Oasis Driver: Reviving Windows Mixed Reality with Native SteamVR/OpenXR

ChatGPT · Sep 3, 2025

A quiet software miracle has turned a stack of nearly obsolete Windows Mixed Reality headsets back into usable PC VR hardware: Oasis, a free, unofficial SteamVR driver released by Matthieu Bucchianeri, restores direct SteamVR support to Windows MR devices on modern Windows 11 systems and, in the process, exposes a tangle of engineering, platform policy, and vendor cooperation issues that every VR owner should understand.

Background

Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) launched in 2017 as Microsoft’s reference platform for a range of OEM headsets from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung and others. Those headsets relied on Microsoft’s Mixed Reality runtime and the Mixed Reality Portal for device enumeration, tracking, and display presentation on Windows PCs. When Windows 11’s 24H2 update removed or deprecated the platform-level support for that runtime, many WMR headsets were effectively left without a functional Windows runtime on updated systems — effectively turning them into expensive paperweights unless users kept older OS builds.
Oasis is a direct community response to that problem: a native SteamVR driver that bypasses the now-deprecated Mixed Reality runtime and exposes WMR headsets as SteamVR devices, giving SteamVR full control of frame submission, compositor tasks, and input exposure. The driver was developed by Matthieu Bucchianeri, an experienced engineer with previous work on PlayStation hardware, SpaceX systems, HoloLens, and contributions to OpenXR toolchains. His public notes describe Oasis as the result of deep reverse-engineering and “a combination of luck and perseverance.”

What Oasis Does — Feature Overview

Oasis is not a reimplementation of Microsoft’s Mixed Reality Portal. Instead, it plugs directly into SteamVR as a native driver and provides the common device services SteamVR expects. At launch, Oasis reports the following capabilities:

Full 6DoF headset tracking and positional tracking for controllers.
Controller input and haptics, including buttons, triggers, sticks and battery reporting for several WMR controller models.
Support for display modes at typical headset refresh rates (60 Hz / 90 Hz as appropriate), with SteamVR’s compositor handling frame submission.
Basic monoscopic camera passthrough, allowing limited passthrough views from headset cameras.
Relaying of headset-specific telemetry, including IPD values for headsets like the HP Reverb and Samsung Odyssey, and even eye-tracking telemetry from specialized models such as the HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition where available.

All of this is provided without requiring the Windows Mixed Reality runtime — the only mandatory software dependency is SteamVR itself. The Oasis package is distributed for free through Steam, with setup documentation and a GitHub-hosted installation guide.

Technical Deep Dive: How Oasis Works

Native SteamVR Driver and Direct Mode

SteamVR supports native device drivers that operate in what’s commonly called “Direct Mode.” In Direct Mode the SteamVR driver requests the GPU driver to open a dedicated display link tied to the headset; that link is then used by the GPU to accept frames and push them directly to the headset without going through the normal desktop compositing path. Oasis implements this Direct Mode workflow, performing device enumeration, translating WMR sensor data into SteamVR’s pose model, and handing frame submission to SteamVR’s compositor.This architecture is powerful because it hands rendering responsibility to SteamVR and the GPU drivers — but it also depends on GPU vendors exposing the necessary low-level hooks. If a GPU driver refuses or cannot provide that exclusive display takeover, a native SteamVR driver cannot claim the headset output and therefore cannot operate as designed. This constraint underpins one of Oasis’s most important limitations.

Tracking, Calibration, and Distortion

WMR headsets implement their own sensor fusion and distortion profiles. Oasis consumes the raw WMR sensor streams (inside the headset firmware and sensors) and translates poses into SteamVR’s coordinate system, applying calibrations for distortion, IPD, and controller offsets. During development, a series of device-specific refinements were required to eliminate misalignment and pose offsets — particularly for high-resolution headsets like the HP Reverb G2, where optical distortion and chromatic aberration need careful handling to preserve a credible VR experience.

Device Features and Telemetry

Beyond basic tracking and inputs, Oasis brings over ancillary telemetry where feasible. That includes battery states for controllers, IPD reporting from headset hardware, and selective support for eye tracking on Omnicept-equipped devices. However, not every headset feature is reproduced: integrated Bluetooth functions (used by some WMR controllers for wireless pairing and certain headset peripherals) are intentionally left to the PC’s Bluetooth stack, meaning users must pair controllers using a Bluetooth adapter and follow an “unlock” sequence before SteamVR recognizes the devices.

Compatibility and the NVIDIA-Only Constraint

The most consequential practical limitation for Oasis at launch is GPU vendor compatibility: Oasis only supports NVIDIA GPUs. AMD and Intel GPUs do not currently work with the driver. The developer explains this is because AMD’s drivers do not permit the EDID (display identification) overrides and Direct Mode display acquisition behaviors Oasis needs, and Intel’s Direct Mode equivalent is similarly inaccessible without vendor collaboration. The lack of low-level display hooks in AMD and Intel drivers prevents Oasis from opening the headset as a SteamVR-exclusive display on those platforms.The developer reports that technical details were shared with AMD in hopes of gaining compatibility, but at the time of release those efforts had not resulted in workable changes or cooperation; the developer described AMD’s response as effectively leaving the project unsupported on AMD hardware. For Intel, the situation is comparable: Intel would need to expose or enable the required interfaces for Direct Mode access. The problem is not a conceptual limitation of Oasis’s design — it’s a vendor-level driver access restriction.This GPU restriction instantly rules out a large portion of PC users who either purchased AMD or Intel GPUs or who run laptops with integrated graphics. For owners of high-resolution WMR headsets, who often paired them with mid-to-high-end GPUs (and frequently NVIDIA cards), Oasis restores substantial value. But for many others, the blind spot is significant and requires either a GPU upgrade or waiting on vendor cooperation.

Installation, Setup, and First-Run Experience

Oasis is available on Steam and accompanied by a GitHub wiki containing installation and troubleshooting steps. The general setup flow is:

Ensure you are running Windows 11 24H2 or later, and that Steam and SteamVR are installed and updated. Oasis is explicitly designed to bypass the deprecated WMR runtime, so the modern OS is the supported target.
Confirm you have a supported NVIDIA GPU and the latest official drivers for that card.
Install the Oasis Steam package and follow the GitHub README for device-specific steps. The README includes critical notes about Bluetooth controller pairing and the unlock sequence that must be completed before SteamVR will present the controllers properly.
Pair controllers using the PC’s Bluetooth adapter (USB or PCIe). Users should expect to do explicit pairing and device unlocking as normal Windows Bluetooth peripherals, rather than relying on the headset’s internal Bluetooth stack.

Community testing reported by industry outlets shows that once those steps are followed on supported systems, headsets such as the HP Reverb G2 can be restored to full SteamVR functionality, including 6DoF tracking and controller mapping. These early test reports turned what had been described by users as dead hardware back into usable VR devices.

Legal, IP, and Source Code Decisions

The Oasis project is a closed-source release. The developer has explained that the driver was produced through extensive reverse-engineering work and that releasing source code could unintentionally expose or replicate proprietary implementations that are covered by third-party NDAs and intellectual property constraints. To avoid potential IP or NDA violations, the developer chose not to publish the source.That decision has implications:

Security auditing and trust: Closed-source drivers limit the community’s ability to audit the code for security or privacy risks. Users must place trust in the author and in the vendor (Steam) distribution model.
Community contribution and longevity: Without an open codebase, longer-term maintenance depends primarily on the author’s capacity and willingness to continue updates as Windows, SteamVR, and GPU drivers evolve.

Neither of these outcomes is fatal — many widely used Windows drivers are closed-source — but they do change the maintenance and trust model from community-driven open projects to an individual-maintained binary distribution.

Risks, Fragility, and What Could Break

Every driver-level integration with a moving target like SteamVR, Windows, and GPU drivers carries fragility risks. Key risk areas include:

SteamVR updates or changes to the driver API could break Oasis’s integration, requiring updates from the developer.
NVIDIA driver updates may change behaviors around Direct Mode or EDID handling in ways that require Oasis to change — or temporarily become nonfunctional — until patched.
Windows updates that touch display or device enumeration stacks could affect behavior, particularly because Oasis skips Microsoft’s runtime layer.
Security and privacy auditing limitations due to closed-source status. Without public code, vulnerabilities or telemetry behaviors cannot be independently validated at the source level.

The combined effect of these fragilities means that Oasis’s long-term stability is tied to continuous maintenance, cooperation (or at least non-breaking behavior) from Valve, Microsoft, and GPU vendors, and a vigilant user community that can report regressions quickly.

Broader Implications: Hardware Preservation and E‑Waste

One of the clearest benefits of Oasis is pragmatic: it extends the useful life of hardware that many owners invested significant sums in. For mid- to high-end devices such as the HP Reverb G2 — which still offer class-leading display resolution for certain applications — Oasis provides a pathway to avoid immediate hardware refreshes. That has both consumer value and modest environmental benefits by delaying replacements and reducing e‑waste. Community-led preservation efforts like Oasis demonstrate a meaningful way that software can mitigate planned obsolescence caused by platform deprecation.
However, the environmental benefit is bounded. Owners with unsupported GPUs, or those who need the absolute latest features or vendor support, may still choose to upgrade to modern SteamVR-native headsets, especially in commercial or production contexts.

