With the PS5 now out worldwide, it’s no surprise that fans are ready for a PS VR2 headset to go with the new home console. Sony has now shared the design, controllers, and specs of the hardware, which will go on sale this February – but will cost more than a PS5 itself. In the meantime, the existing PSVR headset still works with the PlayStation 5, though owners have to request a free adapter to connect the camera to the system.
When will PS VR2 be released?
Sony has confirmed that the PS VR2 will launch worldwide on 22 February 2023. Pre-orders for the headset, accessories, and launch games are live now, although where you can pre-order depends on where you live. In the US, UK, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg, the only place you can pre-order for now is from Sony’s PlayStation Direct store. At first this required pre-registration, but pre-orders are now open to anyone with a PlayStation account. Other retailers will get the hardware eventually, but for now this is it. If you live elsewhere, pre-orders are also live now, but will be handled independently by retailers, so you’ll have to search around a little for the best stores where you live. Learn more in our separate article on where to pre-order the PlayStation VR2.
How much will PS VR2 cost?
This is the bad news: PS VR2 is expensive. The basic bundle – which includes the headset, a pair of controllers, and stereo headphones – costs $549/£529/€599, which is more than the first PS VR headset launched for, and even more than it costs to buy the PS5 now, which is $499/£479/€549. That’s the cheapest way to buy the new VR headset. A pricier bundle throws in launch title Horizon Call of the Mountain for a total of $599/£569/€649, while it’s an extra $49/£39/€49 to add in a controller charging dock. For reference, the high-end Vive Cosmos costs $699/£699 and the new Meta Quest Pro is even more at $1,499/£1,499, although the Oculus Quest 2 is much cheaper at only $399/£399.
What about the PS VR2’s design and specs?
Sony has gradually teased details about the new VR hardware, giving us a look at the headset and the Sense controllers and dropping most of the hardware’s specs. We’ve collected all of Sony’s official information right here, along with the leaks, rumours, and patent applications that reveal a little more.
Design
The design of the headset was one of the last details Sony has waited to reveal, but we do now know what it will look like. In the blog post introducing the design, senior vice president Hideaki Nishino explains that it was inspired by the PS5 itself, but features more rounded edges and curves to represent the 360-degree view that players have within the VR space. Some touches have purposefully been left the same, so that returning players will find the experience familiar, including the location of the headphone jack and the adjustable scope and headband. Other elements are new, such as a lens adjustment dial to match the lens distance between the player’s eyes. While Sony hasn’t confirmed the exact size and weight, the blog also says the new headset is both slimmer and lighter than the first generation. One of the other big changes for comfort is a new vent along the front of the scope, which should help you keep cool (and reduce sweat) during longer gameplay sessions. Oh, and in case you worried, the tiny PlayStation symbols found on the PS5 and DualSense are back here too, and will run along the front and back bands of the PS VR2 headset.
Sense controllers
The current Move controllers do the job, allowing you to interact with virtual environments, but without 1:1 tracking, they simply can’t compete with the experience on offer from Vive, Cosmos or Oculus Touch controllers – and Sony knows it. Weeks after Sony confirmed that it was working on new controllers for the PSVR 2 headset, the company published a PlayStation Blog post detailing our first proper look at the upcoming controllers – since confirmed to be called the Sense controllers – and has since followed up with the final design seen below. Sporting an orb-like design reminiscent of the Oculus Quest 2 controllers, Sony says that the shape “allows you to hold the controller naturally” with no constraints on how you can move your hands, and the ergonomic design should translate to a more comfortable experience than holding the ageing batons. The Sense controllers also sport the adaptive triggers and haptic feedback present on the DualSense controller for PS5, arguably the best features of Sony’s new controller. That’s backed up by finger touch detection, allowing you to make natural gestures in-game, along with the standard plethora of analogue sticks and action buttons. There aren’t any big in-your-face lights to rely on for tracking this time either, with Sony instead opting for smaller tracking rings that live at the bottom of each controller. According to PSVR Without Parole’s report on the secret dev conference, the finger touch detection will go one step further: in addition to capacitive touch sensors, the controllers will be able to detect how far away from the sensors your fingers are, and even use that to infer where your other fingers are, generating an idea of the shape of your whole hand without you touching a thing. The new controllers are a huge step for Sony, and the company teases that there’s still more to come.
Connectivity
Let’s get the bad news out of the way. One of the most anticipated upgrades to the second-gen PSVR is wireless connectivity, but Sony has already debunked that one, confirming on the PlayStation blog that the headset “will connect to PS5 with a single cord to simplify setup and improve ease-of-use, while enabling a high-fidelity visual experience.” The cord in question will be a USB-C lead, which makes sense given that Sony placed a single USB-C port pretty prominently on the front of the console. So far the only VR headsets that are wireless as standard are standalone models like the Oculus Quest 2, which are by their nature less powerful. HTC has released wireless add-ons for the Vive and Vive Cosmos, but doesn’t support wireless play as standard – perhaps Sony will take a similar approach and release a wireless adapter post-launch.
Core specs
For a while Sony was playing coy about the silicon inside the PS VR2, but in November 2022 it was announced that MediaTek is providing the chips that power both the headset and the Sense controllers. These are both custom chips, designed in collaboration between MediaTek and Sony, and neither company has revealed much about the specific silicon, but at least now we have a name for it. Remember that the bulk of the processing power comes from the PS5 itself though, with MediaTek’s chip only handling things like the displays, tracking, and connectivity.
Headset-based tracking
One of the biggest steps forward for the new headset is that it uses “inside-out tracking,” with cameras built into the headset itself to register your location and movements. Importantly, that means that there’s no need for an external camera – meaning there’s one less expensive accessory to buy, and one less bit of clutter and cabling taking up space in your living room.
