2022 Unity VR - Setting up a VR Core Project

In this Unity VR tutorial, I'll show how to set up a Core VR Project. I'll go show using the VR Core Unity project and setting up the XR Interaction Toolkit, Input settings, and everything you need to know to get the base project set up. XR Interaction Toolkit - com.unity.xr.interaction.toolkit

This tutorial takes a fresh Unity project from nothing to standing inside a VR scene with tracked controllers. It uses Unity's VR Core template plus the XR Interaction Toolkit, targeting a Quest 2 — though the same setup covers other headsets, and there's even a path for testing without any hardware at all.

Start from the VR Core template

With your headset connected in the Oculus app, open Unity Hub and create a new project from the VR Core template (download it if you don't have it), named vr core. The template ships with the Oculus XR plugin, OpenXR plugin, and XR Management already installed. The missing piece is the XR Interaction Toolkit, and it won't appear in a registry search — add it via the plus icon > Add package from git URL, entering com.unity.xr.interaction.toolkit, and accept the update prompt.

Import samples and map the presets

From the toolkit's Samples tab, import the Starter Assets. If you have no headset, also import the XR Device Simulator to test VR inside the editor. The starter assets include five input presets — continuous move, continuous turn, snap turn, and the left and right hand controllers. Add each to the input manager, then open Edit > Project Settings > Preset Manager and type right and left into the filter fields for the action-based controller presets so each hand's preset maps to the correct controller automatically.

Configure XR Plug-in Management

Under XR Plug-in Management, OpenXR is selected on the PC tab but shows a warning: no interaction profile. Click edit and add Oculus Touch (add Vive or Valve profiles too if you're targeting those). Switch the render mode from single pass to multi-pass so both eyes render. On the Android tab, enable Oculus — that's what lets the device connect directly to Unity for play mode — and under the Oculus settings target both Quest and Quest 2.

Build the rig in the scene

Delete the template's included XR rig — it's an older version. Right-click in the hierarchy and add XR > XR Origin (Action-based); the plain XR Origin gives you a headset only, while action-based includes the hands. Don't reposition anything inside the Camera Offset — the headset drives the main camera and both hand controllers, which already carry their interaction setups. Then select the XR Interaction Manager, add an Input Action Manager component, click plus, and slot in the XRI input actions asset — the project's only input system. Drop in a 3D cube in front of the origin so there's something to look at, press play, and put the headset on: both hand pointers track, the cube sits in the world, and the project is fully VR-ready.