Drivers · Display · Streaming

Virtual Display Driver

Add virtual monitors to Windows 10/11 for VR, OBS, Sunshine and screen sharing.

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Virtual Display Driver 25.7.23 Update: Features & Setup Guide! MikeTheTech on YouTube.

Overview

Virtual Display Driver adds virtual monitors to Windows 10 and 11. Windows treats each one like a physical display, so it appears in Display Settings and can be used by game-streaming hosts such as Sunshine, by OBS, by VR desktop apps and for remote access to machines that have no monitor attached.

Each virtual display can run the standard resolutions from 640 x 480 to 7680 x 4320 (8K), plus custom modes you add yourself, including ultrawide sizes. Refresh rates include 60, 144, 240 and 500 Hz, and fractional rates such as 59.99 Hz. Custom EDIDs let it present itself as a specific monitor, and HDR is available on Windows 11 23H2 and later. Settings live in one file, C:\VirtualDisplayDriver\vdd_settings.xml, which you can edit by hand or through Virtual Driver Control.

The driver is built on Microsoft's Indirect Display Driver framework (IddCx), ships for x64 and ARM64, and is code-signed through SignPath. It is free and open source under the MIT licence, maintained by MikeTheTech with Jocke (zjoasan), and can also be installed with winget.

Highlights

Virtual monitors that Windows treats like physical displays
Resolutions from 640 x 480 to 8K, plus custom and ultrawide modes
Refresh rates including 240, 480 and 500 Hz, plus fractional rates like 59.99 Hz
Custom EDIDs to emulate a specific monitor
HDR (10/12-bit) on Windows 11 23H2 and later; SDR in 8 or 10-bit
Hardware cursor and a choice of which GPU renders the displays
x64 and ARM64 builds, code-signed through SignPath
Set up with Virtual Driver Control, vdd_settings.xml or winget

Virtual Display Driver development journal

All 6 entries

Live6 entries so farUpdated Oct 20, 2026New (6 entries updated in the last 14 days)

Details

Platforms: Windows
Version: v25.7.23
First released: October 2023 (23.10.14.4)
Updated: Oct 2026
GitHub stars: 10,375 (as of Oct 2026)
Built with: C++ and C, IddCx 1.10 (user mode)
Credits: MikeTheTech (lead); Jocke / zjoasan (programmer, concept design); Bud (former lead programmer); based on Microsoft's Indirect Display Driver sample and roshkins/IddSampleDriver
License: MIT
Status: Available
Requirements: Windows 10 or 11; Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable. HDR needs Windows 11 23H2+ (IddCx 1.10). ARM64 on Windows 11 24H2+ may need test signing, and ARM64 users install manually or with the community scripts.

Downloads on itch.ioVirtual Display Driver (25.7.23)129 kBVirtual Display Driver (23.10.20.2)51 kBSOURCE CODE (23.10.20.2)58 kB

Questions

How do I install it?

Download Virtual Driver Control 25.7.23 (the Virtual Driver Control page links its GitHub release), extract it to a folder, run it and click Install. You can confirm the driver under Display adapters in Device Manager. It is also available with: winget install --id=VirtualDrivers.Virtual-Display-Driver -e

Does HDR work on Windows 10?

No. HDR needs IddCx 1.10, which is only available on Windows 11 23H2 or later, so Windows 10 systems run the virtual displays in SDR.

Where are the settings stored?

In C:\VirtualDisplayDriver\vdd_settings.xml. You can edit resolutions, refresh rates and options there by hand, or use Virtual Driver Control.

I get a black screen after updating my GPU driver. What now?

Uninstall VDD before major GPU or chipset driver updates. If you are already stuck, boot into Safe Mode, uninstall Virtual Display Driver under Display adapters in Device Manager and restart; pressing Win+P and cycling display modes can also bring your screen back.

Does it run on ARM64?

Yes, ARM64 builds are published. On Windows 11 24H2 or later ARM64 may require test signing, and the 25.7.23 notes say ARM64 users still install manually or with the community PowerShell scripts.

It says vcruntime140.dll was not found.

Install the latest Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable, which the driver needs.