Linux Gaming

I've got a Quest 3, and it is the sole reason for my Windows partition to exist. The only way to get the frames from your PC to your headset is through the FOSS Air Light VR. While I do commend the tireless efforts of the volunteers who built it, it is very much not a painless experience to get it working properly. Once set up, it's more stable than I expected it to be, but I still need to connect the Quest twice every time I want to use it.

I have not played enough games with it yet to say for sure, but if they don't have native Linux binaries, I can't guarantee you a playable, let alone comfortable experience. Among Us VR and IEYTD gave me a flickering and nauseating mess, which isn't too bad on its own, but I could not find anyone who had the same problem or a solution for it (but now with my broader knowledge I guess that my problem is having an Nvidia GTX 1650). Very few people game on Linux, and even fewer play VR games. Hopefully Valve can save the day again if and when they come out with their standalone Index successor.

I suspect that you're a newbie to VR (me too honestly, but probably not nearly as much). I didn't get the Quest 3 myself (it was my sibling's birthday gift). After using it for almost a year, I've decided that I won't get a standalone headset for myself. There's enough hurdles to play VR already, like needing a bunch of empty space to not destroy your controllers and your home, the cost, the motion sickness, the computing power etc. With how I use VR, the Quest 3 just isn't that great. The only money Zuck will ever get from me is from my cold, dead hands, so I buy my games off of Steam. This means that every time I want to play VR, I need to make sure that my headset and controllers are charged and updated (controllers as well!), make sure that they are all connected to the same Wifi network as my PC, launch ALVR, launch ALVR again, and pray that the game I want to play works at all. I feel lucky if I can have any fun at all on Linux with VR.

When there are more than enough VR games that I can enjoy out there and I have enough money for it, I'll look into getting my own setup for it as well. With my current experience with standalone, I'm eyeing the Bigscreen Beyond. It's super lightweight, has high-res OLED displays and is wired. It is also about twice as expensive as the Quest 3 even without controllers or base stations, but it seems to solve all of my afforementioned problems with standalone, which in my mind makes it worth more than twice as much. To solve the issues of being tethered to a wire and a need for lots of space, I could also get a treadmill. The KatVR ones use lubricated shoes with optical sensors, like those on a mouse, to run (more slip and slide) on a shallow bowl. It's surprisingly cheap(ish) for what it does, costing about 1000 bucks. While these two devices along with a Valve Index controller and base station kit costs more than three grand, I don't expect it to provide anything less than a grand VR gaming experience.

My experience with the Quest 3 on Linux was trash compared to my nearly seamless experience with desktop gaming. I don't know if a different headset could prevent these problems. I can only hope that you will find a great option.