Requirements¶
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XenoCore is a Game Feature plugin for Epic's Lyra Starter Game on Unreal Engine 5.8. You need the engine, Lyra, the free VRM4U plugin, Visual Studio 2022 and room on disk. A gamepad is strongly recommended.
Windows 64-bit¶
XenoCore supports Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, with a DirectX 12 graphics card. Its modules are built for Win64 only; macOS, Linux, consoles and mobile are not supported.
Unreal Engine 5.8¶
Install Unreal Engine 5.8 from the Epic Games Launcher. The project is built and tested against 5.8.1. Other versions are not supported: 5.7 will not open it, and a later version may need changes.
Lyra Starter Game 5.8¶
XenoCore runs inside a Lyra project. Lyra Starter Game is free in the Epic Games Launcher's Fab Library; create a project from it for 5.8. An unmodified Lyra 5.8 is what XenoCore is tested against.
VRM4U¶
The sample party are VRoid characters, and XenoCore lists the free VRM4U plugin (by ruyo, MIT licence) as a dependency: the project will not open without it. Get the release built for UE 5.8; Install has the steps and the tested version.
A C++ compiler (Visual Studio 2022)¶
XenoCore is a code plugin delivered as source. It is built on Lyra's own C++ game module, so it compiles inside your project: the first time you open the project, Unreal compiles XenoCore's C++ (Lyra itself is a C++ project too). You do not need to write any C++, but you do need the compiler. Install Visual Studio 2022 (version 17.14 or later) with these workloads:
- Game development with C++
- Desktop development with C++
and the Windows 11 SDK (10.0.22621). UE 5.8 refuses some older MSVC toolsets outright, so update Visual Studio rather than pinning an old one. Install it before you first open the project.
Disk space¶
Measured on the development machine, 2026-10-14:
| Item | Size |
|---|---|
| Stock Lyra Starter Game 5.8 (the Fab download) | about 5 GB |
| The XenoCore plugin folder (content plus C++ source) | about 1.7 GB |
Compiled C++ (Binaries and Intermediate) |
up to about 11 GB (measured on a copy that also builds the packaged game; the editor alone needs less) |
| Unreal's shader and derived-data cache, filled by the first open and the first play | about 12 GB measured, shared between projects |
That adds up to roughly 25 to 30 GB. Allow at least 40 GB free, ideally on an SSD. This is an estimate: the cache grows with every map and quality level you open, and a packaged build needs room of its own.
A gamepad¶
XenoCore is designed for a controller first, like the games it takes after. Keyboard and mouse work throughout, and every prompt shows the right glyph for whichever you last used. An Xbox-style pad gives the intended feel.