A native VR mod for Team Fortress 2 is in the works as a fan-made project, with the game now running and rendering through OpenXR. While the mod isn’t fully done yet, developer @salad_vr over on X shared a short preview showcasing mechanics like room-scale movement, motion controls, and manual interactions, hinting that the mod is definitely happening. This sudden surge of interest in bringing the classic shooter into virtual reality comes after Valve released TF2’s source code, giving developers and modders deeper access to the game engine.

Interestingly, this won’t be the first TF2 VR port. In fact, the game had an official VR mode back in 2013, but that was quite basic and experimental rather than a proper VR experience. This upcoming TF2 VR mod, on the other hand, aims to go much further. We could also potentially see the two merge into one, but there is no confirmation of Valve joining the project for now.

TF2 VR will be similar to Half-Life 2 VR

According to the developer behind TF2 VR, the mod is designed to provide a full room-scale VR experience similar to what we saw with Half-Life 2 VR. This means we can expect features like motion controls, manual reloading, and full physical interactions rather than just basic headset support. However, the focus is on modern VR hardware such as the Oculus or the Valve Index, and the developer doesn’t plan to add support for older motion controllers like the Razer Hydra.

Since both games share the Source engine, you may be wondering whether anything from the Half-Life 2 VR mod could be utilized in the same way. However, unlike HL2VR, which was built for a slower, single-player experience, TF2's fast-paced multiplayer gameplay will require adapting mechanics like motion controls, UI integration, and server-side interactions in a more tailored way.

We could potentially see a Steam release

The developer also mentions that the mod could get a free Steam release, as Valve’s policy allows mods based on their games to be distributed for free. Since TF2 VR is a fan-made project using Valve’s assets, it must be offered for free to comply with their guidelines. Using OpenXR also means compatibility across multiple headsets without requiring separate implementations for each device while offering better performance and tracking compared to older methods like SteamVR’s legacy support.

With more classic games finding new life through mods and improved hardware support like we recently saw with Xbox 360 games getting native PC ports, TF2 VR is yet another example of how fan projects continue to support these older games. Team Fortress 2 has enjoyed a healthy fanbase for nearly two decades now, and VR gives us another way of playing it.

About the Author

Hassam Nasir

Hassam boasts over seven years of professional experience as a dedicated PC hardware reviewer and writer.