMD GPUs are currently supported, but Facebook is “currently working directly with AMD to support as many of their cards as possible by the time we exit beta and expect to add support for some cards during the beta.”

You will also need to be running Windows 10, have at least 8GB of RAM, a spare USB 3.0 port and, in terms of CPU, an Intel i5-4590/AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or greater.

Cable Requirements

In addition to a computer that can handle PC VR games, for Oculus Link you’ll also need a cord to tether your Quest to your PC. Oculus is planning to release their own official Oculus Link cord, which is a thin, flexible, 5 meter-long fiber optic cable. It is planned to offer consistent performance and, in some cases, charge your Quest while you play Rift games via Link, ensuring the Quest’s battery won’t run out mid-session.

According to Zuckerberg during the OC6 Keynote, the official Oculus Link cable will “maximize the throughput – it’ll charge your Quest if your PC supports that too.However, the official Oculus Link cord does not have a set release date and is not releasing today alongside the November beta. It will be available to purchase online “later this year”.

This means if you want to use Oculus Link in beta from today, you will need to have your own cord. 

For the Oculus Quest Beta, you will need a USB 3.0 (C to C, or A to C) cord to connect your Quest to your PC.

Facebook recommends users check that they’re using “a high-quality USB 3.0 cable capable of supporting data and power.”

For now, it is currently not known exactly which brand of third party cords specifically will be the most reliable with Oculus Link, however you can compare the specifications of your cord to the official Oculus Link cord specifications for clarification.

The specifications of the official Oculus Link cord, to be released later this year, are as follows:

oculus link cord specifications

Keep an eye out for more info on confirmed cords that work reliably with Oculus Link in the future.

Software Requirements

Your Oculus Quest will need to be updated to version 11.0 or above. You can check your firmware version, and try to force an update download, in the settings tab of your Quest.

The Oculus PC app will need to be installed for Oculus Link, and updated to version 1.44

How do I launch Oculus Link on my Quest and PC

Facebook provided us with the following instructions on how to start using Oculus Link on your Quest:

1. Open the Oculus app on your PC.

2. Turn on your Quest.

3. Plug your USB 3 cable into a USB 3.0 port on your PC, then plug the other end into your headset.

4. You should be prompted with ‘Allow access to data’, select Deny.

5. Next, you’ll be prompted to Enable Oculus Link (beta), select Enable to begin remote rendering via Oculus Link.

What games and services will it work with? Will I be able to use SteamVR?

As mentioned above, you will be able to play Rift games and access Rift services such as Oculus Home and Oculus Dash. During an OC6 panel on Oculus Link, a keynote slide indicated Link would allow you play the “majority of the Rift library” on your Quest. Facebook told us that developers will be able to opt out of Oculus Link support if they choose to do so.

We previously reached out to Facebook to confirm whether you would be able to run Rift-compatible Steam content on the Quest via Oculus Link. “Yes. When you tether your Quest to your PC with Oculus Link, you will be able to operate the headset the same way you do Rift,” a Facebook representative wrote in their email response.

We’ll be testing this ourselves shortly, but this should mean Link would work with popular Rift-compatible Steam content such as Skyrim VR and No Man’s Sky VR. Given this response, and a tweet from the President of Viveport at HTC, it seems Link is expected to work with Rift-compatible Viveport content as well.

Will the official Oculus Link cord from Facebook include any bundled games?

Facebook has not revealed anything about the possibility of Rift games bundled with the purchase of their own Oculus Link cord. We think there are a lot of unknowns still about Oculus Link, including this possibility, so we recommend holding off buying your own cord until Facebook fully details the specifics and their own offering.

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Oculus is Making Link’s Hardware Specs Available to Third Parties

Oculus Link, the upcoming feature that will let you play Rift games on Quest, is set to launch sometime in November. According to statement made by an Oculus Product Manager, the company is also making Link’s specs available to third parties, meaning you’ll not only have a choice in the matter, but also the confidence that you’re actually buying something designed for the task.

A confirmed Oculus Product Manager, known only by the Reddit handle u/HiFiPotato, had this to say when asked about Link:

“Just to add onto what was stated above, the Oculus Link cable is quite thin and flexible when compared to a standard usb 3 active cable. But length, data integrity, flexibility, ergonomics, and weight were all a factor. We also are releasing the specs of our cable so if a 3rd party wants to build their own and sell it, they are welcome to do so.”

