01
Move naturally
You stop holding a thumbstick forward for twenty minutes at a time. Settle into a pace, then push when you actually want to get somewhere.
Your body is
the joystick.
Jog in place to move naturally in PC VR. No trackers. No treadmill. No mods.
VR StrideS reads your headset and controllers and turns those signals into movement in compatible games. Your headset cadence helps estimate speed, while headset and controller tilt and motion help signal direction. As far as the game is concerned, you're on a thumbstick.
Launches 5 November 2026 · Public playtest ended
Three steps from walking in place to moving in VR
No treadmill, no body trackers, nothing to set up per game. The motion you already make becomes stick input.
- 01
Walk or jog in place
Stay where you are and move like you would on a trail. VR StrideS is currently most reliable with a clear jogging rhythm; very slow walking in place can produce too little headset movement to register consistently.
- 02
VR StrideS estimates speed and direction separately
It runs on your PC alongside the game, sampling your headset and controllers 90 times a second to estimate your speed and intended movement direction separately.
- 03
The game moves you
VR StrideS combines those estimates into the same two-dimensional signal normally produced by a thumbstick, delivered through the runtime the game already uses. Ease off and the game eases off with you.
Direction
Tilt your headset and controllers toward the direction you want to travel. You can keep moving one way while looking somewhere else.
Speed
Headset cadence and movement help estimate how fast you want to travel. The Effort setting controls how much real movement is needed to reach a given in-game speed.
The same run, from both sides
Left is the room. Right is the same moment inside the demo arena, running the gate course. It's one recording, so the trace underneath has a single playhead.
Head travel · one signal136 spm · 15 cm
VR locomotion built for hours at a time
02
Explore actively
Big worlds feel big again. Crossing one takes something out of you.
03
Works across games
VR StrideS substitutes the thumbstick input a game already reads, so there's no mod to install per game and nothing to redo when a game updates.
04
Tune the effort
Effort sets how much movement it takes to reach speed. Freedom of Movement lets you narrow the direction cone while learning, then open it up to the full 360°.
05
Built for PC VR
Three delivery paths ship together and the app picks the right one on its own: SteamVR, native OpenXR, and the native Meta runtime used over Link.
Big worlds feel big again.
One dial for how hard you want to work
Effort sets how much of your own movement it takes to reach full speed in game. Turn it down and top pace arrives early. Turn it up and the cost rises from the middle of the range onwards, all the way to top speed. It's the same control that ships in the app.
Effort
Controls how much physical movement is required to move in-game.
EasierMore physical
The default. Reaching full speed takes real, sustained effort.
Effort for full speedModerate
Example jogging rhythm
~147 spm · 9 cm rise
Illustrative replay, not a required cadence or bounce height. Speed response varies with your movement and settings.
15 supported · 14 in testing · 1 planned · 2 not supported
Headsets, runtimes and games it works with
VR StrideS is a companion application, not a mod, so it works at the runtime level. That covers a lot of games, but not all of them.
Headsets
Tuning is centred on Quest 3 over PC VR. Other headsets use the same signals.
- Meta Quest 3Primary tuning targetSupported
- Meta Quest 3SSupported
- Meta Quest ProSupported
- PlayStation VR2PC adapter; recentering issues reportedIn testing
- Meta Quest 2In testing
- Tethered PC VR headsetsThrough SteamVRIn testing
- Other standalone headsets over PC VRIn testing
VR runtimes
Three delivery paths ship together, and the app picks one at startup.
- SteamVRDriver-level inputSupported
- Native OpenXRAPI layer, used when SteamVR is offSupported
- Meta native runtimeWindows onlyIn testing
PC connection
Connection method can affect setup. Use the app’s diagnostics if your headset or runtime is not detected.
- Virtual DesktopSupported
- Steam LinkSupported
- ALVRSupported
- Meta Link and Air LinkIn testing
- Direct cable (tethered)In testing
Movement types
The deciding factor is how a game handles movement, not which engine it uses.
- Smooth stick locomotionThe common caseSupported
- Games with custom input handlingVaries by titleIn testing
- Teleport-only movementNothing to driveNot supported
- Per-title tuning profilesPlanned
Popular titles
A sample rather than a whitelist. If the left stick moves you, VR StrideS should too.
- Blade & SorceryConfirmed workingSupported
- Half-Life: AlyxSet movement to continuousSupported
- VRChatConfirmed workingSupported
- BONELAB and BONEWORKSConfirmed workingSupported
- Flat games through UEVRWhere the mod maps stick movementSupported
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VRIn testing
- No Man's SkyIn testing
- PavlovIn testing
- PhasmophobiaIn testing
- Fallout 4 VRIn testing
- Beat Saber, Gorilla Tag, VTOL VRNo stick movement to driveNot supported
Operating systems
- Windows 10 and 11Supported
- LinuxBuild available; launch and connection issues reportedIn testing
Compatibility varies by game, control scheme, headset, and PC VR configuration. Reports from the public playtest are helping me verify this list; some setups still have connection or movement issues.
