Meta explains when VR games work better with controllers than hand tracking

Meta’s October 29 developer guidance sets out which VR interactions suit bare hands and which still benefit from controllers, including fast aiming, simultaneous inputs and movements outside the hand-tracking area.

This expands on a position Meta set out in September: its upcoming VR Glasses support Touch Plus controllers, sold separately, and controller-based locomotion and gunplay can remain the better choice. Eyes and hands are the glasses’ primary inputs.

The glasses are due in spring 2027 for $1,299.99 in the US. Meta’s launch announcement promised more than 75 games playable using hand gestures, with controllers absent from the box.

Meta VR Glasses use a separate tethered compute puck. Image: Meta

Precision, haptics and tracking range matter

Meta recommends hands for direct actions such as picking up, turning and placing objects. The glasses also support gaze-and-pinch selection.

Controllers offer more concurrent inputs and physical feedback. Their tracking also suits actions such as swinging a club or reaching beyond the area where cameras can see the user’s hands.

Developers adapting games should reconsider their interactions instead of assigning a gesture to every button. Meta recommends planning for lost tracking and teaching unfamiliar gestures.

Controller games remain accessible with paired hardware

Meta’s glasses documentation says controller-required apps can be discovered, bought and used when controllers are paired. Its September guidance said the store would prioritise controller-free titles for people without controllers.

Developers can emulate gaze targeting using a Quest 3’s headset pose, according to the new guidance. This does not give Quest 3 eye tracking; testing on the actual glasses remains necessary before release.