Finding PC VR mods has always meant wading through a patchwork of Discord threads, news articles and GitHub repositories. Thanks to a new PCVR Central database though, you can now find it all in one place.
The News
Reddit user ‘camracks’ launched the PCVR Central database last week, aiming to be the one searchable place for VR mods that let you play flatscreen PC games in VR.
And while you might not find every single last PC VR mod there right this second, the newly launched database already boasts over 1,500 games with nearly 900 VR mods currently cataloged.
On the front page alone, you’ll find Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Cyberpunk 2077, Grand Theft Auto V, Escape from Tarkov, Palworld and a lot more.
As a database and not a re-hosted central library as such, none of the mods are hosted locally, instead pointing to relevant links and repos for PC VR mods. Outside of making them easily searchable, PCVR Central also includes the ability to connect Steam (or simply paste a Steam link) to show VR mods for Steam games you already own, either natively or through a mod.
In addition to a user rating and review system, so you can see what the community feels about a given mod, mods are also tagged with how they fit on the ‘okay-to-native VR’ spectrum. You’ll find the tags ‘Experimental’, ‘Playable’, ‘Excellent’, or ‘Native-like’.
The database also indicates whether mods feature 6DOF controls, if the modder is still active, and how heavy the installation process is.
PCVR Central creator Camracks says they’re planning to expand the database and add more useful PC VR tools and features over time. In the meantime, you can learn more by visiting PCVR Central.
My Take
Less than a week since launch, PCVR Central has already proven to be an awesome resource, not only from a personal perspective as someone who always wants to poke around and see if any of my flatscreen games can be played in VR, but as someone who’s actively tracking the continued rise of PC VR mods, which seem to have experiencing a renaissance right now as VR game studio budgets falter.
And as enthusiasts push things forward in the post Meta-funding-bubble, filling in the gaps where studios won’t or simply can’t, having a central, searchable, modder-submittable platform is even more important. It declutters the mess of finding mods, and adds a useful community rating so you can know what’s actually worth your time and effort.
And while the barrier to entry into PC VR isn’t as high as it once was (in comparison to standalone platforms like Quest), PCVR Central has a good chance of playing a central role in keeping consumers engaged in VR, and maybe thinking twice before going full-apostate and leaving the space for good.
