Interaction SDK for Unreal Engine
Updated: Mar 6, 2025
The Meta XR Interaction SDK for Unreal Engine makes it easy for VR users to immersively interact with their virtual environment. With Interaction SDK, you can grab and scale objects, push buttons, navigate user interfaces, and more while using controllers or just your physical hands.
How does Interaction SDK work?
Interaction SDK offers many features to create an immersive XR experience, allowing users to:
- Grab and manipulate objects, including scaling and moving objects freely or along fixed axes
- Throw a held object
- Press buttons or interact with surfaces using rays
- Press buttons and scroll user interfaces using poking
Interaction SDK Plugin for Unreal Engine consists of:
- A closed source DLL (InteractionSDK Native) that powers ray, poke, grab, and pose-detection interactions
- Unreal ActorComponents and SceneComponents that wrap the native DLL
- Prebuilts that collect components into ready-to-use interactions
How do I set up Interaction SDK?
To install the downloaded plugin:
- Take note of the directory that you have installed Unreal Engine to, e.g.
C:\Epic Games\UE_5.4
. This will be referred to as [UnrealDir]
below. - In the
[UnrealDir]\Engine\Plugins
directory, create a new directory called Marketplace
. - Open the zip file you downloaded and copy the
MetaXRInteraction
folder into the newly created Marketplace directory ([UnrealDir]\Engine\Plugins\Marketplace
). - Run Unreal Editor.
- In the Level Editor toolbar, click Edit > Plugins. Search for Meta XR.
- Enable both the Meta XR plugin (if present) and the Meta XR Interaction SDK plugin.
- Restart Unreal Editor for the changes to take effect.
To try Interaction SDK interactions without any setup, you can download the following:
- Interaction SDK Samples, the official reference for Interaction SDK features.
Supported Unreal Engine versions Interaction SDK can integrate with the
Meta XR plugin, or, in a restricted mode, with Unreal Engine’s built-in
Open XR HandTracking plugin. This means it will read hand and controller data from whichever of the two plugins are present in the project.
When deploying projects using Interaction SDK to Meta devices, it is recommended that the project includes either the
Meta XR plugin, or is built on the Oculus-VR Fork of Unreal Engine.
When deploying to non-Meta devices, Interaction SDK can read hand-tracking data from Unreal’s OpenXR HandTracking plugin as a fallback.
In addition to the
MetaXR feature comparison, there are some additional Interaction SDK functionality gaps when using the OpenXR path, as highlighted in the following table:
Feature | MetaXR | OpenXR |
---|
Procedural Controller Hand Animation | ✓ | - |
Hand Tracking Confidence | ✓ | - |
Input mapping for index pinch | ✓ | - |
Note:
- Hand Tracking Confidence - This feature is supported by the MetaXR hand data source, which provides confidence levels in the tracking data.
- Input Mapping for Index Pinch - OpenXR does not currently support a direct input binding for the index pinch gesture. However, developers can utilize the PinchGrabStarted and PinchGrabFinished event delegates found in the IsdkHandFingerPinchGrabRecognizer. These events can be used to implement custom actions triggered by the index pinch gesture.
Interaction SDK plugin has an optional dependency on the following plugins: