Xbox engineer brings Windows Mixed Reality headsets back to life

In 2018, Microsoft discontinued its Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) headset platform with the 24H2 update to Windows 11, rendering the devices non-functional. However, an Xbox engineer at Microsoft, Matthieu Bucchianeri, has now developed a new driver called "Oasis Driver for Windows Mixed Reality" that brings these headsets back to life by enabling SteamVR support. The Oasis driver, which is available for free on Steam, requires an Nvidia GPU and does not need the Mixed Reality Portal application. It can run OpenVR and OpenXR applications through SteamVR, providing full headset and motion controller tracking, as well as a native SteamVR rendering pipeline. Bucchianeri, who now works as an Xbox engineer at Microsoft, reverse-engineered Nvidia and SteamVR code to create this driver independently, as Microsoft did not provide a solution to ensure the continued functionality of WMR headsets. The Oasis driver will remain free to use, but Bucchianeri is not releasing the source code.