Launching Games

Launch games from the headset: your library is right there in the MoltenVR headset app. Pick a game, play, and when it quits you're back in the library. You can launch from the Mac app too, and the headset switches into the game on its own.

Behind the scenes, MoltenVR runs each game the way that suits it.

Windows VR games

Windows games run through MoltenVR's managed Wine, with DirectX translated to Metal by DXMT or Apple's D3DMetal. You choose the engine per game. See Wine & Graphics Engines.

Linux builds, through Inversa

Inversa is an open-source (GPL-3.0) runtime that runs Linux programs on macOS. ARM64 Linux programs run natively on Apple Silicon, and x86-64 programs run through FEX. Inversa ships with MoltenVR, or downloads the first time a game needs it.

Half-Life: Alyx

Half-Life: Alyx runs two ways: its Linux ARM64 build runs in VR through Inversa, and the Windows version can run through Wine. Either way, Steam for Mac must be running while you play. Alyx is demanding, so a Pro, Max or Ultra chip is recommended. More on the Half-Life: Alyx on Mac page.

Mac-native VR apps

Godot games, and any other app that uses the OpenXR loader, find MoltenVR's macOS OpenXR runtime and run on it directly, with Metal, Vulkan or OpenGL, and hand tracking.

Minecraft + Vivecraft

Minecraft runs in VR through Vivecraft, natively on the Mac, with no Wine involved.

Fixes that ship themselves

Some games need a nudge. MoltenVR ships game-specific fixes automatically, such as controller tracking and shader caching for Into the Radius 2, and BONELAB getting past its startup screen. You don't need to do anything to get them.

A game won't start in VR?