How to stream SteamVR games on Discord

The short answer

Discord cannot capture the image inside your headset directly. To stream VR on Discord, you share a desktop window that mirrors what you see in the headset. For SteamVR games, that window is usually SteamVR's own VR View or the game's desktop mirror. Open that window on your PC, join a Discord voice channel, choose Share Your Screen, and pick the mirror window. Your friends then watch the mirrored view while you play in the headset.

One distinction changes how you set things up. Sharing a single window is different from sharing your whole screen. A window share shows only that window, and on Windows Discord can include that application's sound. A full-screen share shows everything on the monitor, including notifications and anything else you open. For most VR streams, sharing the mirror window is the cleaner choice.

Before you start

• A PC running SteamVR with your headset connected and tracking normally.
• The Discord desktop app. The browser version has more limited screen-sharing options.
• A Discord voice channel or call where you are allowed to stream. Server admins can restrict who may share video.
• A way to confirm the result, ideally a friend in the channel who can tell you what they see and hear.

These steps are written for Windows, the platform most SteamVR setups use. On other operating systems, Discord's screen-share audio behaves differently and may not include game sound. Check this before relying on it.

Step 1: Get the VR view onto your desktop

Start SteamVR and launch your game. Many VR games open a desktop window that already mirrors the headset view. If yours does, you can share that window. If not, open SteamVR's mirror: in the small SteamVR status window, open the menu and choose Display VR View. A separate window appears that shows what the headset is showing.

Success check: put on the headset, look around, and confirm the desktop window moves with your head. If the window is black or frozen, make sure the game is actually running in the headset. Then close and reopen VR View.

Keep the mirror window open and not minimized. A minimized window may stop updating, and then viewers see a frozen or black frame. You can move it to a second monitor or leave it behind other windows instead.

Step 2: Set your microphone in Discord

Most PC VR headsets have a built-in microphone, and Windows lists it as its own audio device. In Discord, open User Settings, go to Voice & Video, and set Input Device to your headset's microphone. Set Output Device to your headset audio as well, so you can hear the channel while playing.

Each check below confirms a different thing, so run them in order:

• Detection: the headset microphone appears in the Input Device list. This only shows that Windows and Discord can see the device.
• Input activity: speak while using Discord's microphone test, and watch the input meter react. This shows that sound is reaching Discord, but not that it sounds clear.
• Intelligible sound: play back the test or ask a friend in the channel whether your voice is clear, at a steady volume, and free of echo or game noise. Only this check tells you how you actually sound to others.

No verified input-level target was available for this guide, so set the volume by ear. Adjust the input volume and sensitivity until speech registers reliably and background noise does not. Then confirm with a listener.

Step 3: Start the screen share

• Join the voice channel or call.
• Click Share Your Screen (in servers this may appear as a Go Live option).
• Open the Applications or Windows tab and select the VR View window or the game's mirror window, not the full screen.
• If the sound option is offered, leave it on so viewers hear the game.
• Choose the stream quality settings your account allows. Some higher-quality options need a Discord Nitro subscription.
• Click Go Live.

Success check: a preview of your stream appears in the channel, and viewers can join it. The preview confirms that Discord is capturing the window. It does not confirm what viewers receive, so ask someone watching whether the image is moving smoothly and whether they hear game audio.

Step 4: Confirm game audio reaches viewers

Game sound usually plays through your headset, and it reaches viewers only if Discord captures it with the stream. When you share a game window on Windows, Discord tries to capture that application's audio. When you share VR View, though, the selected window belongs to SteamVR, not the game. As a result, game sound may not come through.

If viewers can see the stream but cannot hear the game, try sharing the game's own desktop window instead, if it has one. Another option is to share your entire screen, which can include system audio, but this exposes everything on that monitor. Retest with a viewer after each change. No tested settings for specific headsets were available, so expect some trial and error.

If viewers see a black screen

• Make sure the mirror window is open and not minimized.
• Run Discord and SteamVR at the same permission level. If one runs as administrator and the other does not, capture can fail.
• Try turning hardware acceleration off or on in Discord's settings, then restart Discord and share again.
• For a quick test, share the whole screen instead of the window. If that works, the problem is specific to capturing that window.

Making the stream easier to watch

A headset mirror follows every head movement, and fast turns can make viewers uncomfortable. Some games offer a smoothed or spectator camera for the desktop window; check the game's settings for one. If yours does not, slow your head movements when people are watching.

You can also turn on your webcam in the same voice channel while streaming, so viewers see you as well as the game. That is a separate camera feed. Seeing your camera in the device list confirms Discord can access it, but only a viewer can confirm how you actually look on the call.