Watch the trailer
Just over a minute of VR StrideS driving movement in a range of PC VR games.
PUBLIC PLAYTEST ENDED
Help decide how this ships
The public playtest has ended. Your reports helped me improve gun handling, direction control and setup guidance. I’m still working on gentle walking, and feedback from different headsets and games remains useful.
VR StrideS launches 5 November 2026. The free demos teach movement inside their own tutorials; the PC companion app is what adds locomotion to compatible games.
- 01
Cover more hardware
Tell me your headset, PC connection, operating system and app version. On Linux, include your distribution and any launch or connection problem.
- 02
Sharpen the detection
Report missed steps, unwanted movement or direction changes while aiming. Your Effort and Freedom of Movement settings help me reproduce them.
- 03
Find the awkward games
Some games handle stick input in unusual ways. Tell me which game you tried, its movement mode, and whether it worked on your setup.
- 04
Shape the defaults
Try the free tutorial to learn the movement. VR Central’s guide shows setup, strafing and moving backwards; the subreddit has a pinned support thread.
We became very good at going somewhere.
Long before cities, roads or written language, our ancestors stood up and began moving through the world on two legs. It changed us.
Our pelvis changed. Our legs changed. Our feet changed. And our hands were no longer occupied with getting us from one place to another. They could carry. Manipulate. Make.
Much later came the human body we know today: remarkably well suited to covering distance on foot.
We were never the fastest animal. We became very good at going somewhere.
For most of human history, a place on the horizon meant a journey. Getting there took steps. Distance had weight. Exploration happened at the pace of the body.
Then we built virtual worlds filled with mountains, forests and roads stretching to the horizon. And put the journey under a thumb.
There’s nothing wrong with that. I just thought your legs could be part of it too.
VR StrideS turns walking or jogging in place into movement through compatible VR games. Use a little effort or a lot. Your game still works like a game. Your body simply gets a say in where you go.
After millions of years of getting places with our legs, I thought they deserved a role in virtual worlds too.
Before you ask
A companion application for PC VR. It runs on your PC alongside a game, reads how you walk or jog in place, and turns that into the movement input the game already understands. The game itself is untouched.
No. It works with the headset and controllers you already own. There's no treadmill and no foot tracker, and nothing beyond the base stations your headset already uses.
Tuning is centred on Meta Quest 3 used with a PC, but VR StrideS isn't tied to one headset. It works through the runtime rather than the hardware, so other PC VR headsets can work too. Detection and setup can vary; the compatibility section lists current status rather than a guarantee for every configuration.
No. VR StrideS substitutes the thumbstick input a game already reads, at the runtime level. Nothing is installed into the game, so there's nothing to patch after a game update.
Yes. Conventional controls stay available. For movement that needs precision, like lining up a jump, or gentle walking that is not registering reliably, use the stick.
Roughly the space you already need to stand and turn safely. You stay on the same spot, so the footprint is about the same as any seated-to-standing VR setup. Check your guardian or play-area boundary before a long session.
Yes. A treadmill solves the same problem with hardware: a platform, a harness, a permanent square of floor and a four-figure price. VR StrideS does it in software, using the headset and controllers you already own.
Games with smooth left-thumbstick locomotion are candidates, but results depend on the game and setup. Blade & Sorcery, Half-Life: Alyx, VRChat, BONELAB and BONEWORKS are confirmed working, as are flat games brought into VR through UEVR. Skyrim VR, No Man's Sky, Pavlov and Phasmophobia are expected to work but remain in testing. Enable smooth or continuous movement where available. Teleport-only games have no stick movement to drive.
Both, with jogging in between. VR StrideS is currently most reliable with a clear jogging rhythm. Very slow walking in place can produce too little headset movement to register consistently. The Effort setting decides how much real movement a given in-game speed asks of you.
It can, and it's adjustable. Jogging in place for a long session takes real effort, which is why some players use it for VR fitness. A lower Effort setting keeps movement lighter, so you choose how physical the session gets. Take breaks as you would with any standing VR game.
VR StrideS launches on Steam on 5 November 2026. Wishlist on Steam for launch news.
The public playtest has ended. You can still learn the movement in the free Steam demo or standalone Quest tutorial. Those demos run inside their own tutorials; they are not the PC companion app that adds locomotion to other games.
Not with other standalone Quest games. The Quest demo teaches movement inside its own tutorial without a PC. To add locomotion to compatible PC VR games, you need the PC companion app running alongside the game.
It limits the directions you can move to a cone of your choice. The default is full 360° movement. If you drift sideways while learning, start with a narrower, mostly-forward cone and widen it when you are comfortable. Effort controls how much movement it takes to reach speed; Freedom of Movement controls the allowed directions.
Walk the game.
VR StrideS launches 5 November 2026. Wishlist on Steam for launch news, or learn the movement in the free demo.
Launches 5 November 2026