Valve announces the end of SteamVR support for macOS

When it comes to gaming, there aren't nearly as many options out there for Mac users as there are for Windows users. One of the bright spots for Mac gaming has been Steam, with some of the games offered there supporting Mac operating systems. Mac users who want to enjoy VR games had SteamVR to take advantage of, but that is changing.

Valve recently posted a very terse announcement on the Steam Community forums that SteamVR has ended macOS support. The announcement says that support has ended for Mac computers to allow the team to focus on Windows and Linux development. SteamVR is recommending that macOS users continue to opt into the SteamVR macOS branches for access to legacy builds.

Users can opt into a branch by right-clicking on SteamVR in Steam and selecting properties, Betas. This means that Mac users will continue to be able to use VR, but no new features will be coming. The change also means the potential for future security or compatibility issues to surface.

The end of support for Mac operating systems may not come as a surprise to Mac gamers. While SteamVR did support the Mac operating system, there are a few video games launched that had support from Macs integrated. It makes no real sense to have a platform for Mac gamers if game developers are going to support the operating system. Some of the onus for the lack of support for Mac as a gaming platform for virtual reality could be laid at the feet of lack of support for Macs with popular VR hardware. Not long ago, details on how to enjoy Half-Life: Alyx without a VR headset surfaced.