Getting Started with XR Development
Set up your project and apply best practices for AR and VR devices with Unreal Engine.
Choose your operating system:
Windows
macOS
Linux
Windows Mixed Reality is a head-mounted virtual reality platform from Microsoft that is supported in Unreal Engine through the OpenXR APIs. This page describes how Windows Mixed Reality is supported in Unreal Engine, and how to set up your environment to develop with Windows Mixed Reality. Refer to Supported XR Devices for the full list of which devices Unreal Engine supports.
Currently, you can develop for Windows Mixed Reality VR devices with either the OpenXR plugin or the Windows Mixed Reality plugin:
When you develop with the OpenXR plugin, your application can run on any device that supports the OpenXR APIs.
When you develop with the Windows Mixed Reality plugin, your application can only run on devices that Windows Mixed Reality supports.
Developing with OpenXR for Windows Mixed Reality VR devices is the recommended method, because the Windows Mixed Reality plugin is deprecated in the current version of the engine and will be removed in a future release.
Refer to the Developing with OpenXR APIs and Developing with Windows Mixed Reality APIs sections below for more details.
Developing with OpenXR APIs
To develop for Windows Mixed Reality VR devices using OpenXR in Unreal Engine you must set up the following:
Updated hardware and software. Refer to Microsoft's Installation checklist
OpenXR plugin enabled in your project
Microsoft OpenXR plugin installed from the Marketplace and enabled
Once you're set up for developing with OpenXR, you can use the OpenXR APIs to develop for not only Windows Mixed Reality VR devices but any device that supports the OpenXR APIs. Refer to Developing for Head-Mounted Experiences with OpenXR for more details.
Developing with Windows Mixed Reality APIs
To develop for Windows Mixed Reality VR devices using Windows Mixed Reality APIs in Unreal Engine you must set up the following:
Updated hardware and software. Refer to Microsoft's Installation checklist
Windows Mixed Reality plugin enabled in your project.
Once you're set up for developing with the Windows Mixed Reality plugin, you can use the Windows Mixed Reality APIs to create experiences for your Windows Mixed Reality VR devices.
Getting Started with Development
After setting up your project with the OpenXR or Windows Mixed Reality plugin, follow these guides to get started developing for XR.
Profiling
The following guides show how to profile your XR application and what to consider when you need to improve performance.