SteamVR 2.0 Makes Valve’s Virtual UI a Lot Steamier

Valve is finally giving some love to those still looking to play their VR games on Steam. The newly-released SteamVR 2.0 has finally brought its virtual reality interface in line with its more current Steam and Steam Deck. The company previewed this update a month ago when it entered beta, and the update should be going out to all users.

What’s here replaces the former dashboard, offering far easier access to standardized Steam features. The new UI includes a side toolbar with tabs for users’ library, the Steam store, friends, and downloads. The side panel is nearly identical to the Steam Deck’s current layout because why reinvent the wheel?

On the bottom of the new VR dashboard, users can quickly get a sense of the battery life on their individual VR remotes and quickly access notifications. This is a handy feature since users can now access Steam Chat and Voice Chat from the main SteamVR dashboard.

The drop-down keyboard has also finally allowed users to type with two cursors from both controllers. The keyboard incorporates more languages, and you can finally send emojis to friends through the chat client. If Valve ever allows users to send GIFs to friends quickly, Steam chat will have finally entered the 2020s.

There’s also the usual slew of bug fixes and a few improvements, such as a button to toggle multitasking view on Windows 10 and 11 desktop overlays. Desktop windows should also share their icon alongside their name.

September’s last major update in September added OpenXR extension support for developers, though there hasn’t been a major overhaul of the SteamVR ecosystem in years, especially as Valve seemed to put all their attention toward developing the Steam Deck (despite how glitchy mine still seems to be).

Though this is a substantial update, the company has yet to reveal whether it plans to refresh the $1,000 Valve Index headset. Just last month, Meta fully revealed its Quest 3 headset which includes some augmented reality features with full-color passthrough. But since that headset’s 2019 release and the VR-exclusive game Half Life: Alex, Valve’s VR ambitions have laid dormant. There are loose rumors Valve’s hardware teams have been drilling down on a so-called “Deckard” unit that would work alongside a full SteamOS-based Console built to support high-end gaming and VR. There’s been practically no confirmation on any of these rumors, so they need to be taken with a gallon of pure-grade salt.

If Valve finally re-enters the VR hardware space, they’d be doing so at an interesting time. Apple is set to release its Vision Pro mixed reality headset early next year. VR headset shipments have been down across the board in 2023, but Apple might be a big enough name to create new buzz surrounding headsets, enough that Valve might push even more hardware to go along with its redesigned VR UI.