Does MSFS 2024 support VR hand tracking?

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 does not natively use bare-hand skeletal tracking for cockpit controls. It accepts VR motion-controller or mouse actions, so hands require a translator that emulates one of those inputs. Microsoft has announced no native hand-tracking roadmap. Seeing virtual hands alone does not mean switches can be operated.

What does MSFS 2024 actually support — and will there ever be native hands?

Through Sim Update 5, MSFS 2024 supports tracked VR controllers but does not directly bind raw OpenXR hand joints to cockpit actions. Microsoft has not announced a release date or roadmap for native skeletal hand input, so nobody can reliably promise that it will be added.

The common wrong information is that OpenXR support automatically means hand-tracking support. OpenXR can carry headset poses, controller actions and skeletal hand data, but the application decides which data it uses. MSFS understands controller and mouse actions; it does not turn a tracked finger pinch into a cockpit click by itself.

For conventional motion-controller configuration, use our guide to controller detection, profiles and cockpit bindings. Bare-hand systems must ultimately imitate that controller input or the mouse.

Quest 3 hand tracking with a Link cable, Air Link or PC streaming

Quest 3 can track bare hands, but Meta Quest Link and Air Link do not automatically present those hands to MSFS as Touch controllers or mouse input. They establish the PC VR connection and OpenXR runtime; a compatible translation feature or separate translator must create the usable actions.

On Quest 3, open Settings > Movement Tracking > Hand and Body Tracking and enable Hand Tracking. Automatic switching between hands and controllers is convenient but not essential. Confirm that pointing and pinching work in the Quest interface before starting Link.

For wired Link, use a data-capable cable, not a charging-only lead. In the Meta Quest Link PC application, select the Quest 3 under Devices and run the available USB connection test. The headset should list the PC under Quest Link and open the PC VR environment without repeatedly disconnecting.

In the PC application, open Settings > General > OpenXR Runtime and make Meta Quest Link the active runtime. If the translator depends on raw Quest hand joints, enable Developer Runtime Features and its hand-tracking-over-Link option where those controls are available. This exposes tracking data to compatible PC applications; it still does not create Touch controllers or mouse clicks.

Air Link uses the same Meta runtime. Enable Air Link from the headset’s Quest Link panel, pair the PC and confirm that the PC VR dashboard opens before launching MSFS. If the basic OpenXR connection fails, follow our runtime-selection and MSFS VR setup checks before changing gesture mappings.

With a controller translator working, expect MSFS to show controller models, rays or highlighted controls. With mouse emulation, expect the ordinary cursor to move and a pinch to act as the left mouse button. Neither path guarantees rendered fingers inside the simulator.

Which OpenXR tool is actually required?

You need a hand-to-controller or hand-to-mouse translator supported by the active runtime; an OpenXR runtime or graphics utility alone cannot perform that job.

• Meta Quest Link OpenXR runtime: connects the Quest headset and can expose supported tracking data. It is not, by itself, a hand-to-controller translator.
• SteamVR and VDXR: these are alternative OpenXR runtime paths. Selecting one changes which runtime launches MSFS, but does not guarantee that hand skeletons become controller actions.
• OpenXR Toolkit: this is associated with OpenXR display, performance and diagnostic functions. It does not automatically convert Quest hand joints into MSFS controller bindings or mouse clicks.
• HTCC-type hand-tracking controller translators: this is the relevant tool category. HTCC is designed to interpret OpenXR hand joints and expose synthetic motion-controller actions. It works only when its build supports the selected runtime and receives hand data from it.
• Virtual Desktop controller emulation: when its hand-tracking and controller-emulation options are enabled, translation occurs in the streaming path. Do not add a second controller translator on top.
• Ultraleap Gemini or another optical tracking provider: its OpenXR component can supply skeletal hand data, but MSFS still needs controller emulation or mouse translation unless the provider includes that function.

Run exactly one click-producing path. Controller emulation plus mouse emulation commonly causes double clicks, conflicting pointers and controls that release immediately. The same warning applies to two overlapping OpenXR controller layers.

How do I configure pinch-to-select in MSFS 2024?

The dependable setup order is headset tracking, PC connection, active runtime, one translator and then MSFS control bindings.