Alternatives and Complementary Options

For users who cannot run Oasis or want a different approach, several alternatives exist:

Purchase a modern SteamVR-native headset (e.g., Index, other Valve-partnered devices, or headsets from vendors with first-class SteamVR/OpenXR support). This is the lowest-friction solution for long-term compatibility.
Explore OpenXR runtimes and injection tools (OpenComposite, Monado on Linux, or other community runtimes). These tools can sometimes bypass SteamVR for particular titles but rarely offer the same seamless Direct Mode experience on Windows.
If you have an AMD or Intel GPU, consider vendor engagement or driver-side fixes: the Oasis developer shared technical details with AMD and encouraged users to contact AMD for broader support; AMD or Intel driver changes would be the pathway to wider Oasis adoption without hardware upgrades.

Recommendations for Users Considering Oasis

Check prerequisites carefully: Oasis requires Windows 11 24H2+ and an NVIDIA GPU at present. Confirm these before proceeding.
Back up system settings and create a restore point before installing any third-party driver that operates at the kernel or display-driver level. Safe recovery is essential if something changes unexpectedly.
Use the Steam-distributed package and follow the GitHub README exactly for controller pairing and the headset “unlock” sequence — skipping steps will likely result in nonfunctional input.
Be prepared for ongoing maintenance: accept that future SteamVR, Windows, or NVIDIA driver updates may temporarily break functionality and require patience or updates.
If you have AMD/Intel GPUs, consider contacting vendor support and asking for Direct Mode/EDID support for third-party drivers — vendor action is the only realistic path to enable Oasis on non-NVIDIA hardware without swapping GPUs.

Critical Analysis: Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

High practical value: Oasis delivers a concrete, immediate benefit to owners of otherwise orphaned WMR headsets. Restoring 6DoF tracking and controller functionality is a substantial win for owners who want continued PC VR use without buying new headsets.
Focused engineering: The driver demonstrates deep platform knowledge and careful reverse-engineering to bridge two incompatible worlds — Microsoft’s discontinued runtime model and Valve’s SteamVR driver model.
Environmental upside: By extending hardware life, Oasis reduces immediate demand for replacements and lessens electronic waste for the affected devices.

Weaknesses and Risks

Vendor lock at GPU layer: The NVIDIA-only support is a structural weakness. It excludes a meaningful portion of users and places the project’s reach entirely at the mercy of GPU vendor policies.
Closed-source distribution: While understandable from an IP risk perspective, a closed binary limits community auditing and long-term, distributed maintenance. It also concentrates trust in a single maintainer.
Platform fragility: Driver-level integrations are intrinsically brittle. Any upstream change in SteamVR, NVIDIA drivers, or Windows could require rapid responses or lead to temporary breakage for users.

What to Watch Next

AMD and Intel responses: If either vendor chooses to expose the necessary Direct Mode/EDID hooks, Oasis would become accessible to a much larger user base. The developer has already provided AMD with technical details; the community should watch for any official driver changes or public statements.
SteamVR runtime updates: Valve’s changes could either simplify driver integration or complicate it. Oasis users should watch SteamVR change logs and community threads for early warnings.
Developer maintenance cadence: Oasis’s long-term viability depends on maintenance. The community will be observing update frequency and bug-fix responsiveness.

Conclusion

Oasis is a striking example of what skilled individual engineers can do for hardware preservation in the face of platform deprecation. By building a native SteamVR driver for Windows Mixed Reality headsets, Matthieu Bucchianeri has restored meaningful functionality to devices that Microsoft’s platform-level changes had sidelined, delivering immediate practical value and reducing unnecessary hardware churn. The driver’s reliance on Direct Mode, and the resulting NVIDIA-only limitation, however, expose a deeper structural reality: hardware lifecycles are fragile when they depend on proprietary hooks in OS or GPU stacks.
For users with supported systems, Oasis offers a low-cost, high-impact path to reuse legacy WMR headsets. For the broader ecosystem, the project highlights a policy and engineering gap — the need for clearer vendor-level support for third-party drivers and for mechanisms that allow hardware to remain useful even after first-party platform runtimes are sunset. Oasis is both a practical tool and a case study: it revives hardware, showcases community engineering, and underscores why open interfaces and vendor cooperation matter for a sustainable VR ecosystem.

Source: UploadVR Windows MR Headsets Revived By Free 'Oasis' SteamVR Driver

ChatGPT · Sep 4, 2025

Valve’s SteamVR beta has quietly added a major usability safety net: SteamVR Beta 2.13.1 will automatically prefer and install the community-built Oasis driver when it detects a Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) headset running on Windows 11 versions that no longer support Microsoft’s WMR runtime, restoring SteamVR functionality for many orphaned headsets. (steamdb.info)

Background / Overview

Windows Mixed Reality debuted in 2017 as Microsoft’s runtime and Portal app for a family of OEM PC VR headsets from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung. In late 2023 Microsoft announced the deprecation of that platform; with Windows 11 version 24H2 the Mixed Reality runtime and portal were removed from the OS image, meaning WMR headsets lost the Microsoft runtime layer they relied on to enumerate displays, handle controllers, and hand off frames to third-party runtimes such as SteamVR. Microsoft’s documentation explicitly lists Windows Mixed Reality as removed in 24H2. (learn.microsoft.com)
The practical result was immediate: users who updated to Windows 11 24H2 found their WMR headsets no longer functional on Windows, even when trying to use SteamVR. Industry outlets and community posts documented the problem and the confusion it caused among owners who had not followed Microsoft’s deprecation notices. (uploadvr.com, neowin.net)
Into that gap stepped a single-developer project called Oasis: a native SteamVR driver that bypasses the removed WMR runtime by exposing WMR headsets directly to SteamVR in Direct Mode. The driver was developed and published to Steam (and accompanied by a developer-maintained wiki) and aims to restore 6DoF tracking, controller inputs, display modes, and basic telemetry on supported headsets without Microsoft’s runtime. Early reporting and developer documentation describe Oasis as a targeted, reverse-engineered shim that lets SteamVR treat a WMR headset like any other native SteamVR device. (github-wiki-see.page, windowscentral.com)

What Valve changed in SteamVR Beta 2.13.1

Valve’s SteamVR Beta update 2.13.1 includes a short but consequential line in its release notes: SteamVR will “Automatically prefer installing the Oasis Driver for Windows Mixed Reality when running on a Windows version too new to support the Windows driver.” This is the explicit mechanism that makes Oasis discoverable and installable for end users who attempt to run SteamVR with an affected WMR headset. (steamdb.info)
Why this matters in practice:

Before this change, only users who already knew about Oasis and manually installed it could resurrect their WMR headsets.
After this change, a user plugging an HP Reverb G2 (or other WMR headset) into a 24H2+ system running SteamVR Beta will be offered Oasis automatically, greatly reducing the confusion that otherwise turns hardware into a “paperweight.” (steamdb.info)

This change was released in the SteamVR beta channel, meaning that users must opt into the SteamVR beta to receive it, or wait for Valve to promote the change into the SteamVR stable release.

How Oasis works (technical summary)

Oasis is a native SteamVR driver that implements SteamVR’s Direct Mode approach. In Direct Mode, a SteamVR driver asks the GPU driver to open a dedicated display handle for the headset and accepts frame submissions directly to that channel. Oasis performs the following high-level functions:

Device enumeration: Detects the connected WMR headset and controllers and registers them as SteamVR devices.
Direct Mode display acquisition: Uses GPU driver APIs to open the headset display as an exclusive target for SteamVR frame submission.
Pose translation: Converts the headset’s and controllers’ sensor streams and pose data into SteamVR’s coordinate system, applying device-specific calibrations for IPD, distortion, and offsets.
Input and telemetry: Exposes button/trigger/stick inputs, haptics, battery state, and certain headset telemetry (IPD, some camera passthrough, and where available, eye-tracking telemetry for Omnicept variants).
Controller pairing and “unlock”: Because WMR controllers historically used headset-integrated Bluetooth handling, Oasis provides documented procedures to pair and unlock controllers through the PC Bluetooth stack so SteamVR can see them. (github-wiki-see.page)

Two practical technical constraints are fundamental to Oasis’s current capabilities:

Direct Mode dependency: A native SteamVR driver only works if the GPU driver will hand the headset display connection to the SteamVR driver. Oasis relies on those low-level GPU behaviors to exist and be accessible.
GPU vendor APIs: At launch Oasis supports NVIDIA GPUs only. The developer has documented that AMD’s and Intel’s driver stacks do not currently expose the EDID/Direct Mode hooks Oasis needs, and that vendor cooperation or driver changes would be required to enable support beyond NVIDIA. (github-wiki-see.page, windowscentral.com)

Why Valve’s auto-install matters for real users

It’s easy to dismiss this as a minor compatibility toggle. It isn’t. Valve’s change does four notable things for the ecosystem:

Restores out-of-the-box discoverability for non-technical users who try their older WMR headset and expect it to work with SteamVR.
Reduces the number of orphaned headsets turning into e‑waste by making a recovery path much easier.
Lowers support burden and confusion: users won’t have to scour forums or read niche news sites to understand why a formerly-working headset suddenly does nothing after a Windows update.
Signals Valve’s pragmatic approach to third-party runtimes and community drivers: distribution of useful drivers through Steam’s channels can be an effective compatibility lifeline. (steamdb.info)

That said, the change comes with caveats: it relies on SteamVR Beta users and the Oasis package continuing to be maintained and compatible with future SteamVR and GPU driver updates.

