Payday 2 (2013), the popular FPS with four-player co-op, has now updated to include access to the VR beta for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. The beta is free, and will see updates in discrete phases, the first of which is now available for owners of the game.

Update (11/18/17): Overkill has issued a hotfix for Oculus support so the game can natively recognize Touch. The developers warn Rift users that the game still requires a room-scale setup, so the three-sensor setup is required to properly play.

Original article (11/17/17): The goal behind the beta is to give players on PC and VR access to the same Payday 2 content. For now though, some weapons aren’t available for VR players, something that will hopefully change in successive beta phases.

Although technically running through SteamVR, the game currently only officially supports Vive, and only renders Vive controllers. Some users have reported that Windows VR headsets work fine as well. Oculus Rift users will have to do an extra step to emulate the Vive’s controller and remap Touch’s buttons however. Reddit user ‘ElectrickMedic’ put together a handy guide on how to install the OpenVR Input Emulator to get the beta working for Rift.

image courtesy Overkill Software

Since June 2017, the game has only been available in its ‘Ultimate Edition’, which includes all the DLC for a total of $45. At the time of this writing, the base game sans DLC doesn’t appear to be available anywhere.

To get access to the VR beta, you’ll have to opt into the beta branch on Steam:

Find PAYDAY 2 in your Steam library and right-click – select Properties. In the Properties window – select the tab called “BETAS”. In the drop down menu in the BETAS tab – select “open_vr_beta” and close the window. This will automatically push the beta branch update. You can opt out at any time by reverting back to the stable branch.

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Overkill recommends playing on window 8 or higher and with a
GTX 980 or better.

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Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 3,500 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • VRgameDevGirl

    I bought the game so I could play it on the VIVE. Here are my thoughts: & (game play video here: https://youtu.be/FjqZLGhj8-I )
    Pros-looks good
    Cons-teleporting breaks the experience, mostly because u only move in the direction your looking. Can’t strafe, walk backward, ect. Talk about tangled cable. (Needs optional touchpad walking)
    Kinda felt like a wave shooter after the alarm went off and while I was waiting for the drill to finish. (Single player mission)
    How do I chat with my team??

    I’m going to play more this weekend though because I feel this game could be fun once I get use to it.

    • Syn

      You can teleport sideways and backwards if you point the controller to the side or backwards, Don’t have to be looking in the direction you want to teleport. While I am personally fine with teleport/dash, I agree it would be nice for other people to have an option. We will see how the BETA progresses.

      To chat go into options, then sound and uncheck push-to-talk and your mic will be always-on.

      As for ‘wave shooter’, that’s what the game has always been since it first launched in ’13.

      • VRgameDevGirl

        I never played before. Did not know that. Just letting others know who have not played too. Also, thanks for the info!!

  • Raphael

    I wunt be playing unless they restore full locomotion as an option. What do I mean “restore full locomotion?” Very simple… this is a tiny 2d rectangle game and by virtue of that fact it has always had full locomotion. In terms of coding it’s very easy to transfer that locomotion to a VR trackpad. It’s significantly less easy to code in teleport. The developer has had a year to observe public feedback for VR games in which time it became glaringly apparent that some people want teleport and some want full locomotion. This became so apparent that most devs now offer both options.

    So this dev went out of their way to exclude non-vomit VR players…

    As I said.. in coding terms: very very easy to move that pancake mode keyboard/mouse locomotion to the VR trackpad.

    • Studley L’amore

      I agree on the locomotion point you’ve made regarding public feedback and the need for games to have both unless there’s a compelling reason not to.

    • PJ

      There’s mod available, no more teletporting around like a 5yr old in rec room

      • Raphael

        lol. Good description. I will give the game a try via the mod. It’s a pretty big game in terrms of elephant footprint isnt it. 45gb!

        • Caven

          You may have noticed already, but trackpad locomotion is native now.

      • Dan

        Seriously, Rec Room is excellent, but the teleporting kills the games for me.

        • PJ

          There adding free movement in the new year, thankfully!

  • Luke
    • Dan

      Excellent, as teleporting really slows down and ruins the game for me.

  • Andrew McEvoy

    Ahhh….its teleportation only and basically a wave shooter. Should have read the small print.

    • Caven

      While the ebb and flow of combat does more or less take the form of a wave shooter, the game is more complex than that. All the missions are goal-oriented, so it’s impossible to win by simply staying put and shooting all the enemies you see. There’s a lot of variety to the missions, and many missions do have the option to perform them stealthily, though that’s by no means easy.

      When I’m playing multiplayer with friends, it’s almost not a shooter for me. I’m the guy maintaining drills, moving loot bags, and otherwise performing mission specific tasks while everyone else keeps the enemies off my back. The game does feature combat against endless waves of enemies, so if that’s a show-stopper for you, I understand. But it does have a lot more to offer than just wave shooting–especially for groups committed to playing stealth.

      • sebrk

        Agree 100%. A really great game for VR. With or without the locomotion mod.

  • VRgameDevGirl

    Update-I played again with a buddy. Super fun!!!!! Got chat working. If it works with rift ill buy another copy so I can play with my hubby!!!!

    • NooYawker

      Definitely need to play with friends because it’s confusing as hell with strangers.

  • sebrk

    Excellent VR game. One of the best right now for sure!