WalkinVR

WalkinVR
Information
Type	Accessibility software
Industry	Virtual reality
Developer	Grzegorz Bednarski (listed on Steam as Frankly Dog; DLC listed under 2MW)
Operating System	Windows 10 (64-bit)
License	Freeware, with paid Premium and Professional DLC
Supported Devices	SteamVR headsets, including Valve Index, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Windows Mixed Reality; Oculus Quest via Oculus Link
Release Date	2017 (beta); June 29, 2020 (Steam)
Website	https://www.walkinvrdriver.com/

WalkinVR (also called WalkinVR Driver) is a free utility for SteamVR that adapts existing PC virtual reality games and applications for people with physical disabilities. It works at the driver level rather than inside individual games: it lets a player move and turn in the virtual world with a controller instead of with the body, shifts and scales the position of the motion controllers, lets a second person assist with an Xbox controller, and can replace hand-held controllers with hand tracking from an external depth sensor such as a Kinect.

The software was created by the developer Grzegorz Bednarski, who released it as a beta in 2017. Version 2.0 was released on Steam on June 29, 2020. Accessibility researchers have discussed it in papers on VR for wheelchair users and people with limited mobility.

Reviewed 15 October 2026. Checked every claim against the cited Steam store and news API data, official walkinvrdriver.com pages, Road to VR, UploadVR, Engadget, Disabled World and Equal Entry articles, and the full texts of the Gerling (CHI 2020) and Mott (ASSETS 2020) papers. About review dates.

History

Origins and beta (2017)

In an article he wrote for Disabled World in April 2017, Bednarski said the project began as informal development for children. While building it he needed to pick up an object from the ground in VR, and he realized that "such simple movement is not so simple for person in a wheelchair, not to mention someone in a bed." At that point the project was in alpha testing with volunteers around the world, and he described it as supporting the HTC Vive and Oculus headsets and as ready to support other VR headsets. His stated long-term goal was to give access to WalkinVR to schools and organizations that had bought VR equipment.

Road to VR covered the beta in May 2017. It described WalkinVR as a SteamVR driver that "moves the entire tracked virtual space relative to the player", comparable to the play space sliders in the OpenVR Advanced Settings utility but operated with a dedicated button during play. Rotation could also be mapped to external keys or pedals. A one-arm mode simulated a second virtual controller attached to head tracking, so that a player with one hand could perform actions designed for two controllers. The developer's demonstration videos showed Holopoint and Job Simulator played from a wheelchair, the bow game in The Lab played with one arm, and dual-wielding in Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope. They were recorded with PlayStation Move controllers and PS3 Eye cameras running through PSMoveService. Road to VR noted that such tools could give players an unfair advantage in competitive games and called for discussion among developers about inclusive design. At the time WalkinVR was in beta testing and available to download from its official website, with an initial release due at the end of May 2017.

In September 2017 Bednarski released a second SteamVR project, Driver4VR, which used a Kinect to emulate Vive Trackers for body tracking. The Steam page for Driver4VR, published by Frankly Dog, states that it is the main source of funding for WalkinVR.

Steam release (2020)

WalkinVR 2.0 launched on Steam on June 29, 2020. Road to VR reported that the add-on was free with all features unlocked, and that an optional Premium purchase supported the developer and removed a brief pop-up inside the headset. The Steam announcement for the release listed three functions: virtual movement, adjustment of controller position, and gameplay with a personal assistant. Hand tracking was promised as an update within two to three weeks. Engadget, covering the launch, called it "a free Windows app" for SteamVR titles that works with any headset supporting SteamVR, and attributed the release to 2MW. UploadVR noted that because it runs through SteamVR, it could also be used with the Oculus Quest over Oculus Link.

Later updates

Version 2.1, announced on September 29, 2020, added hand tracking with a Kinect sensor. The announcement said the feature had been tested with players with disabilities in games including Beat Saber, Audioshield and Job Simulator. Version 2.1.2.0 (July 2021) added the ability to rotate the view for play in a reclined position. Version 2.1.3 (January 2022) introduced a new DLC for professional use.

In January 2025 version 2.2.0.0 added Remote VR Control, which lets a person at the computer rotate and move the player's view and use the controllers on the player's behalf, for example to pick a menu option without taking off the player's headset. The developer described it as designed for professional users who assist players. Version 2.2.1 (February 2025) made the feature work for 10 minutes in the free and personal versions. As of October 2026, the most recent update announced on Steam is version 2.2.2 of August 25, 2025, which moved the software to SteamVR SDK 2.12.14.

Version history

Version	Date	Changes
Beta	2017	First public beta
2.0	June 29, 2020	Steam release with virtual movement, controller position adjustment and assisted play
2.1	September 29, 2020	Hand tracking with Kinect
2.1.2.0	July 16, 2021	View rotation for reclined play; Xbox controller connection status
2.1.3	January 19, 2022	Professional DLC added; Xbox controller detection fix
2.2.0.0	January 29, 2025	Remote VR Control
2.2.1	February 12, 2025	Remote VR Control usable for 10 minutes in free and personal versions
2.2.2	August 25, 2025	Updated to SteamVR SDK 2.12.14

Features

The developer's website groups WalkinVR into four modes, each aimed at different limitations.

Virtual motion and rotation

This mode is for players who cannot change body position or location as a game expects, for example wheelchair users or people who cannot leave bed. A controller can be assigned to Move, Rotate, or Move and Rotate. The player holds a chosen activation button and drags the controller in the direction of travel or turn, and releases the button to finish. In the combined mode, pressing the assigned button twice performs the button's original in-game function. The developer says this lets a player kneel, stand up or change position in the game without physically moving.

Controller position, range and angle

Players can offset the default position of each controller forward, up or down, and left or right, either by typing values or by dragging arrows in a visualization, with the option to apply the same values to both hands. Sensitivity can be raised so that a small real movement becomes a larger one in VR; the Steam description gives the example of a 3-inch controller movement translating to a 6-inch movement. The controller's orientation can also be changed, which helps players with limited wrist movement. The website suggests the settings can also be used for training, by reducing sensitivity step by step.

Assisted play with an Xbox controller

For players who have difficulty pressing buttons or holding controllers in the right position, an assistant connects an Xbox controller over USB. The player keeps the VR controllers in hand while the assistant uses the gamepad to emulate their buttons and to move the player in the virtual space. In a 2022 write-up of a demonstration, the accessibility firm Equal Entry noted that when another person controls movement, the user may feel motion sickness because the body is still while the view moves.

Hand tracking with external sensors

For players who cannot hold controllers, for example because of spasticity, cerebral palsy or tetraplegia, a Kinect placed in front of the play area tracks the hands and presents them to games as controllers. The website recommends a Kinect 2.0 (a Kinect 360 also works) with a PC adapter and the Kinect 2.0 Runtime. A calibration step aligns the Kinect with the VR tracking: the player stands in front of the sensor wearing the headset, holding both controllers, with arms raised to the side. Controller orientation can follow the rotation of the hand, or use an "absolute hand position" option based on hand position alone, intended for players who cannot control the angle of the hand. Because the Kinect cannot press buttons, the website suggests combining this mode with assisted play when a game needs button input. The Professional DLC adds hand tracking with other sensors: Orbbec, Intel RealSense, Asus Xtion and Azure Kinect cameras.

Supported devices and requirements

The Steam page describes WalkinVR as a utility that adds features to an existing Oculus, Windows Mixed Reality or Index setup. It runs on 64-bit Windows 10, and the listed minimum system is an Intel i5-4590 or AMD FX 8350 equivalent, 4 GB of RAM, an NVIDIA GTX 970 or AMD Radeon R9 290 equivalent and 200 MB of storage. The official website names the Oculus Rift S, Oculus Quest, Oculus Quest 2, HTC Vive Cosmos and Valve Index, and its requirements list also includes the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Windows Mixed Reality headsets. It recommends at least 2 by 3 meters of space. On first use the app must be started from Steam's "Launch" button so that its services and drivers install.

Pricing and licensing

The base app is free on Steam. Two DLCs are sold separately, both listed under the developer name 2MW:

Edition	Steam release	Price (US Steam store, October 2026)	Purpose
WalkinVR (base)	June 29, 2020	Free	All accessibility features; shows a reminder banner
WalkinVR - Premium	June 30, 2020	US$29.99	Personal use only; adds no features and removes the free-version banner
WalkinVR - Professional	January 21, 2022	Monthly subscription: US$29.99 at checkout, then auto-renewed every month at US$119.99	Required for non-personal use; adds hand tracking with non-Kinect sensors

The Professional DLC page states that it is required for all non-personal use, including businesses, research, clinics, foundations, universities, schools and therapy centers. It also lists player profiles and local collection and export of movement data as features in development.

Use in rehabilitation

The developer says it has worked with foundations, hospitals, activity camps and other facilities to diversify their rehabilitation plans with VR games. Its website lists conditions it is intended for, including cerebral palsy, spinal injury, spinal muscular atrophy, muscular dystrophy, stroke and spasticity, and recommends sessions of 15 to 30 minutes, a check with a health care provider beforehand, and supervision by an experienced physiotherapist for the first sessions. The company says it helps install the software remotely or on site at medical facilities, rehabilitation centers and VR game rooms. The website also features the Avalon Foundation, which it describes as a WalkinVR user since 2018. These recommendations and claims come from the developer. For the wider field, see Virtual reality therapy.

Reception and research

Press coverage of the 2020 Steam release from Road to VR, UploadVR and Engadget focused on its range of options for disabled players. UploadVR called it "highly customizable". As of October 15, 2026, the Steam store rates it "Very Positive", with 60 of 71 user reviews positive.

In a 2020 CHI paper on VR games for wheelchair users, Kathrin Gerling and colleagues wrote that most innovation on wheelchair accessibility in VR happened in community-driven projects, and gave WalkinVR as an example: it maps movement in SteamVR onto hand-held controls, removing the need for locomotion. They wrote that this greatly improves the accessibility of VR software on Steam but reduces full-body physical involvement. In an ASSETS 2020 paper reporting interviews with 16 people with limited mobility, Martez Mott and colleagues described WalkinVR, in their review of earlier work, as a SteamVR driver that lets users move their avatar with controllers instead of physical locomotion, shift the height of controllers, and create a virtual controller to replace a physical one.

Equal Entry's December 2021 recap of an Accessibility VR Meetup session on adapting VR games for people with disabilities described Bednarski as having "designed and created WalkinVR".

See also

• Artificial locomotion
• Seated VR
• Hand tracking
• SteamVR
• Virtual reality therapy