Oculus removes drm checking which headset is connected from software

Oculus has removed the drm that checks if a Rift is connected from its software. The company first added that security in May, rendering the Revive software that allows playing Rift exclusives on the HTC Vive to stop working.

The developer of Revive told Motherboard that after the latest update, the Oculus Rift software no longer checks whether a Rift headset is connected. The maker of the VR glasses has confirmed to the website that the company will no longer check which hardware is connected: “We will no longer use hardware checks as part of DRM on the PC in the future,” emphasizes an Oculus spokesperson.

The Revive program makes it possible to play games that are only available through the Oculus Rift platform on the HTC Vive. An update for the Oculus software appeared in May, after which it was checked whether a Rift was connected. If not, the games could not be started.

However, the Revive developer quickly found a way around that. In addition, the entire DRM of Oculus was bypassed that way, which also made piracy of the games possible. Now that Oculus has removed the hardware check from its software, the Revive developer has again adapted its software so that it is possible to play Rift games with a Vive, but not completely bypass the DRM. The developer tells Motherboard that he never intended to facilitate piracy.