Eye tracking
The integrated cameras aren’t the only tracking enhancement in the PlayStation VR2. Sony has confirmed that the headset also supports eye tracking, allowing it to recognise where you’re looking even if you don’t move your head. Sony suggests that this will allow you to use looking in specific directions to “create an additional input for the game character.” Going by a patent that was published back in July 2019, the headset could also use this information to refine what each eye sees and improve stereoscopic depth, also known as parallax imaging. Eye-tracking market leader Tobii confirmed in July 2022 that it hat it is providing the eye-tracking hardware, estimating that the deal will represent more than 10 percent of its revenue for 2022. “PlayStation VR2 establishes a new baseline for immersive virtual reality (VR) entertainment and will enable millions of users across the world to experience the power of eye tracking,” said Anand Srivatsa, Tobii CEO. “Our partnership with Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) is continued validation of Tobii’s world-leading technology capabilities to deliver cutting-edge solutions at mass-market scale.”
Displays
Sony has confirmed that the PS VR2 will feature OLED displays, with a resolution of 2000×2040 per eye – giving a total resolution of 4000×2040, making the headset 4K. It will support HDR along with foveated rendering, a rendering technique that involves reducing image quality in the peripheral vision to allow improved quality in the areas where the player is looking. A 110-degree field of view is among the widest in the current VR headset market, and support for both 90Hz and 120Hz frame rates will produce a smoother, more natural visual experience.
Haptic feedback
In addition to the haptic feedback built into the new Sense controllers, Sony has included haptic feedback in the headset itself. A single built-in motor will vibrate the headset in response to in-game events, which combined with the console’s Tempest 3D audio support could help make games much more immersive. “For example, gamers can feel a character’s elevated pulse during tense moments, the rush of objects passing close to the character’s head, or the thrust of a vehicle as the character speeds forward,” Sony’s official blog suggests.
Software features
Sony has also confirmed a range of new software tricks coming to the PS VR2 in a blog post. If you own a PS5 HD Camera, you can also hook that up in a new broadcasting mode, perfect for streamers who want to show off their reactions live to gameplay without a complicated setup. One of the other additions is a new see-through mode, which uses the headset’s front-facing cameras to allow you to view your surroundings without taking the headset off – to talk to friends or just find your controllers. Even more impressively, you’ll be able to use the cameras and controllers together to set a custom play area – defining edges to not include any furniture, steps, or other hazards. That way the headset will alert you when you get too close to the boundaries you’ve set up, saving you from a nasty accident. Finally, a Cinema Mode allows you to see the PS5 operating system, non-VR games, and content like TV or films on a virtual cinema screen. Content in Cinematic Mode will be displayed in 1920×1080 HDR video format with 24/60Hz and 120Hz frame rate.
Backwards compatibility
The PS5 is backwards compatible with the almost the entire PS4 library, so we expected that to apply to the PlayStation VR library too – but apparently not. “PSVR games are not compatible with PSVR2 because PSVR2 is designed to deliver a truly next-generation VR experience,” Hideaki Nishino, senior vice president of platform experience at PlayStation, said in an interview with the Official PlayStation Podcast, adding that “developing games for PSVR2 requires a whole different approach than the original PSVR.” A report from PSVR Without Parole claims that Sony is going to be emphasising remasters of first-gen PSVR games though, so expect to see plenty of older titles re-released and optimised for the new hardware instead.
Confirmed PS VR2 games
Now that we’re close to launch there are plenty of confirmed PS VR2 games, with a full 37 titles set to hit the VR headset during the launch window. The big one is Horizon Call of the Mountain, a VR spin-off of Horizon Zero Dawn and its sequel Horizon Forbidden West. The next big one is that horror favourite Resident Evil Village will be getting a patch to add in PS VR2 support for the full campaign, but it was also confirmed that No Man’s Sky is getting an updated VR version for the new hardware, as will Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge and Gran Turismo 7. Beat Saber will be coming too, though not for launch, as will the VR version of Resident Evil 4. As for proper new games, The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners is getting a sequel that will come to PS VR2, along with indie titles including Samurai Slaughter House, Firewall Ultra, and Among Us VR. Here’s the full list of titles available in the launch window, which is roughly from the 22 February launch through to the end of March:
After the Fall: Complete EditionAltair BreakerBefore Your EyesCities VR: Enhanced EditionCosmonious HighCreed: Rise to Glory – Championship EditionDark Pictures: Switchback VRDemeoDyschroniaFantavision 202XGran Turismo 7Horizon Call of the MountainJob Simulator/Vacation SimulatorJurassic World Aftermath CollectionKayak VR: MirageKizuna AI – Touch the Beat!The Last ClockwinderThe Light BrigadeMossMoss Book 2NFL Pro EraNo Man’s SkyPavlovPistol WhipPuzzling PlacesResident Evil Village VRRez InfiniteSong in the Smoke: RekindledStar Wars: Tales from the Galaxy Edge: Enhanced EditionSynth Riders: Remastered EditionThe Tale of OnogoroTentacularTetris Effect ConnectedThumperThe Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: RetributionWhat the Bat?Zenith: The Last City
And here’s just some of the other titles so far confirmed to launch later:
Resident Evil 4 VRBeat SaberSamurai Slaughter HouseFirewall UltraAmong US VRCrossfire: Sierra SquadHello Neighbor: Search and Rescue
Tech Advisor’s Deputy Editor, Dom covers everything that runs on electricity, from phones and laptops to wearables, audio, gaming, smart home, and streaming - plus he’s a regular fixture on the Tech Advisor YouTube channel.
