Although Apple Vision Pro is Apple’s flagship VR device, some classic VR games have still never had a chance to be played, such as Half-Life: Alyx, which remains a bible-level VR game and is one of them. However, an open-source tool called Glovebox, officially released by developer Udi Wertheimer on October 10, brings the ARM version of Half-Life: Alyx that Valve ported for its new headset Steam Frame to visionOS through the open-source compatibility layer Klepton, achieving about 3K resolution per eye and 60 frames per second, smoothed to 120Hz, on the M5 version of Vision Pro.
Valve’s Steam Frame port became a stepping stone.
The story begins with Steam Frame. On September 14, 2026, Valve announced pricing and preorder details for the Steam Frame standalone VR headset, and also announced that Half-Life: Alyx would run standalone on the device as a native 64-bit ARM version, with no need to connect to a PC at any point. Valve noted that eye-tracking foveated rendering was the key breakthrough that made the port possible, following more than a year of engineering work on the Vulkan graphics driver, SteamVR, and the game itself; the game content is unchanged, and Steam Workshop creations remain available as usual.
Udi Wertheimer saw another possibility: the processors in the Steam Frame and Vision Pro both use the ARM architecture, so Valve’s port amounted to solving most of the hardest hardware compatibility problems first. On October 5, he publicly revealed the results of his “weekend project,” explaining that the port was built on two open-source assets: one was Valve’s Linux ARM version of Alyx, and the other was Klepton, an open-source project developed by Max Thomas (online handle ShinyQuagsire) specifically to run Android VR apps on visionOS. Udi admitted that Valve’s ARM version isn’t technically an Android application package, but it’s “close enough,” with the remaining gaps filled by AI coding assistant Claude, followed by a series of performance optimizations.
Glovebox turns weekend experiments into one-click installs
On October 10, Udi packaged the experiment into an official tool, Glovebox, and released it, announcing that “Half-Life: Alyx runs standalone on Apple Vision Pro.” The requirements list has only five items: Vision Pro (M2 or M5), PS VR2 Sense controllers, a Mac (only needed for installation), owning the game on a Steam account, and a free Apple account. The official website emphasizes no PC, no streaming, no cables, and open source, and states that it is not affiliated with Valve or Apple.
Glovebox is live! play Half-Life: Alyx standalone on Apple Vision Pro 👉 https://t.co/Sk5UzzT6Te all you need: 🥽Vision Pro (M2 or M5) 🎮PSVR2 controllers 🖥️any Mac (for installation only) 🕹️own the game on Steam 🍎free Apple account https://t.co/Vniu7No4ow
— Udi Wertheimer (@udiWertheimer) October 10, 2026
The installation process is designed as a fully graphical interface. Open Glovebox.dmg on Mac, and the tool will guide you through setting up Xcode, the headset, and Steam, then build an app from game files you already own and install it to Vision Pro. You only need to step in for steps that require human confirmation from Apple or Steam.
Be prepared for the time and space requirements. The official FAQ states that the Mac build takes about 2 minutes and requires downloading about 1.7 GB of game files; the headset also requires downloading about 67 GB of game content, for a total of about 75 GB of space. For saves, Steam Cloud syncs automatically, once at login and once before playing, with a backup before overwriting; progress made on the headset will upload automatically the next time you launch the game. The game itself is priced at NT$998 in the Steam Taiwan store, and the PS VR2 Sense controller and charging dock bundle costs US$249.95 on Apple’s official store, about NT$8,100; these are two unavoidable expenses.
Compared with the Steam Frame version, the Vision Pro version lacks the eye-tracking foveated rendering Valve prides itself on. In a reply to a question from Ben Geskin, the official Glovebox account explained: Apple does not allow third-party apps to access eye gaze data. Only apps built with the native SwiftUI and RealityKit frameworks can have the system perform foveated rendering on their behalf; apps using third-party engines such as Unity, Unreal, or Source 2 cannot get this data. Without this key advantage, performance has to be squeezed out through other means, which also explains the frame drops in some scenes.
On the legal side, the developers have repeatedly stressed that this is not a piracy tool: players must own the game on their own Steam account, Steam itself does not issue download keys to accounts that have not purchased it, Glovebox never hosts, shares, or sells game files, and the tool itself is completely free. The reason it does not go through TestFlight or the App Store is that visionOS only executes code signed into the app, and a downloadable Glovebox must contain Valve’s game code; without Valve’s authorization, the developers are unwilling to distribute it. At the end of the README, they even appeal directly to Valve: “We hope to work with you officially to complete this port.”
Limitations and Known Issues
- Close objects may show ghosting.: When the head translates left and right, the edges of objects within arm’s reach appear to overlap. The reason is that the game renders 45 frames per second, the headset displays each frame twice, and reprojection only compensates for head rotation, not translation; there is currently no official fix.
- Complex scenes cause slowdowns.Areas with dense glass and effects cannot maintain full speed.
- Left/Right Hand and Menu IssuesLeft-handed mode and single-controller mode are currently unavailable; in a reply to Ben Geskin, Glovebox said the next version will fix the left/right hand issue, and it is also investigating freezing when opening the game menu, which usually no longer occurs after restarting.
- Hand-only tracking is not supported.Half-Life: Alyx requires buttons, joysticks, and triggers, so the PS VR2 Sense controller is a necessity. This controller has had native support since visionOS 26, and Apple even sells it in its own store.
- Signature validity periodInstallations built with a free Apple account expire after 7 days, while a paid developer account ($99 per year, about NT$3,200) can last a year. Glovebox will show a “Renew” button in advance, and after renewal, game files and save data will be retained.
- Game version lockedGlovebox only installs tested game versions, so Steam updates won’t break existing installations; updates are only pushed after the new version has been officially tested. It currently only supports Half-Life: Alyx, and the developers say the architecture leaves room for adding more games in the future.
Source: KOCPC Chinese