How do I get Rift games working on my Vive?

Update 23 February 2017: We've refreshed this article with new troubleshooting information, new step-by-step instructions, and a new list of Oculus games you can play on your Vive.

PC gamers have long been proud of their peacefulness (other than a few mild dust-ups with the console armies). There hasn't been a war between PC gamers in years!

Keeping with the trend of sharing and caring, LibreVR created Revive, software that lets HTC Vive owners play Oculus Rift games. Why can't Rift games by default be played on Vive? We'll get into that.

Let's take a look at how Revive works, a little history about Oculus games, and finally a list of all the Rift games that work with Vive.

What is Revive and why does it exist?

Rift and Vive

Simply put, Revive was created by LibreVR in order to solve a crisis; Rift games exclusive to Oculus Home (the Rift's platform) couldn't be played on the Vive. Gamers were loving Revive and the ability to play Rift games on Vive, at least until an ill-fated Oculus update.

Back in May 2016, Oculus updated their Home app and introduced digital-rights-management (DRM) software, effectively shutting down Revive just as they were getting off the ground. The amount of feedback from the community was overwhelming, and Oculus reversed their decision about a month later. The DRM software was removed, and Revive became fully functional again!

Oculus couldn't promise future updates wouldn't wreck Revive compatibility.

Oculus has stated that they will never implement DRM again, but will go ahead with platform exclusive titles — hard to vilify them for the latter statement. Judging from the amount of flack they received the first time they implemented DRM, it's hard to believe Oculus would do the same thing again,

Oculus did say, however, that they couldn't promise that future updates wouldn't wreck Revive compatibility. This sort of sounds like a fancy way of saying DRM without using the actual buzzword, but who at the moment knows. As long as actual DRM doesn't return, brave soldiers fighting for VR peace will do their best to share games across VR platforms.

We're not trying to pit one company against the other, but it's important to give praise when praise is due — Valve and their OpenVR SDK lets Rift users in the front door.

How does Revive work?

To really dumb things down, Revive essentially grabs function calls on their way to the Vive headset and detours them to the Rift. When you're in your Vive looking at the SteamVR dashboard, you'll notice a Revive button near the bottom. If you click on it, you can bring up your games in the Oculus Home library.

It's incredibly easy to use, and it's also painless to set up. First things first: you need to download the Oculus app.

How to download and install the Oculus app

Before doing anything else, you need to download and install the Oculus app. There is an important process to follow so that you don't get stuck in a setup loop that requires you to actually have a Rift available — if you have an Oculus Rift, you don't have to worry as much.

  1. Navigate to the Oculus app download page.
  2. Click Start Download.

  3. Click Save.

    Click Start Download. Click Save.

  4. Click Run.

  5. Click Let's Go.

    Click Run. Click Let's Go.

  6. Click Agree.

  7. Click I Understand.

    Click Agree. Click I Understand.

  8. Click Next.

  9. Click Install Now. The required files will now be downloaded.

    Click Next. Click Install Now.

  10. Click Next.

  11. Click Rift.

    Click Next. Click Rift.

  12. Click Next.

  13. Click Next.

    Click Next. Click Next.

  14. Click Skip Setup.

  15. Click Skip Setup.

    Click Skip Setup. Click Skip Setup.

How to download a game in the Oculus app

Now that you have the Oculus app installed and set up properly, you need a game or two in your Oculus library.

  1. Launch the Oculus app from your Start menu, desktop, or taskbar.

  2. Click a game you want to purchase and download.

    Launch the Oculus app. Click a game.

  3. Click the blue button with a price tag on it.

  4. Click Add a credit or debit card or click Add your PayPal account. In this case I will add a credit card.

    Click the blue button. Click to add a payment method.

  5. Type in your information.

  6. Click Save.

    Type your information. Click Save.

  7. Type your PIN.

  8. Click Purchase.

    Type your PIN. Click Purchase.

  9. Click Install. Your game will begin downloading.

  10. Click Library when the download is complete.

    Click Install. Click Library.

  11. Click Finish Install.

  12. Click Install to complete the installation process.

    Click Finish Install. Click Install.

Ensure you go to your library and complete the final two steps once the game has downloaded — if you don't, the game won't work with Revive.

How to set up Revive

Now that you have a game in the Oculus app that you want to play on Vive, it's time to download and set up Revive.