1. Close MSFS and competing VR software. OpenXR API layers are normally loaded when the simulator starts, so changing runtime or translator settings while MSFS is open may have no effect.
2. Enable and test the headset’s hand tracking. Confirm that both hands and the index-finger pinch work in the headset interface.
3. Establish the PC VR connection. For wired Quest Link, complete the USB test and enter the Link environment. For Air Link, pair the PC and verify a stable connection.
4. Select one OpenXR runtime. Use Meta Quest Link for the native Link or Air Link path, VDXR for a compatible Virtual Desktop setup, or SteamVR when the chosen translator specifically requires it.
5. Start one translator. Configure it either to create virtual motion controllers or to drive the mouse. Do not enable both methods.
6. Map the pinch. For controller emulation, assign an index-finger pinch to the virtual trigger or primary-select action. For mouse emulation, map the pinch only to the left mouse button.
7. Launch MSFS 2024 after the runtime and translator. Load a flight, enter VR and centre the view from the normal flying position.
8. Verify the device under Settings > Controls. This page may be labelled Controls Options in some parts of the interface. A controller translator should produce an emulated controller device or profile. A mouse translator normally appears only as the existing mouse.
9. Check the cockpit action. Bind the emulated trigger to Cockpit Interaction – Primary Action, or to VR – Select where that label is used by the active profile. Point at a highlighted switch and pinch once.

If hands are visible but cannot operate controls, check the Controls screen first. No emulated controller means the translator did not load, selected the wrong runtime or received no hand joints. If the controller is present but a pinch does nothing, its virtual trigger is not bound to the primary cockpit action.

Hands in VR: symptom-led fixes

• Hands work in the Quest menu but disappear after Link starts: Quest tracking is working, but the PC path is not forwarding hand joints. Enable the supported hand-tracking-over-Link feature or use a streaming path with explicit hand forwarding.
• Hands are visible in an overlay, but MSFS cannot click anything: visible skeletal hands are not an input device. Enable a hand-to-controller or hand-to-mouse translator.
• The emulated controllers are missing from Controls Options: start the correct OpenXR runtime and translator before MSFS, then restart the simulator. Disable incompatible or duplicate API layers.
• The ray moves, but there is no pinch click: map pinch to the virtual trigger and bind that trigger to the primary cockpit action. A pinch mapped only to Grip will not select most switches.
• One pinch produces two clicks: controller trigger and left mouse button emulation are both active, or both hands are mapped to the same click. Keep one method and, if necessary, one dominant clicking hand.
• Tracking becomes poor around the yoke or throttle: the headset cameras are losing sight of the fingers. Improve room lighting, avoid placing one hand behind the yoke or the other hand, and keep the gesture inside the Quest cameras’ field of view.
• Buttons work but rotary and scroll controls do not: a rotary knob may require click-and-drag, wheel input, a thumbstick axis or separate increase and decrease actions. Bind those actions if the translator supplies them; otherwise use a mouse wheel or physical rotary control.

If MSFS cannot detect the headset at all, use our headset and OpenXR detection checklist before troubleshooting hands.

What about MSFS with hands instead of controllers or a HOTAS?

Bare-hand input is useful for large buttons, overhead switches and occasional panel interaction, but it is not a dependable replacement for flight controls. Small avionics keys, guarded switches, rotary encoders and controls hidden behind a yoke expose the limits of camera occlusion and pinch accuracy.

Keep a mouse, VR controller or HOTAS within reach for precision work. A practical arrangement is a physical yoke or stick, throttle and pedals for flying, hand tracking for accessible switches, and a mouse wheel or controller thumbstick for rotary controls. Our full PC VR workflow for Microsoft Flight Simulator covers the wider headset and hardware arrangement.

The same distinction applies to TactGlove DK3 and similar haptic gloves. Haptic feedback can add touch sensation, but it does not by itself supply position tracking, virtual controller actions or mouse clicks to MSFS. The glove’s tracking and translation software must still present an input the simulator understands.

Does hand tracking work with PSVR2 on PS5, PSVR2 on PC or Xbox?

MSFS 2024 supports PSVR2 on PlayStation 5 and PS5 Pro through the released free 2026 update. That is confirmed VR platform support, not confirmation of optical bare-hand input: cockpit interaction uses supported controllers and conventional simulator hardware. PSVR2’s inside-out cameras track the headset and Sense controllers; they do not provide native skeletal bare-hand control in MSFS.

PSVR2 on PC uses its PC adapter, supporting software and SteamVR path. That arrangement can provide headset and Sense-controller input where the PC VR configuration is compatible, but it does not add optical hand tracking. For MSFS, treat the Sense controllers as motion controllers rather than substitutes for tracked bare hands.

Microsoft Flight Simulator has no VR mode on Xbox Series X|S, so neither VR controllers nor bare-hand tracking can be used there.