Sony reveals PSVR2 specs and promises to take gaming ‘to a new level’

Sony Interactive Entertainment has fully revealed its next-gen VR headset, which it’s confirmed will be called PlayStation VR2.

During Sony’s CES 2022 keynote on Tuesday, the company shared official technical specs for the PlayStation 5 accessory and also confirmed the name for its VR controller: PlayStation VR2 Sense controller.

It also announced the first PSVR2 game: Horizon Call of the Mountain from Guerrilla and Firesprite.

PSVR2 will feature 4K HDR, 110-degree field of view visuals with foveated rendering. Its OLED display will offer 2000×2040 resolution per eye and frame rates of 90/120hz.

The headset will include inside-out tracking via integrated cameras embedded in the headset, allowing games to track movements without the need for external cameras, as well as eye-tracking.

Sony will introduce 3D audio and headset feedback, which it describes as “a new sensory feature that amplifies the sensations of in-game actions from the player”.

This is created by a single built-in motor with vibrations, the company said, allowing players to “feel a character’s elevated pulse during tense moments, the rush of objects passing close to the character’s head, or the thrust of a vehicle as the character speeds forward.”

Finally, Sony promises a simple setup process for PSVR2, with a single cable required to be connected directly to the PS5 console.

PlayStation VR 2 Official Tech Specs

SIE president Jim Ryan said during CES 2022: “Innovation for us at PlayStation means we’re going to lead the way with exploring new technology that unlocks new entertainment experiences. Virtual reality is central to that philosophy: nothing elicits emotion quite like the VR medium.”

SIE’s senior vice president of platform experience, Hideaki Nishino added in a statement: “PlayStation VR2 takes VR gaming to a whole new level, enabling a greater sense of presence and allowing players to escape into game worlds like never before.

“With the headset on and controllers in hand, players will feel a heightened range of sensations unlike any other – thanks to the creativity of the game worlds being built by our world class developers, and the latest technology incorporated into the hardware.”

PlayStation first announced it was working on a “next-generation VR system” designed for PlayStation 5 in February last year.

A month later, it revealed the new controllers for the PS5 VR system, which have an “orb” shaped design and feature adaptive triggers and haptic feedback like the PS5’s DualSense controller.

Currently, the existing PSVR headset operates as a backwards-compatible device on PS5 and launch window games PS5 games No Man’s Sky and Hitman 3 only support VR via their PS4 versions.

PS5’s camera peripheral won’t work with PlayStation VR either and users need to request a free adaptor in order to connect it.

Sony said in January 2020 that PlayStation VR sales had topped five million units since the headset launched in October 2016