Practical guide: What owners of Windows MR headsets should know and do

If you have an older WMR headset (HP Reverb G1/G2, Samsung Odyssey, Acer AH101, Lenovo Explorer, etc.) and you run Windows 11 24H2 or later, here’s a concise, safe approach to trying Oasis via SteamVR Beta.

Back up your system. Create a Windows restore point and a system image before installing third‑party drivers.
Confirm your GPU. Oasis requires an NVIDIA GPU at present; verify compatibility and update your NVIDIA drivers to the latest stable release.
Install Steam and SteamVR (or opt into SteamVR Beta to receive 2.13.1 features).
Connect the headset and let SteamVR detect it. If SteamVR determines WMR runtime is missing, it will show the option to install the Oasis driver (SteamVR Beta with 2.13.1 or later). (steamdb.info)
Follow Oasis-specific documentation for controller pairing/unlock. Many WMR controller models require manual Bluetooth pairing and an “unlock” procedure so SteamVR recognizes them correctly.
Recalibrate inside SteamVR: recenter your view, run room-setup or standing/room-scale calibration, and verify guardian boundaries and tracking quality.
If anything breaks, use the system restore point or uninstall Oasis via Steam and revert to your previous configuration.

These steps mirror developer guidance and community-tested procedures; the Oasis distribution on Steam includes a GitHub wiki with device-specific troubleshooting and updates. (github-wiki-see.page)

Strengths — what Oasis + Valve’s change does well

Hardware preservation: Oasis delivers immediate, practical value by restoring functionality to perfectly usable hardware that would otherwise be obsolete on modern Windows installations. That extends the useful life of headsets such as the HP Reverb G2. (github-wiki-see.page)
Lower barrier for non-technical users: Valve’s decision to auto-prefer Oasis installer inside SteamVR Beta reduces the knowledge gap and prevents users from prematurely assuming their headset is irrecoverable. (steamdb.info)
Community-driven engineering: Oasis shows how targeted reverse-engineering and careful driver design can bridge a platform gap without requiring OEM or platform vendor workarounds — a positive example of community resilience.
Environmental benefit: Reusing existing headsets avoids unnecessary purchases and contributes to reduced e‑waste where adoption is feasible.

Risks and limitations — what to watch out for

NVIDIA-only at launch: The most consequential limitation is GPU compatibility. Oasis currently works only with NVIDIA GPUs because AMD and Intel driver stacks do not expose the required Direct Mode/EDID hooks. This excludes a sizeable segment of users and creates a hardware upgrade pressure that’s unrelated to the headset itself. (github-wiki-see.page, windowscentral.com)
Closed-source distribution and auditing limitations: Oasis is distributed as a closed binary to avoid exposing reverse-engineered internals; that increases trust overhead because independent code audits are not possible. Users must rely on the developer’s documentation and community testing for safety assessments.
Fragility across platform updates: Driver-level solutions are intrinsically brittle. Changes in Windows internals, SteamVR driver APIs, or NVIDIA driver behavior could break Oasis unexpectedly, requiring rapid maintenance by the developer. The auto-install change helps users find the driver, but it does not guarantee long-term stability.
Warranty and support ambiguity: Installing third‑party drivers that operate at kernel or display-driver level can complicate OEM warranty or support claims. Users should be aware of potential implications before modifying low-level components.
Partial feature parity: Oasis reproduces core tracking and input functions but may not fully recreate all headset-specific features (audio routing quirks, some passthrough or peripheral behaviors, or vendor-proprietary telemetry) for every model. Expect device-specific variability. (github-wiki-see.page)

Where claims or motivations come from the developer rather than public documentation (for example, why Oasis remains closed-source or details about AMD/Intel communications), treat them as developer statements rather than independently-verified facts; those claims should be checked against future public vendor comments for confirmation.

The broader ecosystem implications

Valve’s decision to include Oasis in SteamVR Beta as an auto-install preference is a practical recognition that platform-level deprecation (Microsoft’s removal of WMR in 24H2) can create orphaned ecosystems that need community-driven remediation. It also underlines an important reality about PC VR:

Platform lifecycles and vendor priorities can leave otherwise-functional hardware stranded.
Community developers can supply stopgap solutions, but these rely on vendor cooperation (GPU drivers, OS behavior) and continued maintenance.
Distribution through mainstream channels (Steam) can significantly increase adoption and reduce user confusion, but it does not replace vendor-level support or guarantee long-term correctness.

For GPU vendors, Oasis exposes a choice: continue with closed driver behaviors that block third-party direct-mode drivers, or work with the community and Valve to expose stable interfaces for legitimate third-party drivers. If AMD or Intel were to expose the necessary hooks, Oasis (or a port) could become widely usable without forcing hardware upgrades. The Oasis developer has reportedly shared technical details with AMD; progress there would change the adoption landscape. (github-wiki-see.page, windowscentral.com)

Recommendations — what Valve, Microsoft, OEMs, and users should consider

For Valve:
Consider promoting the change from Beta to stable once compatibility and safety metrics indicate low breakage, and add user-facing diagnostics in SteamVR to proactively flag GPU mismatches and pairing issues.
For Microsoft:
Publish clearer guidance for affected WMR owners about long-term support options and how third-party drivers may interact with Windows updates.
For OEMs:
Provide clear statements about warranty coverage for third-party driver usage and offer guidance for firmware or peripheral compatibility.
For NVIDIA/AMD/Intel:
Evaluate whether exposing stable Direct Mode or EDID override hooks for trusted third-party drivers is feasible; doing so could prevent unnecessary hardware churn.
For users:
Back up, test carefully, and opt into SteamVR Beta only if comfortable with a slightly higher maintenance profile. If you rely on your headset for production work, consider migrating to a native SteamVR/OpenXR headset as a long-term solution. (steamdb.info)

What to watch next

AMD/Intel response: Any public driver changes or statements about enabling Direct Mode hooks for third-party drivers would be the single most important development affecting Oasis adoption beyond NVIDIA hardware.
SteamVR stable rollout: Watch whether Valve promotes the auto-install behavior from the beta channel into the stable SteamVR release.
Developer maintenance cadence: Oasis’s update frequency and compatibility with new NVIDIA and SteamVR builds will determine whether this remains a sustainable long-term patch or a temporary salvage.
Microsoft guidance: Any changes to Windows update policy or new guidance for WMR owners would materially shift the support horizon for affected devices. (windowscentral.com, learn.microsoft.com)

Bottom line

Valve’s SteamVR Beta 2.13.1 has turned a fragile community workaround into a far more discoverable rescue path by automatically preferring the Oasis driver when appropriate. That change meaningfully reduces the friction for users trying to revive Windows Mixed Reality headsets on modern Windows 11 installs, and it demonstrates how platform distributors can make community engineering efforts accessible to non-technical users. The solution is not perfect: Oasis is currently NVIDIA-only, distributed closed-source, and reliant on continued maintenance to survive future Windows, SteamVR, and GPU driver changes. Still, for owners who would otherwise see perfectly good headsets become unusable after a Windows update, the Valve + Oasis combination represents a pragmatic, immediate lifeline that preserves hardware utility and keeps those headsets in play rather than in landfill. (steamdb.info, github-wiki-see.page, learn.microsoft.com)

Source: UploadVR SteamVR Beta Now Automatically Installs The Oasis Driver For Windows MR Headsets

ChatGPT · Sep 4, 2025

A single, determined engineer has quietly reversed the fate of a generation of Windows Mixed Reality headsets by releasing a native SteamVR driver that restores full headset and motion-controller functionality on Windows 11 builds that Microsoft left unsupported — but the fix comes with important caveats and lasting implications for how PC VR hardware is supported and preserved.

Background

Microsoft introduced Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) in 2017 as a platform that blended VR and AR ambitions, shipping a range of PC headsets from OEMs such as HP, Acer, Samsung, Lenovo and Dell. For several years, WMR offered a convenient inside-out tracking experience and, in combination with SteamVR, allowed owners to run PC VR content without the same ecosystem lock-in some competitors created. That arrangement changed when Microsoft announced the platform’s deprecation and removed WMR runtime support from Windows 11 with the 24H2 feature update, leaving many perfectly functional headsets unable to work on newer Windows 11 installs. This left owners with three choices: remain on older Windows builds, switch to another OS, or retire otherwise-capable hardware. (neowin.net, uploadvr.com)
The deprecation had two practical effects. First, Microsoft’s Mixed Reality runtime and portal — the piece of software that gave WMR headsets their identity and served as the bridge to SteamVR — was no longer available to install on Windows 11 24H2 and later. Second, because the runtime served as the official way to expose the headset to third-party runtimes like SteamVR, the headsets essentially became unusable on updated Windows machines. Community frustration and concern about waste and stranded hardware followed quickly. (neowin.net, uploadvr.com)

What happened: Oasis, the unofficial rescue driver

A developer known on GitHub as mbucchia — real name Matthieu Bucchianeri, a veteran VR and systems engineer with prior work in VR tooling and at companies that include major names in the industry — produced an unofficial native SteamVR driver named Oasis. The driver bypasses the now-absent Windows Mixed Reality runtime and presents WMR headsets directly to SteamVR using Steam’s native driver interfaces. Because Oasis interacts directly with SteamVR in Direct Mode, SteamVR sees a WMR headset the same way it would see an Index, PSVR2, or other supported devices: headset display, 6DoF positional tracking, and controller input are surfaced natively. (windowscentral.com, github-wiki-see.page)
Oasis is distributed through Steam (as a free download) and includes documentation and an installation/unlock procedure that users must perform once per headset and per PC to let the driver take control of the device. The experience, according to early hands-on reports, is straightforward: install SteamVR, install Oasis from Steam (or allow SteamVR beta to auto-offer Oasis), run the unlock procedure which disconnects and reconnects the headset USB to allow the driver to claim the device, pair controllers if necessary, then run SteamVR setup and tracking calibration. In community tests and first-party reporting, headsets such as the HP Reverb (G1 and G2 variants) and other WMR devices were driven successfully by Oasis. (github-wiki-see.page, steamcommunity.com)

The technical picture: how Oasis restores functionality

Native SteamVR driver (Direct Mode)

Oasis acts as a native SteamVR driver. That means it implements the driver-side plumbing SteamVR expects for head-mounted displays — enumerating displays, exposing low-level display properties, submitting frames in Direct Mode, and sampling tracking data. Because it does that work itself, the driver does not require the old Mixed Reality Portal or the Microsoft WMR runtime. The result is that SteamVR or any OpenVR/OpenXR application that can use SteamVR works with WMR hardware through the Oasis driver. (github-wiki-see.page, windowscentral.com)

What Oasis brings back

Key capabilities Oasis exposes include:

6DoF headset tracking and positional tracking (walk-around roomscale).
6DoF motion controller tracking, buttons, haptics and battery reporting.
Native SteamVR rendering pipeline support including Hidden Area Mesh and typical SteamVR runtime features (resolution override, motion smoothing, overlays).
Support for 90 Hz and 60 Hz display modes and the Reverb-series IPD slider where applicable.
These features allow users to run a wide catalog of SteamVR titles without relying on Microsoft’s deprecated runtime. (github-wiki-see.page)

Installation and the “unlock” step

A critical operational detail is the unlock procedure required by Oasis. Because the WMR headsets historically relied on a particular Windows-side pairing between the runtime and device, Oasis must perform a one-time operation on each headset and each host PC where it’s used. The documented steps are simple but explicit: exit SteamVR, launch the Oasis helper from Steam, when prompted disconnect and reconnect the headset’s USB (display cable remains connected), and power-cycle controllers if requested. After that, SteamVR recognizes the headset as a native VR device. Community documentation and the Steam discussion threads provide step-by-step guidance and troubleshooting. (github-wiki-see.page, steamcommunity.com)

The GPU limitation: NVIDIA-only, and why that matters

Perhaps the most consequential limitation of Oasis at launch is that it currently only works on systems with NVIDIA GPUs. This restriction is not arbitrary: it stems from how vendors implement low-level display access and Direct Mode support in their drivers. Oasis needs to open the headset as a SteamVR-exclusive display device and perform EDID overrides and display acquisition steps that are exposed through NVIDIA’s driver interfaces. AMD and Intel drivers, as implemented today, do not expose the hooks Oasis requires, which blocks the driver from taking control of the headset on those platforms. The limitation is at the GPU driver/vendor level, not an architectural shortcoming of Oasis itself. (github-wiki-see.page)
This has two immediate consequences:

Owners with AMD or Intel GPUs will not be able to use Oasis until GPU vendors change their drivers or provide the necessary access. Asking users with non-NVIDIA hardware to buy a new GPU for the sole purpose of reviving older headsets introduces a financial and sustainability hurdle.
Many portable, integrated, or laptop-based GPUs (where Intel integrated graphics are common) are effectively excluded, which disproportionately affects users on mobile or prebuilt platforms.

The Oasis developer reportedly reached out to AMD (and likely Intel) to explain the technical needs and to explore compatible paths, but as of the initial public rollout vendor cooperation had not delivered a workable solution. That makes the NVIDIA restriction a practical and presently unavoidable constraint. (github-wiki-see.page, windowsforum.com)

Who built Oasis and why it’s closed-source

The developer behind Oasis is Matthieu Bucchianeri (mbucchia on GitHub), a seasoned engineer with visible contributions to VR tooling and prior work in systems-level VR and XR technologies. He has published several VR-focused projects and tools and has engaged publicly on cross-vendor OpenXR issues in the industry. Because he remains employed by Microsoft (albeit not in the Mixed Reality team), he says he is constrained by non-disclosure agreements and will not open-source Oasis — a decision framed as a legal and risk-avoidance choice rather than a philosophical opposition to open source. He’s also stated the driver will be provided for free via Steam. Those factors explain the observed choice to keep Oasis closed while distributing a prebuilt package through an existing digital channel. (github.com, windowscentral.com)
This refusal to publish source code is defensible from the author’s perspective, but it creates trade-offs. Closed-source drivers place trust into the distributor and complicate community auditing, long-term maintenance, and community contribution — especially for a project that exists to resurrect orphaned hardware. It also creates a single point of failure if the maintainer is no longer able to support the driver.

Community and vendor reaction: Valve’s role and SteamVR integration

Valve’s SteamVR responded positively to the community workaround: SteamVR beta builds now automatically prefer installing the Oasis driver when they detect a WMR headset on a Windows install where the WMR runtime is unavailable. That change reduces friction for users — instead of needing to hunt down the Oasis package manually, the SteamVR beta will offer or install it for users attempting to run VR with their old WMR headset. Community threads on Steam and coverage from VR outlets show that Valve’s adoption of the auto-install behavior significantly lowers the barrier to revival. (windowsforum.com, uploadvr.com)
That Valve integration is notable: it implies that the larger VR platform holder (Valve) is willing to accept third-party device drivers that restore compatibility for orphaned devices. For owners, this is a clear positive: Valve’s ecosystem is where most PC VR content lives, and SteamVR’s willingness to surface Oasis as an option helps protect user investments in hardware. For vendors, it demonstrates that platforms can step in to bridge gaps when OS vendors deprecate runtime support.

Real-world experience: what testers and users report

Independent hands-on reporting and early adopter feedback indicate Oasis does what it promises for supported hardware and GPUs. Testers reported:

Successful discovery of the headset and controllers in SteamVR after the unlock process.
Solid 6DoF tracking comparable to pre-deprecation operation in many titles.
Full access to SteamVR settings such as per-eye resolution and motion smoothing.
Some teething issues in early releases that were addressed in incremental updates (controller alignment offsets, tracking prediction tuning, distortion profile fixes).

At the same time, testers emphasize a few recurring pain points:

The NVIDIA-only limitation excludes many users.
Some headset/controller variants require device-specific tuning; not every model behaves identically out of the box.
Because the driver is new and unofficial, users should expect to encounter bugs, regressions, or compatibility quirks and keep backups or system restore points before experimenting. (windowscentral.com, github-wiki-see.page)

Risks, caveats and the long-term outlook

Several important risks and limitations should temper enthusiasm:

Single-maintainer risk and closed source: Oasis is distributed by one developer who is not open-sourcing the code. If that person is unable to continue maintenance, fixes and security updates may stall or cease. That risk is real for any community-supported project with a narrow maintainer base.
GPU vendor lock-in: The NVIDIA-only requirement means many users must upgrade GPUs to revive older headsets — an expensive and environmentally unfriendly option for many. Until AMD and Intel expose the necessary driver interfaces, Oasis will remain a partial solution that privileges NVIDIA customers.
OS upgrade fragility: The driver is designed to work around a missing runtime in a specific OS environment. Microsoft could change Windows driver models or add protections in future updates that change how Direct Mode is handled; such changes could break Oasis or require significant redevelopment.
Compatibility and safety: Installing third-party drivers that operate at the display and USB driver level has a non-zero risk of system instability. Users should create restore points and backups and follow the official setup guides carefully.
Legal uncertainty: Although the developer insists he has avoided using Microsoft intellectual property or violating NDAs, reverse-engineering a proprietary stack operates in a gray zone legally in some jurisdictions. The closed-source distribution reduces the public’s ability to audit compliance and safety. That does not imply wrongdoing, but it is a factor in corporate risk management. (windowscentral.com, github-wiki-see.page)

Broader implications for PC VR and hardware stewardship

Oasis is more than a tactical fix; it is a signal about how the PC VR ecosystem handles hardware lifecycles. Several themes stand out:

Platform dependence vs. device longevity: When a device relies on a proprietary OS runtime, end-of-life decisions can have immediate, severe consequences for device usability. Oasis demonstrates how community-driven engineering can extend hardware life, but also reveals that vendor cooperation or open standards are superior long-term solutions for hardware preservation.
The role of runtime vendors and middleware: The situation highlights why OpenXR — the Khronos Group’s cross-vendor XR standard — matters. When runtime implementations or vendor middleware create choke points, interoperability suffers. Developers like the Oasis author have previously been vocal about how proprietary middleware can undermine OpenXR’s goals; the WMR removal proves that platform-level decisions have outsized impact on hardware owners. (voicesofvr.com, windowsreport.com)
Valve as a stewardship actor: Valve’s decision to make SteamVR beta auto-install Oasis when appropriate shows how platform-holders can ease transitions and preserve hardware value. That sets an interesting precedent for cross-vendor problem solving in the VR ecosystem. (uploadvr.com)

Practical guidance: how to approach Oasis safely

For Windows Mixed Reality owners weighing whether to try Oasis, follow these practical steps and precautions:

Confirm your GPU is NVIDIA and update NVIDIA drivers to the latest stable release.
Create a full system backup and a Windows restore point before installing any third-party driver.
Install Steam and SteamVR; opt into the SteamVR beta if you want the auto-install behavior that surfaces Oasis automatically.
Install the Oasis package from Steam (or let SteamVR beta offer it).
Follow the Oasis "unlock" procedure exactly: exit SteamVR, run the Oasis helper, disconnect/reconnect USB when prompted, power-cycle controllers when requested, then restart SteamVR and run room-setup. (github-wiki-see.page, steamcommunity.com)

Alternatives to Oasis if you cannot or do not want to use it:

Stay on Windows 11 23H2 or Windows 10 where WMR runtime remains available (for now), and disable feature upgrades to avoid being forced to 24H2.
Dual-boot or maintain a separate drive with an older Windows build solely for VR.
Consider migrating to a modern headset with native OpenXR/SteamVR support (Quest 3 via Air Link/Link, PSVR2 via supported PC adapters, Pimax, etc.) if future-proofing is a priority.

What to watch next

Several developments matter for the future viability and reach of Oasis:

Whether AMD and Intel change or extend their driver interfaces to expose the same Direct Mode/EDID behavior NVIDIA provides. Vendor cooperation would massively broaden Oasis’s reach.
How Microsoft reacts. The company has decommissioned WMR for reasons it controls (maintenance costs and product focus), but it could choose to provide an official compatibility layer or partner with Valve and OEMs to mitigate stranded hardware. That seems unlikely short-term, but it remains a policy lever.
The sustainability of Oasis’s maintenance: if the developer continues to update the driver and Valve supports it through SteamVR releases, Oasis could remain a viable stopgap for years; otherwise, it could become a temporary fix. (github-wiki-see.page, uploadvr.com)

Conclusion

Oasis is an impressive, pragmatic engineering solution to a problem created by a platform’s deliberate deprecation decision. It restores life to hardware that Microsoft’s Windows 11 roadmap rendered functionally obsolete on newer installs, gives owners another path to access the rich SteamVR ecosystem, and demonstrates how individual engineers and platform stewards can avert unnecessary e-waste.
Yet Oasis is not a panacea. It is a closed-source, single-maintainer workaround constrained by GPU vendor drivers and potential future OS changes. For owners with NVIDIA hardware, it’s a genuine way back into PC VR without downgrading Windows. For others, it is a clarion call: standards, vendor cooperation, and forward-looking platform policies are essential to prevent future generations of hardware from being rendered useless by a single update.
The revival of Windows Mixed Reality headsets via Oasis is cause for cautious celebration — a technical triumph with a clear set of limitations and a larger lesson about how operating systems, driver models, and corporate decisions shape the life expectancy of our devices.

Source: Windows Central A lone Microsoft employee has revived Windows Mixed Reality headsets with native SteamVR support

ChatGPT · Sep 4, 2025

Valve’s SteamVR beta has quietly built a safety net for owners of Windows Mixed Reality headsets: the SteamVR Beta (v2.13.1) now automatically prefers and installs the third‑party “Oasis” driver when it detects WMR hardware running on versions of Windows 11 that no longer include Microsoft’s Mixed Reality runtime, restoring practical SteamVR compatibility for otherwise-orphaned headsets.

Background

Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) was Microsoft’s platform approach to consumer PC VR, introduced in 2017 and adopted by OEMs such as HP, Acer, Lenovo, Samsung, Dell, and others. Those headsets relied on Microsoft’s Mixed Reality runtime and the Mixed Reality Portal to enumerate headsets and controllers, handle tracking, and surface the device to third‑party runtimes like SteamVR. When Microsoft removed WMR support from the Windows 11 image with the 24H2 changes, many WMR headsets lost that runtime layer — which effectively rendered them unusable on updated Windows 11 installs unless a user stayed on older OS builds.
Into that gap stepped a community-engineered solution: the Oasis Driver for Windows Mixed Reality, a native SteamVR driver that bypasses the now‑absent Microsoft runtime by exposing WMR headsets directly to SteamVR using Steam’s native driver interfaces. Developed as a targeted compatibility shim, Oasis restores headset display access, 6DoF positional tracking, and controller input to SteamVR — but with notable caveats.

What Valve changed — the SteamVR Beta update

The key product change is concise but consequential: SteamVR Beta v2.13.1 adds logic to automatically prefer installing the Oasis driver when SteamVR detects a WMR headset on a Windows version that no longer supports Microsoft’s WMR driver. In short, Valve has made the community driver discoverable and, if opted into the SteamVR beta, installable for end users who otherwise would not know how to recover their hardware.
This behavior is currently gated behind the SteamVR beta channel — users must opt into the beta to receive the automatic provisioning — but the change materially reduces the friction for non‑technical users who plug in an HP Reverb G2, Samsung Odyssey, or other WMR headset and find nothing happens after a Windows feature upgrade.

What Oasis is and how it works

Native SteamVR driver (Direct Mode)

Oasis is not a reimplementation of Microsoft’s Mixed Reality Portal. Rather, it is a native SteamVR device driver that operates in SteamVR’s Direct Mode, requesting a dedicated display output from the GPU for the headset and handling rendering and input directly inside the SteamVR ecosystem. That bypass avoids the need for the removed Windows Mixed Reality runtime and portal.

Key technical capabilities

Full 6DoF headset tracking and controller positioning, translated into SteamVR’s positional model.
Controller input mapping and haptics for several WMR controller variants, including battery reporting and button/trigger mappings.
Support for headset display modes at common refresh rates (e.g., 60 Hz / 90 Hz) and integration with SteamVR’s compositor and distortion handling.
Basic camera passthrough functionality where headset hardware exposes cameras, though fine‑grained passthrough alignment and advanced features can still lag behind the original WMR portal’s behavior.

Why GPU vendor support matters

Oasis relies on GPU drivers that permit the Direct Mode display acquisition model. At the time of release, only NVIDIA’s drivers exposed the hooks Oasis needs to create that direct display channel, which is why Oasis is NVIDIA‑only at launch. Attempts to run Oasis on AMD or Intel systems fail because those vendors’ driver stacks do not expose the required Direct Mode/EDID behaviors to third‑party drivers in the same way. The developer has reportedly shared technical details with AMD, but no broad vendor support existed at release.

What Valve’s auto-install change means in practice

Valve’s decision to let the SteamVR beta automatically offer Oasis does four immediate things for the ecosystem:

Restores discoverable, out‑of‑the‑box compatibility for non‑technical users who expect their older WMR headset to work when plugged in.
Reduces the number of orphaned headsets becoming unusable after Windows 11 feature updates, preserving perfectly functional hardware.
Lowers user confusion and support burden by surfacing a straightforward path rather than forcing owners to hunt forums and blog posts.
Establishes a practical precedent for platform companies to surface trusted community fixes inside official distribution channels.

These are meaningful wins for users; however, they come with non‑trivial tradeoffs around long‑term stability, vendor support, and trust.

Strengths — why this is a real win for owners and sustainability

Practical hardware preservation. Oasis gives owners of expensive, high‑resolution devices like the HP Reverb G2 a viable path to continue using their headsets without buying new hardware. This is a genuine lifecycle extension that reduces immediate demand for replacements.
Lower barrier for non‑technical users. Valve’s auto‑install reduces the fog of discovery; many users will see SteamVR prompt to install the driver instead of concluding their headset is dead.
Community engineering at scale. Oasis is a textbook example of how a focused developer can solve a narrowly defined compatibility problem and deliver practical results quickly. The result shows community-driven software can sometimes outperform slow vendor processes in rescuing functional hardware.
Environmental benefit. By enabling reuse, Oasis helps avoid premature electronic waste from otherwise serviceable devices. That’s a non‑trivial sustainability upside for the VR ecosystem.

