Play your Steam first-person shooters in full virtual reality with MyDream Swift

As the launch dates of the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive virtual reality headsets approach, so does the release of a ton of awesome VR gaming content. To gamers with full Steam libraries however, it’s kind of a shame that once they put the headset on, most of their favorite content is no longer available to enjoy.

MyDream Swift is looking to bring old Steam content into the next generation of gaming with its VR conversion software that brings experiences like Battlefield and Borderlands into immersive virtual reality.

You can try any DX9 or DX11 game (i.e. most popular games) with the software, but it’s definitely optimized for first-person shooter-style POV experiences. For the non-FPS titles that feel a bit wonky in VR due to camera perspectives, the app also has a cinema mode that gives you a “near distant” virtual screen setup to view and dive into familiar titles within the VR headset.

The team didn’t set out to build a piece of software like Swift, initially they were just looking to convert their own game MyDream, a creative community game that lets players build their own 3D worlds, into a virtual reality experience.

The Swift UI isn’t all that flashy, but it’s about as simple as it gets. Check a box for “Cinema mode,” select your title and you’re good-to-go. Looking to dive into full VR for a first-person game? Just check “AutoVR” and “first-person camera controls,” launch the game and get to playing.

The team says that games convert with lossless quality and maintain 90hz render times so everything should look smooth, though Swift notably foregoes stereoscopic rendering for the sake of performance. I was given a remote demo of the software, but when it comes to VR you really have to try it in-person to see how experiences stack up. MyDream understands this as well and told me that they’ll be offering demos at VRDC in San Francisco this week to anyone who wants to take the software for a whirl.

MyDream Swift is available for pre-order now for $29.99 and is available for download on March 28. The $30 buy also includes MyDream VR, the company’s latest iteration of its namesake gaming title.

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