Oculus previously mentioned at Link’s OC6 unveiling earlier this month that most high-quality USB 3 cables should work with Link, so it’s no surprise you won’t be forced to pay the reported $79 for the five meter (16-foot) cable.

SEE ALSO
The Most Interesting Thing About Quest Tethering is What it Says About Next-gen Oculus Headsets

Since Oculus is openly making Link’s specs available to third parties though, it’s much more likely we’ll see cables either designed specifically for the task, or at least sporting some sort of ‘Link compatible’ messaging.

Oculus touts their own as bringing a “best-in-class experience with maximum throughput and comfortable ergonomics.”

We went hands-on with Link on Quest back at OC6, and it proved to be an awesome experience, so much so that it actually felt like a native PC VR experience.

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The Most Interesting Thing About Quest Tethering is What it Says About Next-gen Oculus Headsets

Oculus announced last month that Quest will soon be able to play Oculus games on PC via a new feature called Oculus Link. Though Oculus Link will immediately add big boost in value to existing Quest headsets, perhaps even more interesting is what this announcement tells us about next-gen Oculus headsets.

Oculus Link is set to launch in beta as a free update to Quest headsets in November. It allows users to connect their headset to a VR ready PC via a USB 3 cable and play “most” titles from the Oculus PC library.

Image courtesy Oculus

We were impressed with the experience when we got to demo it last month and Oculus hasn’t been shy about saying that they’d eventually like to make the feature wireless. And while the added benefit of Oculus Link may even call into question the value of Rift S over Quest, the move tells us some very interesting things about the future of Oculus headsets.

Thou Cannot Giveth and Then Taketh Away

First and foremost, Oculus Link gives us good reason to expect that all future Quest headsets will also be compatible with PC content, and may even have some dedicated hardware to make the job easier. Here’s the thing: once Oculus puts this feature out into the wild, it can’t really take it back because it fundamentally alters the headset’s capabilities.

Oculus Link invites Quest users to purchase from Oculus’ PC library. To turn around and remove the feature from future Quest headsets would not only invalidate whatever investment customers had made into the company’s PC library, it would also feel like taking away a major feature; sort of like if the first iPhone had a camera, but they removed the camera on the second iPhone—customers simply wouldn’t stand for it.

In that regard, the release of Oculus Link can be seen as a commitment from Oculus that its future high-end standalone headset will continue to be able to play both mobile and PC titles.

Move Fast and Break Things

The announcement of Oculus Link just a few months after Quest and Rift S hit store shelves also tells us something about Oculus’ approach to product development which seems to be changing as the company has steadily lost its core founders after being acquired by Facebook in 2014.

Now much more deeply under Facebook control, the ‘new Oculus’ isn’t going to hold back features from one headset just to make sure its product portfolio has a clear or comfortable delineation (we saw the first hints of this with their choice to release Rift S instead of a Rift 2). I’m certain that Oculus understood the implications of adding PC tethering to Quest and how it would call into question the value of Rift S (which sells for the same $400 price). Still, Quest owners clearly wanted the ability to play PC content, and Oculus said ‘if we can make this happen, let’s do it’. This is Facebook’s “move fast and break things” mantra at work.

SEE ALSO
PC Tethering on Quest is a Huge Upgrade, Making Rift S a Tough Sell

What Does a Hybrid Oculus Quest Mean for a Next-gen Rift?

Less certain, but still potentially revelatory, is what Oculus Link could mean for Oculus’ next-gen Rift headset. If we are working under the assumption that Quest and its successors will be compatible with PC content from this point forward, it clearly opens the door for Oculus to make its PC product more clearly positioned for the high-end crowd. While Rift S currently stands as great entry-level value, many of Oculus’ loyal enthusiast customers saw it as a ‘sidegrade’ over the original Rift, and would have been happy to pay more than $400 for a higher-end Oculus headset if only that option was available.

If Quest, as a hybrid headset which can mobile and PC titles, serves as that entry-level option well enough, Oculus will need to either make its PC offering clearly the best way to experience Oculus PC content by pushing its specs and features into the next tier, or by cutting its price. There’s also another option… a wild card: Oculus could simply eliminate it’s PC-only headset and make their next headset serve as both the Quest 2 and the Rift 2. Oculus Qrift?

