The Vision Pro May Soon Gain Full Support for Playstation, Xbox, and Spatial Controllers
Credit: Sony
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Many expected Apple’s Vision Pro to offer innovative ways to enjoy gaming when it debuted in June 2023. Sadly, it has proven to be a bit of a dud in the gaming department. However, things could definitely change next week, when Apple previews its upcoming visionOS 26 operating system for the headset.
As reported by 9to5Mac, Apple is working to expand gaming controller support in visionOS to offer native support for not only Xbox and PlayStation controllers but also a new class of gaming controllers: spatial controllers.
While visionOS has technically provided gaming controller support since version 1.0, developers have not widely adopted it, as it was somewhat limited in scope. Currently, when an Apple Vision Pro game requires a controller, the game receives a “controller required” badge in the Apple Vision Pro App Store.
As explained by Apple, once you pair a compatible game controller with the Vision Pro headset, you can customize it for use with supported games from both the Apple Arcade and the App Store.
However, Apple is now preparing to expand this support, even alerting users when they install a title that requires an MFi, PlayStation, or Xbox controller. It will also notify users when a title specifically requires motion-aware Spatial Controllers, which are designed for 3D interaction in the title.
That will definitely provide more information than the “controller required” badge that is currently displayed alongside games that require a Bluetooth controller.
As reported earlier by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple met with Sony last year to seek a partnership to launch support for the Sony PlayStation VR2’s hand controllers on the Vision Pro. Sony has been working for months on the plan. Apple, for its part, has discussed the plan with third-party developers, trying to convince them to provide support for the controllers in their games.
While the 9to5Mac report confirms Apple has been working on this behind the scenes, the report couldn’t confirm whether Apple will announce the news about the controller push, as well as the support for spatial controllers, at WWDC25 next week. It may delay the announcement until later in the year.
Apple is preparing to launch a new Games app later this year as part of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, tvOS 26, and possibly visionOS 26. The new app will act as a central hub to launch gaming titles from the App Store, Apple Arcade, and even Mac titles that were installed from sources outside of the App Store.
The Games app will also track in-game achievements and leaderboards while offering communications features and editorial content. The app will replace Apple’s Game Center, which has long offered the ability for users to invite friends to play mobile games and track their achievements.
Apple has also reportedly been exploring tighter gaming integration with iMessage and FaceTime, working on support for mini-games and in-app communication.
The new gaming app will roll out to iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple TVs in September when the device’s new operating systems are released to the public. We’ll likely hear more about it next week at WWDC25 as Apple continues to push developers for more gaming support on its devices.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]
