By the end of this guide, you will be able to:

The Haptics SDK for Unity enables you to incorporate haptic feedback into applications in order to create immersive and engaging experiences. It offers pre-built effects, customization options, and support for multiple hardware devices.

With the Haptics SDK for Unity you can easily integrate realistic vibrations on Meta Quest and other PCVR controllers by playing back haptic clips created with Meta Haptics Studio.

The SDK provides a unified API that makes it easy to use the same haptic clips on different types of controllers, automatically adjusting the vibrations to work best with each controller. This ensures that your haptic clips will have high-fidelity haptics for Meta Quest devices (PCM haptics) and will automatically switch to simple haptics (amplitude only) for other PCVR devices or older Meta Quest devices.

Meta Haptics Studio can be used to create more immersive experiences by making gameplay feel more realistic. Haptics can be used to simulate walking on different terrains, enhancing object interaction, or creating a sense of weapon recoil. In Asgard’s Wrath II, for example, haptics are used to enhance weapon interactions. Using the Bladed Bow of Alvida, we can feel the weapon charge before releasing the arrow, which showcases how haptics can build up tension and create realism in the game. Check out our Asgard’s Wrath Sample pack to experience these examples first hand and read more about our haptic design journey.

Use Meta Haptics Studio to create more accessible and intuitive experiences for users. For example, provide feedback for interactions when visual or auditory feedback is not available, helping users navigate through complex menus or interfaces. Additionally, it helps users to interact with virtual environments in a more natural and intuitive way, providing subtle vibrations that simulate the sense of touch.

The SDK provides a lot of control over how the haptics will feel, allowing you to fine-tune the experience to meet the specific needs of your application.

The Haptics SDK enables you to easily create immersive experiences that engage your users’ sense of touch. It plays back haptic patterns in the .haptic format, making your controllers vibrate.

A .haptic clip is a pre-authored haptic pattern created in Meta Haptics Studio that can be played back on a controller. It contains information about the vibration pattern, including amplitude, frequency, emphasis, and duration.

The performance of .haptic clips can vary depending on the controller used. Meta Quest 2 controllers have less advanced haptic actuators compared to Meta Quest Touch Pro and Meta Quest Touch Plus controllers. This means they only support a fixed vibration frequency. As a result, haptic clips will be played with reduced vibration fidelity on Quest 2 controllers, and users won’t feel frequency changes. The Haptics SDK takes care of these differences for you, ensuring a seamless experience across all controller types.

Often, haptic events benefit from an accompanying audio event, designed with the haptic event or interaction and matching the overall experience. When combining audio and haptic events, they should ideally be played simultaneously. For this case, use your existing audio playback API, as the SDK does not provide APIs for playing back audio. Check the Unity AudioSource documentation for more information.

For more information on how to play Audio and Haptics events synchronously, see the section “Sync Issues Between Haptics and Audio” below.