Wireless is Probably a New Priority for Oculus

Then there’s the question of wireless. With the traction they’re seeing with the tetherless Quest, I think Oculus is going to highly prioritize wireless for future headsets. They’ve already said that they’d like to make Oculus Link wireless eventually, and seem to be actively moving in that direction.

Now here’s the thing… if Quest, or perhaps Quest 2, were to get wireless PC streaming, could Oculus reasonably continue to have a tether on the equivalent Rift headset? My thinking is probably not….

In describing Oculus Link’s technical workings, the company has said it’s effectively a video streaming solution. And while today’s Oculus Link happens to transmit that stream over a tethered connection, the solution could easily work over a reliable wireless link as long as there’s sufficient bandwidth.

Oculus gave an overview of Oculus Link’s architecture at Oculus Connect 6 | Image courtesy Oculus

That means that a future Rift headset, let’s say a Rift 2, could use a ‘thin-client’ approach to be wireless out of the box. While Quest needs a full suite of on-board smartphone hardware to run a complete operating system as well as perform its own rendering and game processing, a ‘thin client’ headset would contain just enough on-board hardware to receive & decode a wireless video stream from a host PC.

SEE ALSO
Oculus Reveals New VR Headset Prototypes with Major Advances in Optics Form-factor

This could be done with a dedicated chip that could be less expensive and consume less power than what’s needed for a full standalone headset (a smartphone processor and everything that comes with it). While Quest doesn’t have any dedicated chips in it specifically for PC tethering, Oculus said they did debate it, and eluded to a continuing interest in dedicated streaming chips by saying that if they had more control over the underlying hardware they would be able to create alternate streaming architectures which would be even more suitable for their streaming approach, potentially leading to higher visual quality and lower latency.

Of course there would still be bandwidth and wireless reliability issues to contend with. Even with a thin-client approach, which wireless link would be best is still up in the air, especially if Rift 2 were to have higher resolution than Rift S, as we’d expect.

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Image courtesy Oculus

One way or another, Oculus is moving into some uncharted territory as it turns Quest into a hybrid headset that can access both its mobile and PC libraries. Oculus is clearly trying to make its content and ecosystem more cohesive, and this will very likely guide decisions being made about Quest 2 and Rift 2.

The post The Most Interesting Thing About Quest Tethering is What it Says About Next-gen Oculus Headsets appeared first on Road to VR.

Community Download: Do You Think Oculus Link For Quest Will Kill The Rift S?

Community Download is a weekly discussion-focused articles series published (usually) every Monday in which we pose a single, core question to you all, our readers, in the spirit of fostering discussion and debate. For today, we want to know if you think the newly announced Oculus Link feature is going to basically “kill” the Oculus Rift S?


At Oculus Connect 6 (OC6) this past week Facebook unveiled a feature that most enthusiasts assumed was being worked on but probably didn’t expect to see just mere months after the Quest and Rift S launched. The feature is named Oculus Link and it will enable you to plug your Oculus Quest standalone inside-out tracked headset into your PC with a single USB-C cable to then access and run Oculus Rift content. It’s coming this November.

From what we tried based on a 10-minute demo, it seems to basically turn the Quest into a Rift S. Granted, it isn’t perfect, but it’s shockingly close. Tracking won’t be as good with the alternate camera placement and fewer overall cameras, there is slightly higher latency reportedly, and visually the image is slightly compressed compared to the Rift S natively on a PC (plus 72Hz vs 80Hz) but other than it’s extremely capable and for most users will be way better than just good enough.

Since the Rift S and Quest both cost $400 (Facebook’s official Link cable will be $79 but according to them others should work as well) do you think the company is cannibalizing their own product? Or in other words: Do you think Oculus Link for Quest will kill the Rift S? Why or why not? Would you honestly recommend someone buy a new Rift S if they could just get a Quest and Link cable to add the option or portability or PC VR connected?

Oculus Link

It’s an interesting topic. Let us know what you think down in the comments below!

The post Community Download: Do You Think Oculus Link For Quest Will Kill The Rift S? appeared first on UploadVR.