Risks, limitations, and unresolved issues

NVIDIA‑only compatibility. The single largest limitation at launch is the GPU vendor lock: AMD and Intel GPUs are excluded until driver hooks change. This forces a hardware dependency unrelated to the headset itself and could pressure some users to upgrade GPUs rather than headsets.
Closed‑source distribution and single‑maintainer model. The Oasis package is distributed as a closed binary. While understandable from an IP and reverse‑engineering protection perspective, closed binaries concentrate trust in one developer and limit community auditing and distributed maintenance. That model raises long‑term sustainability questions should the maintainer step away.
Fragility of driver‑level integrations. Any upstream change — a SteamVR runtime update, a Windows Windows Update, or an NVIDIA driver change — could break Oasis and require quick fixes. Driver‑level shims are inherently brittle relative to first‑party platform support.
Feature parity and device‑specific quirks. Advanced WMR features (persistent room anchors, platform-level passthrough calibration, specialized telemetry like Omnicept telemetry) may be limited or evolve unevenly across headsets. Some headset‑specific calibration or controller pairing steps are required.

Where claims are not independently verifiable in user environments — such as long‑term maintenance cadence or vendor cooperation timelines — users should treat those prospects as uncertain and plan accordingly.

Step‑by‑step: how to prepare for and try Oasis safely

If you own a WMR headset and want to trial Oasis via SteamVR Beta, follow a conservative, safety‑first approach.

Back up your system and create a full system image or Windows restore point. Driver installs that operate at the display/driver level can be disruptive; a rollback plan is essential.
Confirm prerequisites: Windows 11 updated to 24H2 or later (the scenarios Oasis targets), an NVIDIA GPU currently supported by the latest GeForce drivers, and Steam installed.
Opt into the SteamVR Beta channel if you want the auto-install behavior; otherwise manually install the Oasis package from Steam following the developer’s README.
Update your NVIDIA driver to the latest stable release before attempting install. Driver mismatches are a common source of issues.
Follow the Oasis documentation carefully for controller pairing and the headset “unlock” sequence — many WMR controller models require explicit Bluetooth pairing and an unlock procedure.
After installation, run SteamVR room setup, recenter your view, and verify guardian boundaries and tracking quality. If you encounter issues, use the restore point to fall back.

These steps mirror developer and community guidance and minimize the risk of system instability. Treat Oasis as a maintenance tool rather than a permanent replacement for first‑party platform support.

Real‑world expectations: performance and UX

Community testing and early reports indicate Oasis can deliver a near‑native SteamVR experience on compatible NVIDIA systems: stable 6DoF tracking, working controller mappings, and display behavior at expected refresh rates (60/90 Hz) for many WMR headsets. However, actual performance will still be bounded by the headset’s optics, panel bandwidth, and the host GPU’s raw power. Users with older or low‑powered GPUs should expect to dial down render resolution and visual settings for smooth experiences.
Device‑specific quirks — such as IPD handling, distortion compensation, and passthrough alignment — may require manual adjustment. Some advanced telemetry (eye‑tracking, Omnicept features) may be partially supported but inferior to the original Microsoft runtime in areas where the hardware relied on platform services. Those gaps will vary headset by headset and deserve testing prior to relying on a WMR device for production or mission‑critical tasks.

Legal, security, and governance considerations

Closed binary trust model. Because Oasis is a closed binary distributed through Steam, users must trust the developer and Valve’s store vetting process. This is a practical tradeoff: enforcing source disclosure could jeopardize a driver built using reverse‑engineered knowledge, but closed binaries also prevent public code audits. Users who require the highest security posture should weigh this carefully.
Driver signing and platform integrity. Kernel and display drivers typically require proper signing and integration with Windows driver validation. The Oasis distribution path through Steam reduces exposure to untrusted installers, but driver‑level software always merits caution and a rollback plan.
Warranty and OEM stance. OEMs are unlikely to guarantee support for third‑party drivers, and using such drivers could complicate warranty or support claims. Users should consult OEM policies if hardware is under warranty.

Flagging unverifiable claims: any forecasts about Microsoft, AMD, or Intel changing course to enable broader Oasis adoption are speculative until those vendors make public statements or release driver changes. Treat those outcomes as possible but unconfirmed.

Broader implications for the VR ecosystem

Platform stewardship and stewardship precedent

Valve’s action signals how platform stewards can pragmatically preserve hardware utility by surfacing vetted community fixes inside officially distributed channels. Making Oasis discoverable reduces unnecessary hardware churn and sets an operational precedent for how runtime ecosystems handle deprecations.

Standards, vendor cooperation, and futureproofing

The Oasis story exposes a fault line in how hardware lifetimes are governed: when valuable features are locked behind a platform runtime, a change in vendor policy (or OS image) can strand hardware. The only robust fix is collaboration between platform owners, GPU vendors, and OEMs to expose stable, well‑documented interfaces (OpenXR and vendor driver hooks) that third‑party runtimes can safely rely on. Otherwise, hardware lifecycles remain fragile.

E‑waste and sustainability

From an environmental perspective, Oasis delays the retirement of perfectly usable headsets — a concrete sustainability benefit. But relying on single‑maintainer workarounds is not a permanent solution; long‑term sustainability requires vendor commitments to compatibility or standardized, documented extension points.

Recommendations — what Valve, Microsoft, OEMs, GPU vendors, and users should consider

For Valve: Consider promoting the SteamVR beta auto‑install behavior to stable after sufficient beta telemetry shows low breakage. Add user‑facing diagnostics to explain GPU incompatibility (NVIDIA‑only) and provide clear uninstall/rollback options.
For Microsoft: Publish clearer guidance for affected WMR owners and consider whether a limited official compatibility shim or a documented migration path could reduce stranded hardware and consumer pain.
For OEMs: Offer transparency about warranty and firmware implications for users who choose third‑party drivers and consider population‑level tools for updating firmware or controllers if that would widen compatibility.
For AMD/Intel: Evaluate whether exposing secure Direct Mode/EDID hooks for trusted third‑party drivers is feasible. Vendor cooperation is the single fastest route to making Oasis—or a port—available to a larger user base.
For users: Back up, test in non‑critical environments, opt into SteamVR Beta only if comfortable with a slightly higher maintenance profile, and consider migrating to a native SteamVR/OpenXR headset if long‑term reliability is essential.

The bottom line

Oasis plus Valve’s SteamVR Beta auto‑install is a pragmatic, pro‑consumer intervention that restores meaningful functionality to a class of VR headsets that Microsoft’s platform changes had sidelined. It demonstrates how community engineering and thoughtful platform distribution can avert unnecessary e‑waste and keep hardware useful.
That practical benefit comes with real tradeoffs: the solution is NVIDIA‑only at launch, it is distributed as a closed binary, and it depends on ongoing maintenance and the vagaries of upstream updates. For many owners of WMR devices on supported NVIDIA systems, Oasis is a genuine lifeline that returns their headset to service without downgrading Windows. For the broader ecosystem, the episode is a reminder that robust, vendor‑backed interfaces and clearer platform migration plans are essential to prevent future generations of hardware from being similarly rendered obsolete.

What to watch next

Whether Valve promotes the Oasis auto‑install from SteamVR beta to stable.
Any public response or driver changes from AMD or Intel that would permit non‑NVIDIA support.
The Oasis developer’s maintenance cadence and feature roadmap for passthrough alignment, persistent anchors, and advanced telemetry.
Any official guidance from Microsoft or OEMs on WMR owners’ options and long‑term strategy.

Oasis is an elegant, limited‑scope rescue mission for a real user problem — useful now, but dependent on continued community effort and vendor cooperation to become a broadly sustainable solution.

Source: Road to VR SteamVR Beta Restores Windows VR Headset Support on Windows 11 Thanks to Third-party Driver

ChatGPT · Sep 5, 2025

A lone, technically audacious intervention has kept a generation of Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) headsets out of landfill: Matthieu Bucchianeri, a Microsoft engineer with prior experience on the company’s mixed‑reality teams, released the free “Oasis Driver for Windows Mixed Reality” on Steam to restore native SteamVR/OpenXR functionality to headsets rendered unusable after Microsoft removed WMR support from Windows 11 24H2. (theverge.com)

Background / Overview

Windows Mixed Reality was Microsoft’s platform for PC VR headsets from multiple OEMs — HP, Acer, Lenovo, Samsung and others — introduced in 2017 to provide an inside‑out tracked VR experience for Windows PCs. That platform depended on the Mixed Reality runtime and the Mixed Reality Portal to enumerate headsets, route tracking and controller telemetry, and hand off frames to third‑party runtimes like SteamVR. In December 2023 Microsoft announced the platform’s deprecation; Windows 11 version 24H2 removed Mixed Reality from the installed image, effectively breaking WMR headsets on updated systems. Microsoft’s documentation explicitly lists Windows Mixed Reality as removed in 24H2 and notes that the legacy components would remain usable only on older Windows 11 releases through November 2026 if users avoid the 24H2 upgrade. (learn.microsoft.com) (learn.microsoft.com)
The sudden practical consequence was straightforward and severe: users who upgraded to Windows 11 24H2 found their WMR headsets would no longer enumerate in SteamVR because the Microsoft runtime that originally exposed the devices to SteamVR was removed. For many owners this turned otherwise serviceable headsets into unstable or unusable hardware. Community frustration and concern about stranded devices and electronic waste followed. (neowin.net)
Into that gap stepped Oasis: a native SteamVR driver, developed and distributed by Matthieu Bucchianeri, that presents WMR headsets directly to SteamVR in Direct Mode and restores core VR functionality — headset tracking, controller tracking and input, basic telemetry and a native SteamVR rendering pipeline — without relying on Microsoft’s Mixed Reality Portal. The driver is free on Steam and accompanied by a developer‑maintained installation and troubleshooting wiki. (github-wiki-see.page) (uploadvr.com)

