OpenVR is a software development kit and API, developed by Valve, that lets applications interface with virtual-reality hardware without targeting a specific vendor’s runtime. It abstracts headset tracking, controller input, and rendering submission so a single application can run across compatible VR devices via the SteamVR runtime. OpenVR was an early de facto cross-vendor VR interface, later complemented by the open OpenXR standard.
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- Running atop the SteamVR runtime, OpenVR lets a single application drive compatible headsets without device-specific code. It served as an early cross-vendor VR interface and remains relevant, increasingly alongside the broader OpenXR standard.