Apple Vision Pro Could Soon Support PlayStation VR2’s Controllers

Apple and Sony are working to bring support for PlayStation VR2 controllers to the Vision Pro, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports.

Gurman has a solid track record when it comes to reporting Apple’s moves in advance, even revealing many details about the Vision Pro itself before it was officially unveiled or even acknowledged to exist by Apple.

Apple Vision Pro’s gaze and pinch interaction system is ideal for interacting with the interface, and the hand tracking is suitable for casual gaming. But many VR games, mixed reality games, and interactive experiences on other platforms require physical controllers.

To bring this type of content to VisionOS, Apple approached Sony earlier this year to bring support for the PlayStation VR2’s Sense controllers to the Vision Pro. Gorman reports. This will also include support for navigation in VisionOS interfaces.

Sony doesn’t currently sell PS VR2 Sense controllers separately, not even for replacements, but when that support launches it will start, including in Apple Stores and from Apple’s website.

Gorman claims that Apple and Sony originally intended to announce support “weeks ago,” and that its rollout has been delayed. “I expect the announcement will be made at some point, unless it is suddenly cancelled.”

Apple Vision Pro game developers have reported frustrations

Developers spoke to mobilegamer.biz about their frustrations building Apple Vision Pro games for Apple Arcade.

Of course, controller support itself won’t be enough to entice many developers to port their titles to VisionOS, Gorman points out. The Apple Vision Pro has an install base of only about half a million owners, and only a small portion of them will own or purchase PS VR2 Sense controllers. To stimulate the gaming ecosystem on VisionOS, Apple may need to fund developers, as Meta does with its Quest headset. But it’s unclear whether Apple is ready to do so.

We’ll be closely monitoring Apple and Sony in the coming weeks for any signs of an official announcement of PS VR2 Sense controller support on the Vision Pro.