What Oasis actually does

Oasis is not a reimplementation of Microsoft’s Mixed Reality platform; it is a SteamVR native driver that implements the driver‑side interfaces SteamVR expects, running in Direct Mode. The driver handles a set of discrete tasks that together restore practical functionality to WMR hardware:

Device enumeration: Claims WMR headsets and controllers and registers them as SteamVR devices.
Direct Mode display acquisition: Uses GPU APIs to open the headset display as a dedicated target for SteamVR frame submission.
Pose translation: Converts headset and controller sensor streams into SteamVR’s coordinate system and applies device calibrations such as IPD and distortion correction.
Input and telemetry: Exposes button/trigger inputs, haptics, battery reporting and available telemetry (for example IPD values and some camera passthrough features on supported headsets).
SteamVR compositor integration: Submits frames via SteamVR’s native pipeline so OpenVR/OpenXR Steam titles and OpenXR apps running through SteamVR can function normally. (github-wiki-see.page)

Key functional takeaways:

Full 6DoF tracking for headset and controllers is supported (where the headset and controllers themselves provide such tracking).
Common display modes (60 Hz and 90 Hz) and rendering optimizations like hidden‑area mesh support are available.
The driver removes the dependency on the Mixed Reality Portal: users no longer need Microsoft’s runtime to run SteamVR with WMR headsets on affected Windows versions.

System requirements, distribution and limitations

Oasis is distributed as a free Steam application; installation and an unlock procedure are required on each PC/headset pairing. The developer provides a step‑by‑step “unlock” procedure (launching the Oasis app from Steam, briefly disconnecting/reconnecting USB, re‑powering controllers as prompted) that is required once per PC and headset and after certain controller pairing operations. The GitHub wiki maintained by the developer contains detailed instructions and an FAQ to guide users through setup and troubleshooting. (github-wiki-see.page) (github-wiki-see.page)
Notable system constraints and current limitations:

NVIDIA‑only at launch. Oasis relies on GPU driver behaviors and Direct Mode capabilities that the developer says are available only on NVIDIA drivers as currently exposed to third‑party SteamVR drivers. AMD and Intel currently do not provide the same interfaces (or require vendor‑level cooperation) and so Oasis is restricted to NVIDIA GPUs for now. The developer states he provided technical details to AMD but that AMD’s support is not available; similar constraints apply to Intel. This NVIDIA requirement is the single biggest compatibility limiter for many users. (theverge.com) (uploadvr.com)
Closed‑source distribution. The developer has chosen not to open‑source Oasis, citing the fact the work involved reverse‑engineering proprietary components and concerns about exposing third‑party intellectual property or NDA‑covered details. The driver remains free but closed‑source. This choice reduces transparency and complicates independent security audits. (theverge.com) (github-wiki-see.page)
Windows and SteamVR surface fragility. Oasis is a driver‑level integration that sits at the intersection of SteamVR, GPU drivers and Windows device handling. Changes in any of these layers (SteamVR updates, GPU driver updates, Windows updates) can break compatibility. Valve has already made Oasis discoverable through SteamVR Beta; users must opt into SteamVR Beta 2.13.1 or later to have SteamVR automatically prefer and install Oasis when it detects a WMR headset on an unsupported Windows release. That convenience is helpful, but it also underlines that adoption and stability depend on Valve’s distribution choices and future compatibility decisions. (uploadvr.com) (steamdb.info)
Controller pairing and Bluetooth: Historically WMR motion controllers used headset‑integrated Bluetooth handling. Oasis requires some controller pairing and an “unlock” workflow to expose controllers to SteamVR via the PC Bluetooth stack. That adds an extra configuration step for many users and can be a friction point during setup. (github-wiki-see.page)

Verification: cross‑checking the core claims

Several independent outlets and the primary project documentation confirm the core points about Oasis:

Microsoft removed Windows Mixed Reality from Windows 11 24H2 and listed it under removed/deprecated features; the official Microsoft documentation explains the timeline for continued functionality on older Windows releases. (learn.microsoft.com)
The Verge, Windows Central and UploadVR all reported on Bucchianeri’s Oasis driver, its Steam distribution, and the NVIDIA‑only limitation; they also reported that the driver was developed by reverse‑engineering and that the author chose not to release source code. Those outlets independently corroborate the same technical summary and the developer’s stated motivations. (theverge.com) (windowscentral.com) (uploadvr.com)
The developer’s GitHub wiki documents the unlock procedure and explicitly states the driver’s NVIDIA requirement and closed‑source status, providing the practical installation steps and device compatibility notes. This is a primary source for setup guidance and troubleshooting. (github-wiki-see.page)
Valve’s SteamVR Beta release notes (and reporting on that release) document the automation that offers Oasis to users running SteamVR Beta when a WMR headset is detected on a Windows version that lacks Microsoft’s WMR driver. SteamDB and coverage at UploadVR note this SteamVR Beta behavior, which greatly reduces setup friction for non‑technical users who would otherwise need to discover Oasis manually. (steamdb.info) (uploadvr.com)

Taken together, these independent sources corroborate the major factual claims: Microsoft deprecated WMR in 24H2, Oasis is a native SteamVR driver produced by a Microsoft engineer and distributed on Steam, the driver is currently NVIDIA‑only and closed‑source, and Valve’s SteamVR Beta can offer Oasis automatically. (learn.microsoft.com) (theverge.com) (github-wiki-see.page)

Technical analysis: why this works — and why it’s fragile

Oasis’s architecture depends on two main technical realities:

SteamVR native drivers in Direct Mode can own a display handle and accept frame submissions directly from applications via the GPU driver. That allows a driver to present a headset as if it were a native SteamVR device. Implementing this successfully requires intimate knowledge of SteamVR’s driver API and practical reverse‑engineering of the original WMR device communication pathways so the driver can present the headset and controllers correctly. In short: Oasis works because it implements the SteamVR driver contract and maps the WMR hardware into that model.
GPU driver behavior for display acquisition and Direct Mode matters. NVIDIA’s drivers provide the hooks and behavior needed for the SteamVR driver to open the headset display as a dedicated device; AMD and Intel’s drivers do not currently expose or permit the same behavior in a way Oasis can rely on, which is why the developer marked the driver NVIDIA‑only. Getting broader GPU vendor support would require cooperation at the vendor driver level — cooperation that has not materialized so far. This dependency on vendor interfaces is the main reason for the project’s hardware limitation and future fragility. (github-wiki-see.page) (uploadvr.com)

The risks that flow from this architecture:

Any change in SteamVR’s driver model, Valve’s policy toward third‑party drivers, a GPU vendor driver update (especially NVIDIA), or Windows device stack changes could break Oasis. That fragility is inherent to bespoke driver‑level solutions that integrate across closed and proprietary stacks.
The closed‑source nature of Oasis reduces the ability of independent auditors to assess security or reliability. Kernel/driver‑level code has real security implications; while the developer’s reputation and prior work are strong signals, the lack of publicly auditable source code raises legitimate long‑term trust questions for security‑conscious users and enterprises. (theverge.com)
Legal and IP exposure is a non‑trivial concern. Reverse‑engineering vendor code or implementing driver behaviors that interact with proprietary interfaces can draw IP questions. The developer has cited NDA/IP concerns for not open‑sourcing the project; users and distributors must be aware of the legal complexity that can surround reverse‑engineered driver work. (github-wiki-see.page)

Practical steps for users who want to try Oasis

For technically capable enthusiasts who own a compatible WMR headset and an NVIDIA GPU, the practical path to restore functionality looks like this:

Back up the system. Create a Windows restore point and full system image before installing driver‑level software.
Confirm hardware: verify you have a supported NVIDIA GPU and update NVIDIA drivers to the latest stable release.
Install Steam and SteamVR; optionally opt into SteamVR Beta (2.13.1 or later) to have SteamVR offer Oasis automatically.
Install the “Oasis Driver for Windows Mixed Reality” from the Steam store and follow the developer’s unlock procedure as documented on the project wiki.
Pair controllers to the PC Bluetooth stack if required and re‑run the unlock procedure when prompted.
Run the SteamVR setup/calibration and verify tracking and input in a non‑critical environment.
If issues arise, use the restore point and consult the developer’s troubleshooting notes. Report severe issues to the Steam discussion page for the driver so the developer and community can triage. (github-wiki-see.page) (steamdb.info)

Those steps reflect the developer’s guidance and the community’s early testing workflows; they are not a guarantee and require technical comfort with driver installation and potential rollback. (github-wiki-see.page)

Broader implications for hardware lifecycles and platform stewardship

Oasis is both a practical rescue and a case study in policy and engineering gaps that matter for hardware sustainability.

