PC VR growth continues to remain stagnant, as only 1.5% of the Steam userbase owns VR headsets, based on Valve’s latest Hardware Survey.
George Jijiashvili, senior principal analyst at Omdia, took to LinkedIn to share that VR remains stagnant on PC, with only 1.5% of Steam users using a VR headset, according to Valve’s latest Hardware Survey. He revealed that VR headsets accounted for 2.1% of Steam’s user base in 2021, but this figure has since dropped to 1.5%. While this decline partially reflects that Steam’s user base is growing faster than VR adoption, it also underscores VR’s struggle to gain meaningful traction among dedicated users.
Jijiashvili said that Steam’s survey measures active engagement, counting any VR headset used on the platform in the past month, not just ownership. Despite Valve ceasing to report monthly active users (MAUs) in 2021, Steam’s total user base has undoubtedly expanded, particularly in Asia. This indicates that while the absolute number of VR headsets has grown compared to 2020, their adoption is progressing at a very slow pace.
The analyst mentioned that Meta continues to dominate Steam’s VR ecosystem, with its Quest 2 used by nearly half of VR users and the newer Quest 3 quickly gaining ground at 16%. Altogether, Meta holds a commanding 65% share on Steam. Meanwhile, Valve’s own Index retains a 15% share, despite being five years old. This enduring popularity reflects the Steam user base’s loyalty to Valve hardware and excitement for the rumored follow-up. Sony’s PSVR2, which gained PC support earlier this year, has secured a modest 2% share since August.
Other players in the market face even greater challenges. As per Jijiashvili, HTC VIVE, which once held nearly 30% of the market in 2020, has seen its share dwindle to just 6.4%, effectively marking its exit from the consumer space as the company shifts focus to enterprise solutions. Similarly, PICO XR’s ambitions have been hampered by its lack of availability in the US and parent company ByteDance’s reported decline in investment, which have led to significant restructuring and layoffs.
According to a recent Game Developer Collective survey, half of developers now view the VR market as either stagnant or in decline, highlighting the growing concerns over the platform’s future.
