Summary
- Some sources suggest that the VR market has stagnated, with declining headset sales and not enough games to convince newcomers to jump onboard.
- Barriers to VR adoption persist including space constraints, cost, the threat of motion sickness, platform fragmentation, and a level of efforrt that asks a lot from the consumer.
- VR still has enthusiast appeal, and likely will for many years to come, but cracking the consumer market even with entry-level headsets looks set to be a challenge for a while yet.
Do you have a virtual reality headset yet? Odds are the answer is “no,” and it’s probably not going to change any time soon. As someone who considers themselves VR-curious, I’m starting to lose hope.
Developers Paint a Grim Picture
A survey conducted in late 2024 by the Game Developer Collective reported that over half of all developers asked consider the VR market to be in decline or stagnant. Only just short of a quarter of respondents thought the market was still growing.
Less than half of developers currently not on board with VR projects could see their studio pivoting to creating VR titles in the future. Even the presence of a big player like Apple made little impact on those surveyed. On top of this, research from Omdia showed a 10% decline in headset sales in 2024, with another decline expected in 2025.
But you don’t need surveys and sales figures to spot such a trend, the lack of big-name VR games has offered little reason to get non-VR converts excited about strapping a headset to their face for a while now.
Valve has yet to follow up Half-Life Alyx with anything nearly as compelling, instead shifting to reliable multiplayer projects like Counter-Strike 2 and Deadlock. VR’s “platform-seller” is still a game released in 2020, that only exists on a single VR platform.
It feels like Sony has also dropped the ball. Its PSVR2 headset is arguably the most accessible on the market in terms of simplicity and price. Potentially, every PS5 owner is a PSVR 2 owner. Unfortunately, Sony’s PSVR2 showings have been dismal since launch. Most of the games Sony is advertising on its headset were there at launch (Gran Turismo 7) or are VR-conversions of existing titles (Resident Evil 4 VR Mode).
I’d love a reason to buy a PSVR 2, but Sony simply isn’t doing enough to tempt me.
VR’s Limitations Haven’t Gone Anywhere
It’s often the case that a technology’s limitations become less pronounced as time wares on, but that doesn’t seem to have happened with VR. Perhaps the most obvious limitation that potential VR owners will need to overcome is that of space.
Depending on your VR setup of choice, space is going to be a problem. If you opt for a fancy PC VR setup, you’ll need space for light stations. Even if you go for something cheaper like the Meta Quest 3 or PSVR 2, you still might find that your apartment just doesn’t offer enough room to swing your light saber or work up a sweat.
Related
With the exception of the Meta Quest platform, VR is also still a relatively expensive hobby. PC and console VR solutions require both the headset and whatever it is you’re going to be plugging it into. PC VR requires a decent gaming PC and a headset like the $1,200 HTC Vive Pro 2. Sony’s price is a little easier to swallow, requiring “only” a $399 PSVR 2 headset and a $499 PlayStation 5.
Once you’re done spending this money, you’d better hope that the headset doesn’t make you feel sick. Alternatively, you’d better hope that you can overcome this sickness by exposing yourself to ever-longer VR sessions over time. It’s not that VR developers should have “solved” motion sickness by now, it’s the fact that it’s an inherent issue with the technology and it affects a lot of people.
The other issue with VR is one that tends to affect all technology at one stage or another: fragmentation. Buying a game on Steam doesn’t necessarily mean you can access it on your PSVR 2 on a PlayStation, while Meta is going entirely its own way.
The way the chips have fallen seems to have carved everyone up into camps: PC enthusiasts spending big bucks on SteamVR headsets, console owners stuck with Sony’s lackluster catalog undoubtedly feeling somewhat abandoned, and Meta Quest 3 doing a surprisingly good job of mopping up the rest of the VR casual crowd. Though crossovers like the $999 HTC Vive Focus Vision exist, offering PC VR support and standalone wireless experiences, they don’t seem to get enough traction and further carve up the market.
And of course, the average consumer needs to figure this out. This leads us to the final limitation: getting into VR still feels like a lot of effort. This doesn’t mean the platform is on its knees altogether, but it does introduce something of a barrier for anyone who isn’t enthusiastic. Not even the Meta Quest feels like something you’re just going to stumble into, like a nasty Balatro habit on your work PC.
If You’re Not Onboard by Now, When Will You Be?
If you’ve already got a VR headset and you’re happy with it, I’m envious. But for the rest of us, it’s worth asking the question: just what is it going to take to get on board?
VR still feels like an enthusiast’s pursuit, you have to want it. It’s not like the Nintendo Switch your sister-in-law bought before the COVID lockdowns to play Animal Crossing and then pick up on weekends for Mario Kart with the kids.
The issue the industry still faces, all these years later, is convincing me that I actually need a headset and that I’ll want to find enough hours in the average week to get a clammy face and flail my arms around wildly. Like many of you reading this, I struggle to find the time to pick up a regular controller.
I’m beginning to wonder if VR is incompatible with modern life for vast swathes of the target audience: adults with a strong interest in video games and disposable income.
Modern VR feels analogous to something like a racing wheel and pedals rather than consoles, handhelds like the Steam Deck, or even taking on the project of building a PC. Everyone knows the wheel and pedals are more fun, offer better control, and feel more immersive but how many of us go ahead and build such a setup?
How many people have the space or the money? And of those, what percentage has the effort to figure it all out and actually go through with it?
VR is not dead, there’s a thriving core of enthusiasts driving it forward (albeit slowly). Meta has come as close as anyone to taking the technology mainstream, and to say I haven’t thought about pulling the trigger on a Meta Quest 3S would be a lie.
And yet here I am, thinking about picking up my Steam Deck for another round of Deep Rock Galactic Survivor, or exploring more of Alaska in SnowRunner on the PS5; not combing the Meta Quest store for bargains.
Related
How to Get Cheap Meta Quest Games
You can save some money on Quest games by using Meta’s referrals system.