Hardware dependency on platform runtimes increases obsolescence risk. WMR headsets were not self‑contained devices; their practical use depended on a platform runtime distributed by Microsoft. When that runtime was deprecated and removed from the OS, the hardware lost its essential software layer. Oasis demonstrates how community engineering can mitigate that type of obsolescence — but the fix required a deep technical effort and remains fragile and limited to certain GPU vendors.
Vendor cooperation matters. Oasis’s NVIDIA‑only limitation is not a purely technical inevitability; it is a consequence of how GPU vendors expose (or don’t expose) the necessary interfaces. Vendor policies and driver interface decisions materially affect whether community projects can restore hardware utility. This is a governance question as much as an engineering one. (uploadvr.com)
Distribution choices influence accessibility. Valve’s choice to prefer installing Oasis in SteamVR Beta made the solution discoverable and reduced friction for many users. That move shows how platform distributors can responsibly lower the barrier to community‑driven lit‑fixes. But it also highlights a tenuous ecosystem: Valve’s distribution choices, Microsoft’s deprecation, and GPU vendors’ driver behavior together create brittleness in the user experience. (uploadvr.com)
Trust and transparency tradeoffs are real. A closed‑source driver preserves developer control and may reduce legal exposure, but it also limits independent security review. For software that interacts with low‑level system and device APIs, independent auditability matters. The tradeoff here is pragmatic: Oasis extended hardware life quickly, but at the cost of reduced transparency. (theverge.com)

Strengths and notable positives

High practical value: Oasis restores significant functionality to real, in‑market hardware that would otherwise be orphaned. The environmental and financial benefits — keeping otherwise functional devices operating — are considerable.
Rapid engineering response: One engineer produced a working, broadly usable driver and published documentation and a distribution pathway on Steam, demonstrating what focused community work can accomplish.
Valve’s pragmatic support: Making the driver discoverable through SteamVR Beta reduces a major distribution and discoverability problem for users who otherwise would not have known how to recover their headsets. (steamdb.info)

Risks, caveats and responsible recommendations

Exercise caution — especially in production environments. Driver‑level patches should be tested in a controlled environment and a full system backup made prior to installation.
Expect fragility. Future Windows, SteamVR, or GPU driver updates may change behaviors and require driver updates or rework. Users should monitor developer channels and Steam discussions for compatibility notes.
Consider security posture. For enterprise or security‑sensitive users, the closed‑source nature of Oasis and the fact that it interacts with low‑level device plumbing may be a disqualifier. Independent review and vendor support are preferable for organizational deployments.
Pressure points for advocacy: users affected by the deprecation should consider constructive outreach to GPU vendors and platform maintainers to request documented vendor interfaces and better vendor cooperation so driver‑level compatibility can be broader and more robust.

Conclusion

Oasis is an unusually consequential example of community engineering: a focused, pragmatic effort that restores life to hardware orphaned by platform deprecation. It demonstrates both the technical ingenuity available inside and outside of large vendors and the systemic fragility that results when hardware depends on proprietary platform hooks.
For individual owners of Windows Mixed Reality headsets with compatible NVIDIA GPUs, Oasis offers a clear path to regain full SteamVR and OpenXR access without downgrading Windows or buying new headsets. For the industry, however, the project is a reminder that platform decisions and vendor driver policies have long‑term lifecycle consequences for hardware and that community work — while vital — is a brittle backstop for what should arguably be a vendor or platform responsibility.
Users who proceed with Oasis should follow published backup and installation guidance, understand the NVIDIA‑only limitation today, and be prepared for the possibility of future breakage. Oasis is no panacea for platform fragility, but it is a powerful, immediate lifeline for a substantial installed base of VR hardware and an instructive case study in how software stewardship — or the lack of it — shapes hardware longevity. (theverge.com) (uploadvr.com)

Source: The Verge Xbox engineer brings Windows Mixed Reality headsets back to life

Navigation section

Oasis Driver: Reviving Windows Mixed Reality with Native SteamVR/OpenXR

What Oasis Is — and What It Is Not​

Native SteamVR driver (Direct Mode)​

Key supported features​

What Oasis is not​

Release, Availability and System Requirements​

Official launch and store presence​

Supported OS and recommended builds​

GPU compatibility: NVIDIA only (for now)​

How Oasis Works — Technical Overview​

Replacing the runtime handshake​

Direct Mode and display acquisition​

Tracking and calibration​

Why This Matters: Practical and Environmental Impact​

Step‑by‑Step: How to Prepare and Try Oasis (High‑level)​

Real‑World Expectations and Performance​

Troubleshooting and Common Problems​

Legal and Safety Considerations​

Strengths, Weaknesses and Risks — Critical Analysis​

Notable strengths​

Weaknesses and potential risks​

Alternatives and Complementary Options​

The Road Ahead — What to Watch​

Conclusion​

ChatGPT

AI

Background​

What Oasis Does — Feature Overview​

Technical Deep Dive: How Oasis Works​

Native SteamVR Driver and Direct Mode​

Tracking, Calibration, and Distortion​

Device Features and Telemetry​

Compatibility and the NVIDIA-Only Constraint​

Installation, Setup, and First-Run Experience​

Legal, IP, and Source Code Decisions​

Risks, Fragility, and What Could Break​

Broader Implications: Hardware Preservation and E‑Waste​

Alternatives and Complementary Options​

Recommendations for Users Considering Oasis​

Critical Analysis: Strengths and Weaknesses​

Strengths​

Weaknesses and Risks​

What to Watch Next​

Conclusion​

ChatGPT

AI

Background / Overview​

What Valve changed in SteamVR Beta 2.13.1​

How Oasis works (technical summary)​

Why Valve’s auto-install matters for real users​

Practical guide: What owners of Windows MR headsets should know and do​

Strengths — what Oasis + Valve’s change does well​

Risks and limitations — what to watch out for​

The broader ecosystem implications​

Recommendations — what Valve, Microsoft, OEMs, and users should consider​

What to watch next​

Bottom line​

ChatGPT

AI

Background​

What happened: Oasis, the unofficial rescue driver​

The technical picture: how Oasis restores functionality​

Native SteamVR driver (Direct Mode)​

What Oasis brings back​

Installation and the “unlock” step​

The GPU limitation: NVIDIA-only, and why that matters​

Who built Oasis and why it’s closed-source​

Community and vendor reaction: Valve’s role and SteamVR integration​

Real-world experience: what testers and users report​

Risks, caveats and the long-term outlook​

Broader implications for PC VR and hardware stewardship​

Practical guidance: how to approach Oasis safely​

What to watch next​

Conclusion​

ChatGPT

AI

Background​

What Valve changed — the SteamVR Beta update​

What Oasis is and how it works​

What Oasis Is — and What It Is Not

Native SteamVR driver (Direct Mode)

Key supported features

What Oasis is not

Release, Availability and System Requirements

Official launch and store presence

Supported OS and recommended builds

GPU compatibility: NVIDIA only (for now)

How Oasis Works — Technical Overview

Replacing the runtime handshake

Direct Mode and display acquisition

Tracking and calibration

Why This Matters: Practical and Environmental Impact

Step‑by‑Step: How to Prepare and Try Oasis (High‑level)

Real‑World Expectations and Performance

Troubleshooting and Common Problems

Legal and Safety Considerations

Strengths, Weaknesses and Risks — Critical Analysis

Notable strengths

Weaknesses and potential risks

Alternatives and Complementary Options

The Road Ahead — What to Watch

Conclusion

Background

What Oasis Does — Feature Overview

Technical Deep Dive: How Oasis Works

Native SteamVR Driver and Direct Mode

Tracking, Calibration, and Distortion

Device Features and Telemetry

Compatibility and the NVIDIA-Only Constraint

Installation, Setup, and First-Run Experience

Legal, IP, and Source Code Decisions

Risks, Fragility, and What Could Break

Broader Implications: Hardware Preservation and E‑Waste

Alternatives and Complementary Options

Recommendations for Users Considering Oasis

Critical Analysis: Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses and Risks

What to Watch Next

Conclusion

Background / Overview

What Valve changed in SteamVR Beta 2.13.1

How Oasis works (technical summary)

Why Valve’s auto-install matters for real users

Practical guide: What owners of Windows MR headsets should know and do

Strengths — what Oasis + Valve’s change does well

Risks and limitations — what to watch out for

The broader ecosystem implications

Recommendations — what Valve, Microsoft, OEMs, and users should consider

What to watch next

Bottom line

Background

What happened: Oasis, the unofficial rescue driver

The technical picture: how Oasis restores functionality

Native SteamVR driver (Direct Mode)

What Oasis brings back

Installation and the “unlock” step

The GPU limitation: NVIDIA-only, and why that matters

Who built Oasis and why it’s closed-source

Community and vendor reaction: Valve’s role and SteamVR integration

Real-world experience: what testers and users report

Risks, caveats and the long-term outlook

Broader implications for PC VR and hardware stewardship

Practical guidance: how to approach Oasis safely

What to watch next

Conclusion

Background

What Valve changed — the SteamVR Beta update

What Oasis is and how it works

Native SteamVR driver (Direct Mode)

Key technical capabilities

Why GPU vendor support matters

What Valve’s auto-install change means in practice

Strengths — why this is a real win for owners and sustainability

Risks, limitations, and unresolved issues

Step‑by‑step: how to prepare for and try Oasis safely

Real‑world expectations: performance and UX

Legal, security, and governance considerations

Broader implications for the VR ecosystem