Microsoft launches Xbox One to Oculus Rift streaming app

Microsoft has officially launched a means of playing your Xbox One games on the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset - providing, that is, you own an Xbox One as well as a gaming PC and said headset.

The ability to stream Xbox One games to a Windows 10 PC or tablet was a major part of Microsoft's platform for pushing the operating system on gamers, promising the ability to play your favourite games on a less-powerful device - or, in the case of a tablet, on the bog. The launch of the Oculus Rift Xbox Streaming 'Experience' for Oculus Rift, then, is a logical extension of that: allowing gamers to play through their favourite Xbox One titles inside a virtual world.

Before getting too excited, though, it's important to note that the Xbox One Streaming software doesn't add virtual reality support to existing games; instead, games are projected in their two-dimensional glory onto a virtual cinema screen suspended in a virtual room. It's far from the first such virtual cinema software to appear on the Rift, but it is the first to come from Microsoft itself and include official support for Xbox One streaming.

Any game that works on the Xbox One will work through the Xbox One Streaming software on the Rift, including titles on the Xbox 360 Backwards Compatibility list, but as the receiving computer still needs to render the incoming video stream onto the virtual screen it's not a way of getting the Rift running on lower-end hardware; you'll still need a system meeting Oculus VR's recommended specifications, including an Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon R9 290 graphics card or better, in order to have a smooth and pleasant experience.

The Xbox One Streaming software is available now in the Oculus Store as a free download.