Sources: Apple and Sony could add PlayStation VR2 controller support to visionOS; Apple has sold fewer than 500K Vision Pro units since its February 2024 debut
Apple and Sony have discussed forging a partnership that could change gaming on the Vision Pro.
BloombergMark Gurman
Context & Ripple Effects
Vision Pro entered the market with production ramping toward a February retail debut, while pre-launch estimates put 2024 shipments at roughly 500,000 units. This report says sales have remained below that benchmark, making software and accessory support especially consequential for the installed base.
A potential visionOS integration would give Vision Pro users a familiar pair of tracked gaming controllers rather than limiting interaction to Apple's existing input methods.
Sony could gain another use case for PS VR2 Sense hardware; Apple would gain a credible route to more controller-led games despite a sub-500,000-unit Vision Pro installed base.
Second-order effects
Game developers would have a clearer target for traditional VR control schemes if support became official, but the small user base would still constrain the commercial case for dedicated Vision Pro ports.
Controller compatibility could shift accessory expectations toward cross-platform hardware, reducing the need for Apple to build every specialized input device itself.
Third-order effects
The episode points to spatial-computing platforms competing on ecosystem breadth, not only proprietary hardware: interoperability can help seed content before headset volumes justify a fully self-contained accessory market.
Whether that becomes durable depends on sustained platform support and developer uptake; later low Vision Pro shipment estimates underscore how difficult it is to create that flywheel at limited scale.
The trend: Premium mixed-reality platforms are increasingly using compatible third-party inputs to close content gaps while their installed bases remain small.
Mark Gurman is reporting that Apple and Sony are working to bring PSVR2 controllers to the Vision Pro! With DualSense controllers already sold as accessories, this makes sense. If it happens, it will be huge for gamers!
This would be a big step in helping to bring a library of games over to the Apple Vision Pro. This isn't quite a “Nobody wants a stylus” then deliver the Apple Pencil moment as if this comes to pass it would be just supporting a stylus. Still seems hard to imagine Apple doing
Yes please 🙏 My dream is them somehow getting No Man's Sky VR running on this thing. Not sure that's technically feasible, but they did get the regular game working on the Switch so 🤞
Apple and Sony are reportedly working on Vision Pro support for PSVR2 controllers. Funny that Apple is turning to Sony for VR https://www.theverge.com/...
Apple and Sony originally aimed to announce this capability weeks ago, but the rollout has been postponed. My expectation is that an announcement will still come at some point — unless it gets abruptly scrapped.
Apple doesn't have imminent plans to launch its own controller, but it spent years prototyping a “wand” for the Vision. This would be more of an Apple Pencil-like tool for precise control, not games. Still, it shows the company knows hand-and-eye UI won't cut it for all uses.
Apple approached Sony earlier this year, and the duo agreed to work together on launching support for the PlayStation VR2's hand controllers on the Vision Pro. Inside Sony, the work has been a monthslong undertaking, I'm told. And Apple has discussed the plan with third-party
Huge news if it comes to pass, not just for the library of games available on Apple Vision Pro, but for Sony who have yet to sell the PlayStation VR2 Sense Controller separately since the platform's launch.