  1. Navigate to the Revive installer page on GitHub.

  2. Click ReviveInstaller.exe.

    Navigate to the Revive installer page. Click ReviveInstaller.exe

  3. Click Save.

  4. Click I Agree.

    Click Save. Click I Agree.

  5. Click Next.

  6. Click Install.

    Click Next. Click Install.

  7. Click Close.

  8. Launch SteamVR from the Start menu, desktop, or taskbar. Revive will launch automatically alongside it.

    Click Close. Launch SteamVR.

  9. Put on your Vive head-mounted display.
  10. Click the system button on the Vive controller. It is located just beneath the trackpad.
  11. Click Revive.

  12. Click an Oculus game you want to play on Vive.

    Click Revive. Click an Oculus Game.

The Rift game will open and you can use your Vive to play.

How to enable the Revive button in the Vive dashboard

If you can't see the Revive button below your Vive dashboard when you're wearing your Vive, take off the headset and follow these steps on your PC.

  1. Click the dropdown arrow next to SteamVR.

  2. Click Settings.

    Click the dropdown arrow. Click Settings.

  3. Click Applications.

  4. Click Revive Dashboard so that a checkmark appears.

    Click Applications. Click Revive Dashboard.

How to inject Revive into a standalone game

Some games that you haven't downloaded through the Oculus app or through Steam, like the VR-compatible ARK: Survival Evolved, can still be used with Revive.

  1. Right-click the Revive tray icon in the bottom-right corner of your taskbar.

  2. Click Inject.

    Right-click the Revive tray icon. Click Inject.

  3. Click a standalone game. In this case, I don't have any installed. Remember, this is only for VR games that were downloaded outside of Steam and the Oculus app.

  4. Click Open.

    Click a standalone game. Click Open.

How to patch Rift games downloaded through Steam

Steam has a few games that are only available for Oculus Rift. If you want to play one of these games on your Vive after downloading, follow these steps.

  1. Right-click the Revive tray icon in the bottom-right corner of your taskbar.

  2. Click Patch.

    Right-click the Revive tray icon. Click Patch.

  3. Click a Steam game you want to play on Vive. In this case, I don't have any installed. Remember, this is only for Oculus-exclusive games downloaded through Steam.

  4. Click Open.

    Click a Steam game. Click Open.

Oculus games compatible with Revive

Why miss out on The Unspoken?

This list of Oculus games that work with your Vive continues to grow.

  • ADR1FT
  • Adventure Time: Magic Man's Head Games
  • AirMech: Command
  • AltspaceVR
  • Anshar Wars 2
  • Assetto Corsa (Requires patch)
  • BlazeRush
  • Boursin Sensorium Virtual Reality Experience
  • Bullet Train
  • Channel Island Suite
  • Chronos
  • Darknet
  • Dead and Buried
  • Dear Angelica
  • Defense Grid 2
  • DiRT Rally
  • Discovering Space 2 (Requires patch)
  • Dragon Front
  • Dreadhalls
  • Eagle Flight
  • Edge of Nowhere (Flickering fix)
  • Esper 2
  • EVE: Valkyrie
  • Farlands
  • Feral Rites
  • First Contact
  • Fly to Kuma
  • G2A Land
  • Henry
  • Herobound
  • Hitman GO: VR Edition
  • I Expect You To Die
  • Invasion!
  • Introduction to Virtual Reality
  • iOMoon
  • Lost
  • Lucky's Tale
  • Medium
  • Mount Wingsuit
  • Nature Treks VR
  • Obduction (Requires patch)
  • Ocean Rift
  • Oculus Avatars
  • Oculus Dreamdeck
  • Oculus Touch Basics
  • Please Don't Touch Anything
  • Pinball FX2 VR
  • Pool Nation FX Lite
  • Pro Fishing Challenge VR
  • Quill Beta
  • Ripcoil
  • Robinson: The Journey
  • Showdown
  • Shufflepuck Cantina Deluxe
  • Smashing the Battle
  • Superhot VR
  • Technolust
  • The Body VR
  • The Climb
  • The Rose and I
  • The Unspoken
  • Toybox
  • Ultrawings
  • Viral Ex
  • VR Karts
  • VR Sports Challenge
  • VR Tennis Online
  • VRIDEO
  • vTime
  • Woofbert VR
  • ZR Zombie Riot

Your Rift and Vive

Do you use your Vive to play Rift games? How does it work? Let us know all about it in the comments section below.