HeadStart VR

Play your flat Unreal Engine PC games in VR — with one click.

Click Launch in VR, put on your headset, and play. HeadStart VR starts the game and turns on VR for you, at the right moment, every time.

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What is this?

UEVR (by praydog) is a free mod that makes many games built with Unreal Engine 4 and 5 playable in VR. Using it by hand is fiddly, though:

• You start the game, then run the UEVR injector as administrator, pick the right process and click Inject at the right moment.
• If your headset isn't connected yet when you inject (asleep, or not streaming), VR silently fails and the game stays flat. You have to restart the game and try again.
• Many games need their own UEVR version and their own settings file ("profile"), which get updated often.

HeadStart VR does all of that for you, for each game. You set a game up once; after that it's one click.

What you need

• A Windows 10 or 11 PC (64-bit)
• A PC VR headset that's connected to your PC through Virtual Desktop, SteamVR, Air Link / Quest Link, Steam Link or a cable
• The .NET 10 Desktop Runtime (x64). If it's missing, Windows shows a message with a download link the first time you open HeadStart VR.
• Games made with Unreal Engine 4 or 5. Games with anti-cheat don't work with UEVR.

Getting started

1. Download and open it

• Download HeadStartVR.zip from the Releases page and unzip it to a folder of your own, for example C:\VR\HeadStartVR. (Avoid Program Files.)
• Open HeadStartVR.exe and click Yes when Windows asks for administrator rights (why?).
• Windows may show a blue "Windows protected your PC" box because the app isn't code-signed. Click More info → Run anyway.

2. Add your games

• Click Scan. HeadStart VR looks through your Steam, Epic, GOG and Xbox app libraries and any Games folders and lists the Unreal Engine games it finds. Tick the ones you want.
• Game somewhere else? Use Add folder… in the Scan window, or Add game and pick the game's …-Win64-Shipping.exe (it's inside the game's <Name>\Binaries\Win64 folder — not the .exe in the game's main folder).

3. Pick a UEVR version for each game

• Each game needs a UEVR build (the UEVR program files). HeadStart VR finds builds you've already unzipped in common places like Downloads, Desktop or C:\UEVR; anywhere else, pick it with Other folder… or add the folder in Settings.
• Don't have one? Click Get builds… (in the Scan window, the game's Edit form or Settings), choose UEVR Nightly and click Download & install. That's the right choice for most games. If a game's profile says it needs a different version, get that one.

4. Get the game's profile (recommended)

• A profile contains the VR settings and fixes someone made for that game. On the game's page, click Find online… → Open Discord. The Flat2VR Discord is where most profiles are posted; your game's name is copied so you can paste it into Discord's search.
• Save the profile .zip to your Downloads folder. HeadStart VR notices it and offers to install it for the right game. Your previous profile is backed up first. (It recognises zips named after the game's exe, like MyGame-Win64-Shipping.zip, or that contain a folder with that name. For anything else, use From file… on the game's page.)

5. Play

• Click LAUNCH IN VR and put your headset on when you're asked to. That's it.

What happens when you click Launch in VR

1. Quick checks: is the game's UEVR version set to OpenXR, is your VR software set up, is there a newer profile to install? Anything that needs your answer is asked now, before you put the headset on.
2. Optional helpers: starts Virtual Desktop Streamer and reminds you to arm OFXR frame generation, but only if you have them installed.
3. Waits for your headset: it checks, the same way UEVR does, that your headset is connected and ready. You'll hear "Headset connected."
4. Starts the game and counts down (25 seconds by default) so the game reaches its main menu.
5. Turns on VR by injecting the game's UEVR version, then checks that VR actually started.

From the moment your headset is on, nothing needs a click. Spoken messages tell you what's going on. If VR doesn't start, HeadStart VR restarts the game and tries once more by itself.

Handy extras

• Inject sooner: click Inject now, or hold Back + Start on an Xbox-style controller for a second.
• Longer intros? Raise the game's countdown with Edit.
• Desktop shortcut: Shortcut puts a "Game (VR)" icon on your desktop that launches straight into VR.
• Undo a profile update: Backups… lists every earlier version of a game's profile; click Restore.
• Game won't start from its exe? In Edit, set Start the game to Through Steam or Launcher link.

Troubleshooting

The game started but stayed flat (no VR) Make sure your headset is connected in your VR software before launching. The status bar at the bottom shows which OpenXR runtime Windows uses. It should be your VR software (for example Virtual Desktop or SteamVR). If VR still doesn't start, try another UEVR version (Get builds…) or a longer countdown. The launch screen says what went wrong.

My game isn't in the Scan list Click Add folder… and pick the folder where you keep it, or use Add game. Only Unreal Engine games are listed.

It crashes when UEVR is injected Try a longer countdown so the game is fully at its menu, a different UEVR version, or check the game's profile notes on Flat2VR. Turn off in-game frame generation and HDR, and close overlays such as RivaTuner.

Which UEVR version should I use? Start with UEVR Nightly. Use the JoeyHodge fork or PureDark's AFW only when a profile asks for it.

Do I need Virtual Desktop or OFXR? No. Both are optional; HeadStart VR skips them if they aren't installed.

Why does it need administrator rights?

The UEVR injector has to run as administrator to work. By asking once when you open HeadStart VR, no permission pop-up appears later while you're wearing the headset. Your games, Steam, Virtual Desktop and OFXR still run as your normal user.

Privacy and safety

• No accounts, no ads, no tracking.
• It only goes online when you open Get builds…, to download UEVR straight from its authors' GitHub pages.
• Your library, settings and profile backups stay in the data folder next to HeadStartVR.exe.
• Profiles that contain plugins (.dll files) run code inside the game; you're warned before installing one.
• To uninstall, close HeadStart VR and delete its folder. Your UEVR profiles stay in %APPDATA%\UnrealVRMod.

For developers

dotnet test tests/HeadStartVR.Tests
dotnet publish src/HeadStartVR -c Release -o publish -p:PublishSingleFile=true -p:IncludeNativeLibrariesForSelfExtract=true

Needs the .NET 10 SDK. WPF app in src/HeadStartVR, tests in tests/. Every push is built and tested on GitHub; version tags (v*) publish HeadStartVR.zip with a SHA-256 checksum to Releases.

How the headset check works

UEVR calls OpenXR's xrGetSystem once, when it's injected. If no headset is available at that moment, the runtime returns XR_ERROR_FORM_FACTOR_UNAVAILABLE and UEVR stays flat. HeadStart VR makes the same call (in a separate process, using the game's own UEVR openxr_loader.dll) every couple of seconds and only injects once it succeeds. It also sets each UEVR build's saved runtime choice to OpenXR, since the injector defaults to OpenVR.

Credits

UEVR is made by praydog and belongs to its author; HeadStart VR doesn't include or re-host it. Thanks to the authors of the UEVR forks, OFXR Bridge and the Flat2VR community. See THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md.

HeadStart VR is an independent project and isn't affiliated with UEVR, Flat2VR, Virtual Desktop, Meta, Valve, Epic or GOG.

License

MIT