Meta 2 SDK Now Supports SteamVR

Meta released its Meta 2 augmented reality developer kit at the end of 2016. Unfortunately, to date, we haven’t heard much about content that supports the platform. Meta’s content problem could be about to change, though. The company announced that version 2.3 of the Meta 2 SDK includes support for Valve’s OpenVR API, which gives developers an easy path to port their existing content over to the Meta 2 platform.

“If you’ve created SteamVR applications with the OpenVR API, this now means you can bring those immersive experiences to life in the Meta 2 without having to recode,” said David Oh, Head of Developer Relations. “Meta aims to build a thriving AR ecosystem on SteamVR, and this new integration represents a first-step that will allow developers to quickly port their content into the Meta 2 and render high-quality 3D holograms in the headset.”

The Meta 2 headset’s OpenVR compatibility doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to play existing VR games with the Meta 2, but it does allow developers to view their 3D assets as high-resolution 3D holograms. Meta said that it plans to add more advanced SteamVR support to future versions of the Meta 2 SDK. The company said that you’d eventually be able to use your hands as tracked controllers to emulate the Vive wands, and it’s optimizing its SLAM tracking implementation to offer positional tracking for SteamVR.

Meta also said that it’s working on integrating Vive controller support with Meta applications. We’re not sure how you would pair a Vive controller with a Meta 2 headset; we’ve asked Meta for clarification.

Version 2.3 of the Meta 2 SDK is available now from Meta’s developer center; you can find the release notes here, and the installer download here.

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